This is easily the best restaurant in Istanbul. Similar to other reviewers, I was also getting…read moretired of eating Turkish food. We'd been in the country for 5 months at a geology field camp and had been eating essentially different variations of the same meal every single day. Don't get me started on breakfast. I can appreciate Turkish food, I can, but coming here made the whole trip worth it. This is probably the only meal I would ever consider an actual experience. We casually walk into the owner's house, up past the third floor where the kitchen is, and then into the fourth floor where the main seating area is. If you don't like cats I wouldn't bother coming, because they are the waitstaff and are very happy to greet you immediately. We sit down and cool off before he informs us that the terrace is shaded and that we should go up there before we start placing our orders. Amazing view with fantastic breezes to cool you off. He begins telling you about his life, his trips through Italy, everything that's going on in Turkey, how life has changed and even showed us his amazing meteorite once he learned we were geologists. Anyways, we ordered a squash/zucchini dish, and he returned with a green bean and something I couldn't even begin to describe. Everything had such wonderful depths of flavor. I ended up ordering the Spaghetti Bolognese and my girlfriend got the Alfredo (asked to be Americanized with chicken in it). I'm not joking when I tell you that these were the most filling and satisfying dishes we'd had over the last month. So much flavor and they really energized us when we finally got done with them. You've heard that people have had tears from having such good food, or being deprived for so long of something they love, well that was exactly us. I never knew that olive oil could taste so amazing. If we do come back to Turkey at some point, no matter where in the country we go, I will absolutely be making a stop by here again. Without a doubt. Thank you very much for the amazing time and amazing food

Don't be fooled by the entrance or the dark steep stairwell! The food is fresh, authentic, and…read moreamazing and the owner is incredibly friendly. I suggest sitting at the very top of the building and enjoying the views!! Oh and the cats are so cute and friendly :)

Awesome ..It is one of the best places I have visited in istanbul .. the food is great specially…read morethe pizzas . It really deserves 5 stars .

We were craving Italian and it was hard to decide between another nearby place, which seemed very…read morenice as well, but I had walked by this place a few times and it was always busy, which made me think, perhaps it tasted better. But it was hard to tell because a lot of people are outside, having drinks and smoking and chilling and eating pizza. We learned from previous meals that eating outside means you'll be exposed to smokers so we ate inside and NO smokers & much more quiet and the food was extremely delicious. So glad to have come here! Our servers were friendly and cordial and spoke excellent English. We had two carbonaras and one special pasta with the muscles and lemon, but it was creamy somehow it was so extra delicious, I had a Pinot Grigio with that and it was the perfect meal for the last day in Turkey. I highly recommend going to this place and also trying the Caprese salad here which they add pomegranate seeds too. The mozzarella was super fresh and bright with the pomegranate and fresh tomato and basil. We also added a Panna cotta at the end just for a sweet bite and that too was excellent, very friendly staff. Give Paps a try if u are missing pasta while traveling.

Hello. Tired of eating Turkish cuisine yet? If so, head on over to the new city via the tram, get…read moreoff at the stop for the tower and walk on over, about 10 minutes to Paps. It's all Italian! Paps is a tiny place..as in 10 tables, in the size of a shoebox. They have outside tables too. I strongly recommend reservations if it is after 6 pm to eat. We were fortunate that the weather was cold and despite it being 7 we walked right in. Pouring rain will do that. Onto the food. With my dietary restrictions I made sure to have a piece of paper translated into Turkish so there was no confusion. Do this if you have any restrictions. I went with their spaghetti with clams, which I had them remove the fish roe ahead of time. They did this. This dish is under their specials. It was good, but the clams were tiny and without a seafood fork to remove the meat, a challenge. A couple were closed..never eat those. Serving size was good. I ate only half. The spouse had the spinach fettuccine with sage butter and parmarsean cheese flakes. She said it was good, but very creamy. She ate most of it. The bread options are yuck. The best is the tiny breadsticks you would see back in the day. The spouse opened with a salad as an appetizer and liked it. I demurred. Pricing wasn't outrageous, and since I pay with a credit card, you will always get a far better exchange rate than what the restaurants will pitch.

Genuinely the nicest relaxing dinner I've had in a while. Visiting Istanbul and had this…read morereservation the same evening. My plane had landed late and I messaged them asking to move my reservation back an extra hour and they did right away! Most lovely and helpful staff. The manager was also the nicest, came to check on us and even hand served me my dish. My mom enjoyed her pizza and I loved everything about this place

Came here to satisfy my margarita pizza cravings and it did just that - beautifully made marg pizza…read moremade in the clay oven which you can see from the dining area. We sat in the garden seating area and its such an aesthetically pleasing restaurant, we would have def tried other dishes but we came for the marg and left satisfied

If there's one thing I often love above just about anything else, it's finding the origin of a…read morecuisine, especially when it ties to a city or a region. Next to kebabs, turkish delight defines both Istanbul and Turkey on the culinary stage, and Ali Muhittin Haci Bekir is the origin of not only turkish delight, but of gummi snacks as we know them. Haci Bekir opened this exact spot in 1777, and the rest is literally history. Expecting an 18th century vibe with as much history as wonderful product, I was honestly a bit disappointed on both fronts. If you're looking for a historical experience and the best turkish delight you've ever had? I unfortunately can't say that you'll find either at Haci Bekir. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? Star 1? Strike 1. Considering this is the origin of turkish delight (as in, in the world), I was expecting a homely and authentic 18th century vibe. How was this stuff invented? How do they even make it? I was hoping to learn these things from staff who knew the history, and was gutted to find an entirely commercialized and bland shop with passive employees. I ordered my turkish delight, paid, and left. That was it. Considering what could have been? This was a huge disappointment. No Star Granted. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? Considering how much the original spot could price gouge? I was pleased. I paid 32 turkish lira at the spice market for a kilo, and only 24 lira here. Both prices are a great deal, but I loved the fact that I wasn't getting ripped off by a place that could have easily done so. Star Granted. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? I need to start this off by defining what my idea of perfect turkish delight is. A powdered sugar covered gummi bear? No. Turkish delight should be so soft that it requires the powdered sugar for you to even hold it. My turkish delight in the spice market was close to what i've had stateside, but what I had at Haci Bekir was weak. The flavor? mediocre. The consistency? a bit chewy, which is shouldn't be. Overall, this was a pretty disappointing visit. Single Star Granted. Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could? I have a theory. Turkish delight is a rarity here in the states, so if you're going to serve it? It's got to be the very best. On the contrary, TD is absolute commonplace in Istanbul, so the abundance of it all leads to some down ticks in quality. I was hoping for a real show from the very origin of turkish delight, and I didn't get it with the service, the atmosphere, or the product quality. No Star Granted.

Pretty delicious turkish delights/lokum sold here! My personal favorite was the rose flavored one…read more There are a bunch on display that you can try before you purchase too.

We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food at this restaurant located inside the…read moreinternational terminal at Ataturk airport in Istanbul. The service wasn't great but there are cultural differences. So this review is solely based on the food. We ordered the mushroom risotto which was creamy and delicious. I ordered a Margarita pizza because why not? Pizza in Istanbul was a success, the pizza was honestly pretty good. Much better than a lot of the pizza we have in South Florida, USA. Just a little flop and the sauce and cheese were very tasty. Could of used some more basil, but other than that it was not a bad meal while waiting for our connection flight.

very very goodgreat service Artugro has a pleasant dispensation suited for hospitality industryread more