Istanbul Guidebook
Best and worst restaurants:
Best: PuddingShop
Why: Good food and fast service. President Clinton ate here once -- they can proof it with a picture on the wall.
Erika Malitzky in Spokane, Wa USA 05/06/2013
Best: Aristane
Why: Truly excellent cuisine with pleasing ambiance. Wine list extensive. Warn folks though that this place is not inexpensive. Wait staff spoke little English
Wil Robinson in Ocean Shores, WA USA 04/28/2013
Best: Kanaat Lokantasi
Why: Ordered as you suggested after visiting the Suleyman Mosque. Kuru fasulye and pumpkin dessert. Declicious!
Eugene Carlson in Vashon, WA USA 04/27/2013
Best: Hambi (sp?)
Why: Good food and view.
Mark Vinkenes in Arlington, VA USA 10/05/2012
Best: Asitane
Why: Food was exquisitely prepared and was interesting and different. Lovely setting and great service. It is pricey but worth it.
Cheryl Foote in Albuquerque, NM USA 06/14/2012
Best: Four Seasons Hotel Sultanahmet Restaurant
Why: not on your list, but it should be! By far the best meal in Istanbul. All the freshest ingredients and friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great ambiance in their garden courtyard setting of the revamped prison yard.
Worst: Haci Abdullah
Why: we concur 100% with the comment from your reader in Oct 2011. We should have read it before we went to the restaurant. The guidebook recommended that we order the special Haci platter. What we were served was a 9" plate of three piles of mush. It was pre cooked and arrived at our table 5 minutes after we ordered it. The vegetables were overcooked. We sent it all back and ordered the mixed grill. That was also overcooked. The steak was shoe leather and the liver was cardboard. The staff were brusque. The price for two was similar to the Four Seasons, and there we had wine which they don't serve at Haci Abdullah
bud in corona del mar, ca USA 06/08/2012
Best: Four Seasons Hotel Sultanahmet Restaurant
Why: not on your list, but it should be! By far the best meal in Istanbul. All the freshest ingredients and friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great ambiance in their garden courtyard setting of the revamped prison yard.
Worst: Haci Abdullah
Why: we concur 100% with the comment from your reader in Oct 2011. We should have read it before we went to the restaurant. The guidebook recommended that we order the special Haci platter. What we were served was a 9" plate of three piles of mush. It was pre cooked and arrived at our table 5 minutes after we ordered it. The vegetables were overcooked. We sent it all back and ordered the mixed grill. That was also overcooked. The steak was shoe leather and the liver was cardboard. The staff were brusque. The price for two was similar to the Four Seasons, and there we had wine which they don't serve at Haci Abdullah
bud in corona del mar, ca USA 06/08/2012
Best: ALBURA KATHISMA RESTAURANT
Why: This is an excellent restaurant in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The delicious food is traditional Ottoman and Turkish cuisine. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the young staff, especially our waiter, - DREJ - get the service just right and smooth. He also showed us the cave what we really appreciated. We ate well during our week in Istanbul, but this was one of the two outstanding restaurants we visited. Aaaah, don't forget to have the also excellent turkish beer - EFES!
Jessica Walsh Australia 06/06/2012
Best: Pudding Shop
Why: Good food
Elisabeth Muhlenberg in Oak Park, IL USA 05/10/2012
Best: Metropolis Restaurant
Why: We stayed in old historic part of Istanbul. The Metropolis Restaurant was just 50 meters from our hotel and located on a corner with inside and out side dining. The staff are all very welcoming and friendly, the food is great local cuisine and reasonable pricing. Jack was our favourite waiter, who spoilt us. We stayed 6 nights in Istanbul and went to the Metropolis every night. I would highly recommend a visit to the Metropolis when in Istanbul and once you've been there you will go back for more.
Judit in Philadelphia, PA USA 03/29/2012
Best: Doy Doy Restaurant
Why: cheap and tasty turkish kebab
cem in minsk, Belarus 03/29/2012
Best: Ara Café
Why: Excellent food and interesting clientele.
Heidi in Doha, Qatar 01/29/2012
Best: Self service cafeterias
Why: Food was excellent with lots of variety. Very informal, mostly filled with Turks. Had no idea what we were ordering, just pointed and tried. Everything we had was excellent flavor at a good price!
George Braun in Manassas, VA USA 11/29/2011
Worst: Lale "Pudding Shop'
Why: poor quality of food, terrible service as waiters paced back and forth, not friendly at all very high prices, should be removed from guide book page 316 of Feb 2010 edition
Calder in N. Vancouver, BC CDN 10/13/2011
Best: Sultanahmet Koftecisi and Havuzbasi Restaurant and Tea House
Why: We loved Turkish food, and never ate or even sought any other cuisine on our 12 day trip! Both Sultanahmet Koftecisi and Havuzbasi Restaurant and Tea House had good food at good prices, pleasant atmosphere, and attentive service. We also had a great meal at Pasha (a fancy place on Divan Yolu, near the Sultanahmet tram stop), and at Tophane Taybun Cafe, just slighly uphill from the Tophane tram stop (a cafe with nargile and drinks that also serves light meals with homestyle cooking). Tophane Taybun had a lovely relaxing atmosphere (there's a waterfall and pond with turtles and fish), and it's so good we went twice!
Worst: Haci Abdullah
Why: This restaurant was the only time in all of Turkey that we encountered hostility, indifference, and lack of professionalism in servers. The waiter made it clear that he was very annoyed when I asked him to clarify the dishes (all other waiters were very happy to explain the menu, even if their English was shaky). After a few more questions, he got downright snippy and brusque, then upset that we followed Rick's advice and split one large entree. The food was tasty, and the second waiter who handled our dessert was at least civil (again, not the usual warm, hospitable, and professional service we had at every other eatery, of all sizes, prices, and degrees of formality). There was a 5 lira per person cover charge, which we did not find in other restaurants. Service was included, and my mother's joke was that this was the only way they would ever get a tip!
Harold Chasen in Philadelphia, PA USA 10/11/2011
Best: Istanbul - Kathisma Restaurant in Sultahnamet (on Akbiyik Caddesi) just around the corner from the Hippodrome Hotel.
Why: Delicious food, extensive excavations in the basement which the owner will happily tour you through.
J. Grunau in Abbotsford, BC Canada 06/18/2011
Best: Pandeli
Why: Great food, great atmosphere, excellent service.
Worst: Lale Pudding Shop
Why: Bad food, bad service, they cheated us on the bill. Big disappointment, and unusual for a Rick Steves recommendation to go so wrong.
Joe Costantino in Sofia, bulgaria 04/10/2011
Best: Hamdi Restaurant near the Galata Bridge
Why: Great views and excellent kebabs.
Joan Barnes in Portland, OR USA 04/01/2011