Sultan Mehmet Restaurant & Cafe

If you want to feel like you are eating with your family, go here. We went in for lunch after visiting Topkapi and did zero research before. It was amazing. Great atmosphere, very interesting to see how the food is made and the staff is very nice and welcoming. We felt like home and went again the next day for dinner. We loving the seating and were glad to take of our shoes after walking around in the rain for hours. We spent a few hours there, laughing and enjoying the amazing food. I recommend the pomegranate tea and anything on the food menu. We tried the kebabs, the soup and kunefe, katmer and dondurma. We will be back next time for sure.

I had watched the woman in the window working dough and I thought today I would walk in and try the food. The young man who greeted me had helped his Uncles place in Brooklyn. He was warm, happy to share his food to people and helped me with my order. I had had a big breakfast. I picked for lunch a hot bread that was filled with cheese and fresh spinach and rolled and sealed for baking. It was delicious. A lot of families were here with the children in traditional booths where you take your shoes off and sit in a rectangular conversation pit with huge pillows. I ate at a table. I loved the place and felt like a native.

The food was very good, the waiters were friendly. The prices were in line with the city. I also really liked the atmosphere, we ate at a traditional table and it was a very nice experience.

The food was amazing, it looks like a family owned business and I totally recommend it to anyone who wants to try out the Turkish cuisine.

The food was good and the service friendly, but the prices are quite high for what you get. The cleanliness does not really match the price level and could be improved. The water looks fancy, but in the end it’s just water and not really worth the extra cost. On the positive side, the standard table setup and the traditional Turkish sofra are very nice and lovely. They create a cozy and authentic atmosphere that makes the experience enjoyable. With better cleaning and fairer prices, this place could easily become a top restaurant.

The best choice in this area, do not hesitate, prices and service and of course FOOD is the best.. i tried 2 other realtors in the same area and same style but this one is the only one i can say is not a fake atmosphere.. it is so relaxing and tasty and best service.. specially the waiter Abdulrahman.. he made us feel as we are home.. big big thanks

Place is beutiful but people working there are not very friendly, we ordered three diahes and forgot to prepare one of them, small quantity for this price, tourist trap….

I absolutely loved the food here!!!! The prices are very reasonable, and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming thanks to the kind and pleasant people 🥰. I had all my meals here - breakfasts , lunch, and dinner. Every single dish was incredibly delicious. Truly a 10/10 experience. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for tasty food and great service.

Agreeing with other reviews that this is a TOURIST TRAP! Thought we were in for an authentic dinner, lured in by the yiayia rolling bread dough out front, however were shocked when the bill came out! Not just ridiculously overpriced, but dishonest in the way they charge for food (e.g., doubling the price of the meal if you order it “large”). Would definitely avoid!

AVOID. Horrific experience. Place is serviced by thieves. Police were involved. Worst experience of my life in a restaurant and tarnished me and my wife's first and probably last visit to Istanbul. It was only now when I have prepared to write this review that I have seen the other reviews that would have warned me not to walk into this restaurant serviced by thieves. We were offered a "small kebab" and instead we were served the Ottoman Mix kebab at 4395 TL. (By the way there are photos of the menu on google from 2 years ago where this same Ottoman Mix was 2000 TL - crazy price inflation but not specific to this restaurant). We made it clear we were not very hungry so a small plate of kebab would suffice. My wife also made clear she is vegetarian so we wouldn't be sharing. I explained I was unhappy with the situation and hoped there would be an amicable solution. Even though a service charge was applied, and we ate at best 5-10% of the huge plate, I offered to pay 5000 TL to cover what we had eaten and some of the kebab, so we could move on swiftly with enjoying the holiday and not tarnish it with this experience. Without the kebab the bill would have been 3244 TL (including service of 695 TL!!) Manager said he wanted us to pay full amount of 7639 TL. Then he lowered to 7000 TL. I refused. He said he would need to call the police. I welcomed this. After 10 minutes I asked how long the Police would be and he said 1 or 2 hours. My wife from her position facing him saw that he didn't make any phone call since speaking to me so he lied about calling the police. I told him I was leaving and he said he would follow us until we paid. I offered the 5000 TL again but he refused. We walked to Blue Mosque area being followed by him. He stopped us and said he didn't want to fight and asked me to pay. I asked him what he meant by "fight" and he changed the subject. I told him I don't know what he meant but we need to resolve this as adults and it's best we go to the Police. After more walking I found tourism police. They spoke with him in their language. I was not asked much. We were then driven in a Police car to another police cabin a few minutes away where two officers spoke with him. I had to struggle to give the Police my opinion. In the end one of the officers looked at me aggressively and said I need to pay him 6000 TL. Being on holiday and not wanting to make our situation any worse, I walked back to the restaurant with my wife, followed by the manager. His colleagues were waiting for him with a card machine outside the restaurant. I paid the 6000 TL. As he walked back inside the restaurant his colleagues were greeting him and they were all laughing together. Absolutely incredible. My factual account - make up your own mind if you want to support this establishment. (As for the Police - shame on them as well. Incompetent)