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“Great food, fantastic views, recommended ”

Harem Istanbul Cafe & Restaurant
Ranked #22 of 13,584 Restaurants in Istanbul
Certificate of Excellence
Price range: US$10 - US$25
Cuisines: Turkish
More restaurant details
Restaurant details
Dining options: After-hours, Reservations
Neighbourhood: Sultanahmet
Description: Take A Gastronomic Journey Into The Heart of Ottoman Cuisine...come join us for vibrant, exotic and colorful food to excite your taste buds. At Harem Istanbul, fresh, local ingredients are combined into dishes fit for an Ottoman sultan. It's time to enjoy one of the classic world cuisines in a hospitable environment in an ancient yet cosmopolitan city. Just steps from Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, we are in the heart of Old Town, yet it will be like stepping into a old Turkish neighborhood. We will treat you with the best that Turkish hospitality has to offer. We only use the freshest of ingredients for our grilled meat, handpicked from the butcher each morning and cooked on a charcoal barbecue. Our meat dishes are based mostly on lamb. Chicken and beef is also an excellent option offered. Vegetarians will also find many savory and flavorful options such as steamed casseroles and Turkish mezes made by seasonal vegetables, humus, smoked eggplants, hadari (with homemade yogurt).
Tarporley, United Kingdom
Level 6 Contributor
183 reviews
89 restaurant reviews
common_n_restaurant_reviews_1bd8 157 helpful votes
“Great food, fantastic views, recommended ”
Reviewed 27 April 2017 via mobile

Nice restaurant overlooking the water round the side of the spice market.

Food was spot on, very good.

Staff fine, no issues.

Clean, tidy. Great spot for dinner.

At the higher end of local prices, but worth it.

If you looking for lunchtime food try the row of fish restaurants under the bridge.

Fish kebab 10 lira !

Visited April 2017
Helpful?
Thank themeparkphobia
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
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607 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    511
    68
    16
    9
    3
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date | Rating
  • Arabic first
  • Chinese (Traditional) first
  • Chinese (Simplified) first
  • Czech first
  • Danish first
  • Dutch first
  • English first
  • French first
  • German first
  • Greek first
  • Hebrew first
  • Italian first
  • Japanese first
  • Korean first
  • Polish first
  • Portuguese first
  • Russian first
  • Spanish first
  • Swedish first
  • Turkish first
  • Any
English first
Level 2 Contributor
8 reviews
7 restaurant reviews
common_n_restaurant_reviews_1bd8 1 helpful vote
“Excellent food and wine!”
Reviewed 24 September 2016 via mobile

We ordered a selection of starters, including vine leaves and a shrimp casserole, which was beautifully seasoned. The portions were very generous, and everything tasted great.

For mains I ordered the Turkish ravioli, and my partner had the iskender kebab, both of which were delicious. The ravioli was rich, and so unlike its Italian counterpart, and the lamb was beautifully cooked in a extremely tasty sauce.

My partner had a dessert, as well which he enjoyed, and we shared a bottle of Turkish wine.

All of this came to the equivalent of around £50 for both of us, and we felt the quality of both food and service was worth every penny!

Highly recommended!

Visited September 2016
Helpful?
Thank CatSFStiles
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
1 review
“Mystery order = magic food”
Reviewed 6 September 2016 via mobile

Stopped for a quick arvo beer, enjoyed the place so much i came back a few hours later for dinner, unfortunately the place was quiet, but that in no way represented the food, didnt even look at the menu, just asked for something nice and boy was my wish granted! Beautiful food, ice cold beer and lovely service and free Wi-Fi, made me completely forget i was dining alone
I will be back

Visited September 2016
Helpful?
Thank Lawrence W
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia
Level 1 Contributor
2 reviews
common_n_restaurant_reviews_1bd8 1 helpful vote
“Not good food”
Reviewed 31 August 2016 via mobile

Food was not fresh and it has bad taste and they brought can juice and claim it's fresh!!! That's not good resturant at all

Visited August 2016
Helpful?
1 Thank alhejjihn
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
2 reviews
common_n_restaurant_reviews_1bd8 6 helpful votes
“Trip advisor gets it wrong sometimes”
Reviewed 8 August 2016 via mobile

Me and my friend visited Istanbul, and it was one of our first nights there, so we checked the TripAdvisor app, and saw that this had a fairly decent rating. So we went. The guy that owns the place seemed charming as did his son, both speak fluent English and put us at ease straight away. We waited a little while for our food, but we didn't mind. When it did arrive the portions seemed rather small compared to the pictures on the menu and tasted rather under par. But hey we thought, these things happen. Then we ask for the bill. It came to approx £44, which was probably about double what the meal was worth. He also added a mystery 'tax' to the bill. We were pretty Disgusted and just paid and left. It was a horrible experience of street food dining, at that price we could of dined at a five star establishment. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant, just felt like he ripped me and my friend off.

Visited August 2016
Helpful?
5 Thank Mr B H S
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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