Lokanta Maya

We stopped into Lokanta Maya on a Thursday night and were fortunately able to get a seat without a reservation (though I’d make one just to be sure). Maya was recommended in both my Lonely Planet Istanbul guide and my Wallpaper City Guide so we figured it must be worth a visit, and it definitely was.
The menu presents and interesting, somewhat atypical bill of Turkish/​Mediterranean fare, all with light and varied flourishes which can be a refreshing change if you’re looking for a change from the norm in Istanbul restaurants. That said, the menu is somewhat small but everything we tried was excellent — we started with a warm goat cheese dish which came with some crisp bread, along with a purslane salad with yogurt and hazelnuts which was truly superlative (I’ve been talking about this salad ever since!). As a main course, I had sea bass which was light, flavorful and served in a generous portion. Same for my sister’s schnitzel dish which is unusual for Turkish restaurants but was great no less.
Maya has an interesting, well-​curated wine list with lots of Turkish options and a great cocktail menu as well — We enjoyed a couple of Lynchburg Lemonades here which was a treat. The restaurant itself is stylishly decorated in muted tones and dimly lit which makes it a relaxing place for a meal. The price point is a bit on the high side for Istanbul but the service, food and presentation all make up for it — the only downside to mention is that service is excruciatingly slow (like you couldn’t get the waiter’s attention if you shot a flare up) but if you’re patient and a bit persistent, it doesn’t detract from the meal. Overall, a worthwhile stop in Karaköy for an interesting, elegant meal!

Fast Service, good food, nice space, recommended by locals.
All the food that we had was delicious. They were cool with me ordering an «anything vegan» dish that wasnt on the menu. Sweeeeet My dad and brother got the fixed price menu together and seriously enjoyed it. They were super stuffed after so many courses.
The space is very nice. Romantic kind of ambiance but in a trendy way… that sounds lame but it is. It gets crowded though so definitely make a reservation (we did it same day)
This place also came highly reviewed by Istanbul locals, which i would say is good as well.

I booked a reservation at this restaurant based on prior Unilocal reviews. I was very happy to be able to make my reservation via e-​mail several months prior to traveling to Istanbul. E-​mail communications were always prompt and professional. The restaurant has a unique, trendy décor. I loved the wall of walnuts! Everything my friend and I ordered was absolutely delicious! We had the corn soup and fried anchovy appetizers. The spicy shrimp over sautéed greens and grilled corn was wonderful as well as the grilled chicken over eggplant purée. The lavender ice cream for dessert was also divine! If you are traveling to Istanbul, I would highly recommend dining at this restaurant.

Estambul no es sólo kebabs, también hay lugares sofisticados, elegantes y estilosos como el Lokanta Maya. En unn ambiente tranquilo, tipo lounge, fuimos recibidos con un rico entrante cortesía de la casa. Luego yo pedí la lubina a la parrilla con tabule de remolacha y estaba realmente deliciosa (y eso que yo no soy nada fanático del vegetal morado). Para terminar, un postre tipo papilla con sirope de fresas muy rico y del que parte de su precio iba a destinado a organizaciones de ayuda a la infancia. No es barato para los estándares locales, pero aún así fueron unos 11 euros por persona que considerando lo bonito del lugar y la calidad de la comida no me parecieron caros. Tienen una buena carta de vinos y cócteles, pero estos si ya de precios elevados, como en todo local de Estambul donde se venda alcohol.

Comer en Estambul es sin duda una alegría para el cuerpo. Antes de nuestro viaje estuvimos consultando Unilocal y teníamos este guardado para probar y qué bueno que fuimos. Lo confesamos: al estar frente a él pensamos vaya. ¿no será caro? Consultamos la carta fuera y decidimos entrar.
El sitio es muy pero muy bonito, una decoración moderna y estilosa, sin desentonar. Nos atendieron con mucha amabilidad, pancito tostado y algo para untar. Todo presentado bien lindo. Me pedí pollo al grill con puré de papas (si, ya sé soy lo menos arriesgado de la vida) pero estaba riquísimo.
No suelo ser de postres, pero si que de café. me pedí un capuccino muy correcto.
En total no fue mucho más que 10 € por persona y en verdad era lindo y la comida estaba buenísima!!!

