Restaurant Orontes

Big fan of this place. The service was great, the food was fantastic and the price was right. Rather than ordering a large meal, we ordered 4 of the smaller plates and some baklava. All of the dishes were fantastic and the baklava was to die for.

One of the previous reviews states that Orontes has a «totally unassuming front». That’s pretty fair. Judging from the somewhat spartan layout and signage (not a negative by the way) you’d be forgiven for expecting unassuming food as well. But as the old saying goes, «don’t judge a book…»
My wife and I opted for a few smaller dishes rather than a main course. We went with the greek salad, babaganuc (which as other reviews point out was chunkier and less «smoky» flavored than what I’m used to), the walnut salad (a purée of red peppers, walnuts and some other stuff), and the Sigara Borek. Our desert was the baklava which I thought was great — buttery and sweet. In fact, all the food was really good and it was on the table quickly with attentive service.
We had reservations at 6:30 and the place was empty — just us. It began filling up when we were leaving so the quick service may be a by-​product of that. From other reviews it sounds like that is not the case though.
Also — there are several vegetarian options on their menu that are not the standard green salads or risottos that many restaurants seem to think will satisfy their herbivorous customers. So kudos there as well.

On a friend’s tip my boyfriend and I came here for dinner. We got Turkish beer and the appetizer sampler, which was 3 small hot dishes and 5 cold small dishes plus Turkish bread. It was plenty of food for the two of us. Highly recommended are the orange walnut spread and the baked mushrooms. The baklava was also good but not amazing. The service was attentive and the atmosphere very pleasant. We will definitely be going back to try some of the meat and fish dishes.

Yes, i’m a fan! we were a table of 4 and we ordered a variety of different appetizers. all of it was good. the baba ganoush was not your typical blended kind but more chunks of eggplant & not blended with tahini. i thought this version was delicious. super fresh with fresh herbs and spices. calamari was also fantastic. (portion sizes on the appetizers are a little on the small side and range from 4 – 6 euros a plate)
For my entrée, I chose the eggplant stuffed with ground beef. I loved it and ate every bite. It was well seasoned and tasty. My partner chose the grilled sea bass and this was absolutely FANTASTIC. I wish I had chosen it. It was perfectly grilled and perfectly seasoned and perfectly moist. One of the best grilled fishes i’ve had in a long time. I highly highly recommend this dish. Thank god my partner was willing to share our dishes. All entrees come with a separate plate of couscous, fries and a salad. It was more than enough food. The couscous was my favorite side. Also regarding meat dishes at this place, they were heavy on the lamb options. So if you like lamb you have plenty to chose from here.
For dessert I had the rice pudding. To be honest nothing special but yummy enough.
The service was also very nice. Attentive and friendly. It took us a while to get our check but they were quite busy on a friday night.
Good quality and fresh food! You can’t go wrong.

I love this restaurant! Every time I want to have a real dinner I go there. The mix of appetizers is amazing, the kebab and dorado fish are also really tasty and fresh. Oh, don’t forget to try the Turkish wine… it’s superb!

I’m just finished a very tortuous and long trip. Tired. Starving. Jet lagged. Wandering around, saw the other reviews and decided to give it a shot.
1) Efes beer is delicious.
2) the mixed grill was out of this world — maybe the best I’ve ever had.
3) same for the Greek salad
4) my waitress was amazing. I had no cash and they don’t take cards, but she gave me detailed directions to the ATM, told me I could go before or after my meal, whatever I preferred, held my stuff for me, and asked if she’d given good directions when I got back.
This was killer. Totally unassuming front, but really really good food and service.

Loved Orontes. My companions and I were looking for a good place to grab dinner that was also near the hostel we were staying in. It was a little late, and every restaurant that had been recommended to us had already stopped taking new tables. We ended up walking in on the off chance they weren’t closing, and by the end of our meal I was ready to write thank you notes to all the places that turned us away. Friendly service, and a menu with plenty of satisfying vegetarian options; a few of my favorites were the stuffed eggplant, lentil soup, and sea vegetable salad. Definitely splurge on the rice pudding for dessert, it was the perfect way to wrap up a delicious meal.