Flamingo

I really really respect a place who sustains its quality over many years. Flamingo — fortunately — is one of them. Well sort of!!! I reckon they opened in 2013 and it has been only 2 years but so far so good.
When it opened the queue was long, the place was literally packed, and it was one of the #1 places in Istanbul,
I went there last Saturday. The place was full but not packed, the bar had a healthy amount of crowd and pretty much all the tables were full. After two years that’s a great accomplishment.
We were served by a lovely wait-​lady (Merve) who took good initiative to bring us our drinks. In fact, except for one slowness, Merve was a rockstar the whole evening.
So here’s my review
Atmosphere /​crowd: I think it is still up there when it comes to Istanbul night scene. I really like the décor — high ceiling, roomy tables, chic decoration. There’s absolutely nothing I dislike in this place. We were seating inside, which I prefer.
Service: My 5 star rating is despite the service. The service was not bad but clearly inattentive except for Merve which I mentioned above. One of the people on the table had to ask literally four times for his drink. I assume the previous three times were heard but not registered. That was like a joke. Otherwise, the service was ok — nothing spectacular nor bad. But for a place like this, I’d expect better service.
Food:
Appetizers: I think appetizers were the highlight. We shared appetizers therefore had access to plenty. Tuna (orkinos) tartar with avocado salad was impeccable, shrimp salad was great, other appetizers were good. So one for one.
Mains: I had squid-​ink risotto. It was good but no the best I’ve had. The taste was not distinctive. Other people had beef ribs (which was very nice, tender, and juicy), and beef-​chops (I call them rib-​eye) both were good.
We all skipped the desserts.
All in all, I definitely would go there again — why not.
For the bill, it’s not a casual place so be prepared to pay accordingly. Dress code is chic.