A truly great meal. I’ve been to Istanbul a few times and eaten at many restaurants, but this meal has been my favorite meal so far. The dishes are creative without being portentous; the flavors distinct yet melding. I ordered the zucchini fritters and the seabass, and they both exceeded my expectations. Even the complimentary bread was dense and went well with the red paste they served it with. An absolutely enjoyable meal. The ambiance is hip and while I’m here for lunch, I imagine it’ll be happening at night

This is a wonderful restaurant and a welcome respite from the tourist hubbub — zucchini fritters live up to their reputation — great service too — we got in without a reservation but best to call ahead if you are in prime time.

So so glad we visited here for dinner! I had read many glowing reviews of Chef Didem Senol and I was excited to try this place.
Reservations were made for a Monday night. Because of traffic, we were a bit late, but we called ahead and they said no problem.
Restaurant is intimate & contemporary; quiet, dimly lit with the walls lined with walnuts (Cool!). All the tables were filled with couples, friends & families.
We started with a bottle of Red Turkish Merlot (don’t remember). Server asked if we’d like it room temperature or chilled. I prefer room temperature, but husband prefers it chilled. Room temperature it was ;) Wine was very good.
Starters:
Steak Tartare: Delicious; my favorite of the starters
Zucchini fritters: Very good.
Sea Bass: Good.
Hummus: Very good.
Baked goat cheese w/​onions: Very Good.
Entrée:
Sea Bass! Sea Bass! Sea Bass! I LOVED this. I will dream about this dish. Made me want to cry when it was all gone.
Husband had the Salmon which was very good.
Also, tried a bite of the Lamb Shank. Very good (Husband loved this).
Dessert:
Rice Pudding & Limoncello. I don’t know what I was thinking. I was so full, but just kept on eating…
Fantastic dinner.

Nothing really standout here. We were a party of 9 on a Saturday evening and the restaurant was pretty empty. Service was ok and food was ok.
Standouts were courgette flowers and the eggplant dip. Everything else, including the steak and sea bass were just ok.

Our experience at Lokanta Maya was extremely mixed; some dishes were standout while others were pedestrian, the drinks were not great, and the service was surprisingly unfriendly for a restaurant of that caliber.
Our trepidation began with the drinks — I ordered a «perfect lavender», advertised as gin, elderflower liqueur, fresh mint leaves, and tonic (33 lira). I received a green beverage with strong artificial flavor, and exchanged it for a gin and tonic — which ended up being 42 lira. Never have I been to a country where a standard drink is more than a speciality cocktail. The price differential should have been disclosed — I felt quite taken advantage of.
Our appetizers were the high point of the meal. The zucchini fritters are as delicious as everyone says, with a generous portion that can easily be shared. The veal tongue was also excellent, as was the sea bass with aubergine, which reminded us of babaganoush, but with fish. The entrées were pretty good, though the chicken was nothing to write home about. On the other hand, the sea bass was grilled with a pleasantly sweet marinade and well-​complemented by the apricots.
We also faced rather taciturn and unenthusiastic service (which to be fair, could be because of a language barrier). When asked to explain a dish on the menu, he responded that it was seafood, then listed vegetables. Confused, I asked if it was a vegetable dish and he responded, «yes». Throughout the night, he barely spoke to us and never really checked to see if we needed more water (we did) or how our meal was going.
Bottom line: nonexistent service (in a country renowned for hospitality) coupled with food that was good, but not memorable, left us wishing we’d gone elsewhere.

This restaurant was excellent. We ate a late lunch and my only complaint was that the food was very slow to come out. The interior was beautiful and very calming. The food was delicious. We ordered an appetizer, fish, and a salad. Each were unique and well executed.

I’ve eaten here twice now and each time was an elegant experience with sophisticated, fairly fusion menu choices and a well-​edited Turkish wine list. The location in Karakoy is intriguing and makes for an adventure to find. Only 4 stars from me however, as once again I found the service too aloof and the atmosphere overly business-​English-​speaking for my tastes.

I don’t know how we got in, but we did. Twice. This restaurant books reservations 2 months in advance and sometimes says call back in 2 mos…
Definitely make a reservation as well in advance as possible. There are sometimes early seatings at 6:30PM and you can get in.
The chef was trained by the French Culinary Institute and worked at Eleven Madison Park in NYC.
The food is out of this world. The restaurant does Turkish fusion and makes Turkish food with traditional and not so traditional combinations of spices and methods of cooking. We loved the mucver that is usually cooked as a fritter and here prepared like falafel. Lots of interesting things on the menu like this. I also really, really liked the wine. I prefer something bold and found fantastic wines from Turkey by brands that I’ve never seen in supermarkets or wine shops. Don’t miss this restaurant on your trip to Istanbul!

