Franz Kafka Kafe

Well, Franz Kafka café is really really dark. That is the one thing I can say for sure about this place. Dark as hell. Really.
Had crazy indigestion the following day (after sharing a snack plate and sipping on a Lynchberg Lemonade). Would not go back probably.
Nice view tho.

Pros: the view is great, the back of the chairs have portraits of writers on them which adds some uniqueness to the place.
Cons: it’s overpriced, and you can not always sit next to the window.
That’s what I noted from a single visit there. It was rainy that day, so the view could not pull up just an average café and service.
I would recommend to go there if you heard about it, you are curious and you are in Kadikoy for some other reason, but it does not worth coming to Asian side from European side just «to have a coffee at famous Kafka café.»
As another Unilocaler, Sule, noted, it has nothing to do with Kafka except for the name. I agree with her. You can read her review here:

Go for the view, from the pleasant terrace or inside to avoid the cold and/​or smoke. Menu was fine, service was a bit slow at peak hours, but the view is great… sometimes you need to be able to see beyond the maze of the city.

Edited December 2015. My wife and I used to love this place. Good food, terrific views, reasonable value. I’d say the prices are similar to an Olive Garden or similar chain restaurant in the US, but the panoramic views of the Bosporus at sunset are unbeatable (though the Kadikoy Starbucks post-​renovation also checks that box!). The fajitas were almost as good as Benzin or Num Num (even if they fall into the unfortunate Turkish tradition of serving store-​bought liquid-​y guacamole — one wonders how hard it is to crush some fresh avocados…), and we’ve also enjoyed the chicken dishes. Their service has always been a little inattentive. But we had one particularly miserable visit earlier this year, where we were completely ignored for a long time and got a pathetically small portion of chicken schnitzel. We complained repeatedly about the dish and got absolutely no sympathy. I convinced my wife to calm down and left a generous pile of cash on the table to walk out of there, but the server by the door kept insisting that we bring payment up to their register before leaving. I know there was a language barrier, but still, I expected more. With so many dining choices in the area, I can say confidently that we won’t be back.

This café is located on a rooftop of a bookstore. Since I moved to Moda, I’ve been passing by everyday and was wondering if it really had a good view. Well, it has, but that’s all. Let me tell you why this «classy» looking café had only two stars from me.
I’ve been there 3 times so far. First time for dinner and the other times for breakfast.
Dinner was fine actually, except inside was really dark (too little lights). We had our food in a very low light, almost not knowing what we just ate. I don’t even mention about reading the menu… The service was really really slow, too. We had to ask for the bill a couple of times before we could finally pay.
When we were there for breakfast, I noticed that inside doesn’t get much light in the morning either. We sat at the balcony this time and the view was nice. The place was not that crowded this time, yet, the service was again so slow. I thought about getting our breakfast breads by myself! And I saw one customer did it for real. We had omelette and it was fine. The drinks are ridiculously expensive, though. The tea in tea glass is 5 lira and in cup it’s 7 lira. The coffee prices are much higher than that and I didn’t feel the need to check the other drinks.
The worst time was the last time I went there for breakfast. I brought my Airbnb guest here, I thought I could give the place one more chance as the view could be nice for my guest. We ordered «Menemen» as it was a traditional Turkish breakfast special and I’m a fan! I wish we didn’t. What we got was «a thin layer» of overcooked menemen (maybe thinner than a usual omelette) almost prepared without tomatoes (40% was just green pepper). Because it was served in «sahan» its size was also really small, too. Seriously, is that all they can do for that price? Definitely not worth the money you pay.
So, I guess I’m not going there again but if you do, note that the entrance door is at the right side of the coffee shop (Kahve Dünyası), not inside the bookstore. And do not order menemen in any circumstances.
P.S.
*It has nothing related to Franz Kafka other than the name.
*If you have Alkım Card (Royalty card of the bookstore) they offer you discount.