During our several day trip to Istanbul, we made stops at several restaurants. Of course, the city has many more. Our hotel did a great job in steering us to some fabulous places.
Roof Mezze 360 Restaurante
Our first Istanbul dinner began with a very tasty avocado and broad bean dip with garlic, olive oil, labneh, walnut, and dried tomato with pita. We followed with a lamb/beef pistachio kebab (which we found a bit dry) with rice, potato, roasted peppers, and tomato. While we asked if they may have something like a Tzatziki sauce that may go with the kebabs, they had never heard of it. When we explained, they pulled together their own very good version that worked very well with the kebabs. We moved onto a delicious calamari body stuffed with baby squid in a boiling hot oyster sauce. Although we thought we were done, the restaurant had other ideas. They brought a delicious Turkish dessert called Katmer, a type of frozen yogurt wrapped in phyllo honey. It was a wonderful way to end a meal. Our server recommended a medium-bodied 2000 Thia Okuzgozu Kirmizi red wine based on a grape called Sek Sarap, which is somewhat comparable to a Pinot Noir. The restaurant’s rooftop, provided lovely view of several of the city’s well-lit landmarks.
Adella Seafood
This seafood restaurant seemed very over-priced to us. Its food was expensive but its wines were even more expensive. They seemed to have 3-4 times mark ups over comparable wines we had been seeing. Fortunately, we were not particularly hungry. We began with an unusual (and not especially interesting) appetizer of hummus with dried pastrami. We then shared a single entrée of calamari stuffed with seabass and calamari in a cream sauce which paled in comparison with the version we had at Roof Mezze 360 Rooftop. We had two glasses of very overpriced Turkish white wines: 2021 Diren Narince (a medium-bodied wine from an amber-colored grape that is similar to a Chardonnay) and a 2021 Lucien Arkas Mon Reve blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. Both were okay, but neither were memorable. Nor was the service befitting the prices. We do not recommend this place.
Pandeli Restaurant
We had lunch at this popular, casual restaurant that is located above the city’s Spice Bazaar. The sliced lamb/beef doner kabab was dry and didn’t come with any sauce. The lamb kebabs covered by roasted eggplant in a light tomato sauce were quite good.
Constantine’s Ark
We finally found the good hummus (with lemon, tahini, garlic, and olive oil) that we had hoped to find that was served with wonderfully thin, crispy Turkish bread (with sesame) on which to eat it. We also got grape leaves stuffed with rice onions, mint, pine nuts, and cinnamon. We followed this with perfectly cooked, moist lamb kebabs with tasty bulgar rice, grilled peppers, and home fries. Our wine was a pleasant, albeit pricey bottle of 2019 Karma Merlot from Bogazkere. We finished with an apple hookah. It was a nice final meal in Istanbul.
Our Hotel
Orientbank Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection
We have to give a shout out to our beautiful hotel that was in a perfect location. While the rooms are small (very small), they are in an historic building and there is only so much they can do. Each room seems to be unique. The staff was fabulous although their English was sometimes hard to understand. But they did everything they could to make this an enjoyable stay. Breakfast in the lobby was extensive.
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