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 :)

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

We came across this place when looking to satisfy a craving for some Italian food. Great…read morerestaurant! Will definitely come back!

Amazing Italian Food and great service !…read more We are vegetarian and ordered the Pizza Bianca and the Rossi. Both the pizzas were delicious, some of the best we have eaten. Paired with really good Wines as well. Would highly recommend this place. The icing on the cake was the outstanding Tiramisu for dessert. Definitely worth a visit while in Istanbul

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.

Pretty good Italian food for Istanbul. Onion soup, pizza, and salad were all solid. Attentive…read moreservice, and free chocolate ice cream. Would come back if in the area and wanted a casual Italian meal.

I am a German American and live in Istanbul now for over one year. I am a food buff. This is one of…read morethe best Italian Restaurants I have ever eaten at, and certainly the best in Istanbul. And my local friends agree. Not the greatest neighborhood but close enough to Metro/bus. Hope you will treat yourself. Make reservations to sit outside.

Nice food, superior service, average price between 20 to 40 TL (10-20 usd). Strongly recommended.read more

Every thing was great I have no words it was that good pls for your own sake best thing eas the…read morepizzas

Food is good. Only complaint is the heavy cigar and cigarette smoke which is like a chimney since…read moreeveryone smokes incessantly in this country. How this is even considered civilized , I don't know. All these people travel and they know it's forbidden outside of turkey but within the country everything goes and it really reflects on the peoples poor manners and culture. So I like this restaurant but can't stand leaving smelling like a cigar bar

Walking distance from our hotel and we had to try it. We were seated right away. Tables were really…read moresmall and the place seemed crowded to begin with. Had to pay for our own water. The pizza were a bit salty but it go well with the spicy olive oil! Drinks were not amazing but it was good and cute presentation! Over all, a 6 out of 10.

Trendy restaurant away from the craziness of Istiklal Ave with a welcoming atmosphere…read more I went for the basics and ordered an arugula salad and a Margarita pizza. Both were ok. While the prosciutto, dried tomatoes and walnuts were a great addition to the arugula, the salad was drowned in vinegar and buried under a disproportionate amount of cheese. As for the pizza, it was plain and the sparsely sprinkled fresh basil, barely-there tomato sauce or not-no-spicy olive oil did not really stand a chance against all the cheese. The service was very friendly and I liked the atmosphere sitting in a comfy chair tucked away in a corner upstairs. This place offers breakfast and is a coffee hangout during the day. Prices are very reasonable.