Fantastic meal with an innovative twist on all the Turkish classics. We went for lunch because we did not feel like being locked into dinner reservations (and couldn’t get a table otherwise), and were delighted by the whole menu.
Love the décor of the building and that the chef has some of the concepts and recipes written up on the mirror. It immediately builds a bridge between the dining room and the kitchen, a place I would’ve very much liked to explore had I had the extra time. The food is delicious and creative, and for the price, excellent value for money. Every meal we had in Istanbul was different in some way, from homegrown and traditional, to variations on the classics, and this was an easy favorite.

Excellent food and very friendly service for our last night in Istanbul :-) You should try the pomegranate mojito, this is simply heaven ! My wife had the lamb and I the duck ! Both were very well done and tasty! Lots of flavour. The atmosphere was relaxed and trendy! No problem to get a table but we were early and right in the middle of February!

Great restaurant ambiance, great flavours! Reservations required. My partner had the beef tenderloin, rare, and he says it may be the best tenderloin steak he’s had in a long long time. I loved the pastry kayadif appetizer, simple but excellent pairings of feta cheese and rosemary honey and crunchy buttery pastry. I would totally recommend this place! Word to the wise, they seem to cater toward tourists (lots of Americans dining here) so maybe not the most authentic experience but it never seemed trite or contrived. Very excellent meal in Istanbul.

A year late, but I still regret not going here more than once when we were in Istanbul for our honeymoon. This ranks up there with Verju in Paris in my book.

ı’ll say, it’s delicious and has nice twists on traditional recipes; but price /​performance ratio — not so good. Try Gram in Taksim instead, same chef, a more casual setting and your money stays in your pocket.

They are amazing with their foods but staff was just really disappointing for me, we felt so annoyed by the waiter’s attitude towards us but you should try, it’s one of the best in town ! Also, you should make reservations before ! Otherwise their is no way !

This was easily the best meal I had in Istanbul and quite possibly in the past year. The ambiance is polished so we were a little hesitant about showing up in jeans and t-​shirts with our 5 year old in tow. In typical Istanbul style, they were welcoming and we blended in with the posh, the shabby and whatever it was we were doing.
We stayed with fish for the evening starting with smoked sea bass with blood orange, fresh herbs and nutty olive oil. Zucchini fritters in their cheesy goodness and a huge fishcake also made their way to the table.
The main was smoked sea bream with a beet and almond tabbouleh. Almost too incredible to describe. The massively smokey fish was counterpointed perfectly with the bright, acidic tabbouleh and the crunch of the almonds.
The service was warm and entertaining. Can’t wait to go back on my next trip to Istanbul. Reservations are a must.

Situé dans le coin des docks à beyoglu, ce restaurant design est très agréable, les plats sont absolument excellents, et le service très courtois.
il est indispensable de réserver en weekend.

Very stylish restaurant and incredible food.
Arguably the food isn’t entirely turkish, but it’s well executed nonetheless, in a sort of modern, well-​interpreted version of regional Mediterranean cuisine for the well to do whom have international tastes.
Octopus is well done– fresh and tender,
Sea bream is delicious and healthful with a bed of quinoa
Mastic ice cream/​helva with red cherry sauce is arguably the most turkish item but so well done here.

So after almost two weeks in Turkey, our final dinner in Istanbul turned out to be the best. What made it best? I’d say the meal was prepared with more personality and attention than any other. At this point it’s important to note the menu offerings were probably the least Turkish of any; arguably it wasn’t Turkish at all, except for the Chef and ingredient sources. All that matters to me is the success of the dishes from the kitchen, and in that regard everything was perfect.
Our family of four shared 3 appetizers: amazing crisp fried anchovies, deboned no less, with aioli; beet root salad with cheese, hazelnuts & orange zest and fried zucchini fritters, served with a yoghurt dip. The entrees consisted of Seabream which had been smoked yet remained amazingly moist, served over bulgher infused with beet flavour; Seabass with a persimmon glaze and chicken stuffed with caramelized onion. Every choice had a fine compliment of tastes and textures along with able execution. It’s disappointing when dishes sound great but the kitchen is unable to pull it off but that’s not the case with Lokanta Maya, Chef has the ability. We shared only the Banana Brûlée with vanilla ice cream for dessert, everyone being full, a nice simple finish to a fine meal.
The space is more refined than average for Istanbul; quite comfortable with professional service. Be sure to call ahead as it’s not a big place and it’s often a full house.