Istanbul

What a sad representation of Turkish food! The karniyark was super disappointing, and they ran out of tea! When does a Turkish establishment run out of tea? The location is great, and they are pretty much the only sit down Turkish restaurant in the area, but the food is mediocre at best. I am giving two stars, as the waitstaff was very attentive and friendly.

Great food, especially for such a touristy location. Service was OK. For the location, I was very impressed. The Ayran is amazing, and a must for those of you from the United States. There’s nothing like European, let alone real Turkish (or Armenian) ayran.

Staff and manager were super friendly but dysfuntional. It took a long time for someone to take my order and even get a menu. The server forgot to put my order in the first time and so another server had to ask me two times more times what I ordered. By the time I finally got my food it was cold. The worst part is I paid 19 euros for lamb chops of such lost potential. Again, the staff meant well but if they get to see this review, hopefully they put more effort into running a restaurant. Morever, I left still hungry because the portions were too small. Half the time I waited for my food, the table was still dirty from the last customer and I had to ask the manager to wipe it down. I understand the location is in a touristy area so there is no need to for customers to return, but at least show some pride and dignity in your food. It can’t be that hard to hire good help. I was hungry and there was no point in complaining as I’m will never eat at this restaurant again. And I already waited long enough for my food. But for 19euros the whole experience angers me somewhat. This is a lesson, in Europe, it you sense the service is rotten within the first few minutes, get up and leave immediately because there is a myriad of options out there. Again, really nice guys and clean, bright and warm ambience. Just try to keep it together. Make sure the staff is sober when they’re working.

Good kebab, wait staff was very helpful especially with getting me setup on a high chair for my son. The ambience was devoid of noise but livened up with music after we ordered our food.

Our mouths were watering for some traditional kebab so we were thrilled to stumble across this restaurant on our walk back from the Central Station. At first glance it looked very clean and inviting so we went in. The location is great, the atmosphere is nice, and the service was definitely friendly. However the food was no good. The kebab was made of veal, and when you’re expecting lamb this is just like being doused in cold water. There is something to be said for fusion food and innovative dishes etc., but don’t mess with my kebab. The hummus was just a dish of runny tahini, devoid of any garlic or flavoring and I don’t think it even had chick peas in it; totally disappointing and pretty much inedible. I feel bad because the guy running the place is genuinely nice (oh and they have free Wifi) but I can’t recommend this restaurant. Hopefully they’ll improve the quality of their food and be better ambassadors of Turkish cuisine.
It looks like the establishment has also gone by the name «Istanbul Petit Restaurant» and «Istanbul Grill Restaurant».