Giritli Restoran

I took a group of 20+ here to dinner after an all day work meeting. The restaurant was able to accommodate us on short notice and provided excellent service. We had the smaller pre-​fixe menu, which was still quite large and included: 6 cold mezes, warm meze, warm appetizers and sides, main course of sea bass, dessert and two glasses of wine for 35 Euros. All mezes were delicious and varied. The sea bass was remarkable — melts in your mouth. The whole dinner was over 2 hours, given all of the courses and the large number of people in our party. The waiter came up to me when people reached the two glass limit to see if he should serve more or not. I really appreciated the service, delicious food, presentation and rapid accommodation of our large group.

A wonderful meal in a lovely setting. The mezes were plentiful and delicious. We opted for the prix fixe menu which was a great value. The calamari and octopus were tender and very tasty. We couldn’t decide on our fish course so they brought us a mixed plate of albacore, mullet, and sea bass. The mullet was our favorite. The dessert was heavenly, crispy fried balls of dough, soaked in honey and served with homemade ice cream!
In addition to wonderful food, the service was excellent. The daughter who runs the restaurant with her mother speaks English, Italian, and French! On top of all of that was a posse of adorable cats who are ubiquitous in Istanbul.

Full of cats and smells terrible. Overpriced… we decided not to tempt fate and left without ordering.

We were presented with a 50 €/​person set menu (incl. alcoholic drinks) without any other options. This was a little unexpected, but the place seemed nice, so we went for it. The mezze was very good and quite a selection of about 20 dishes. It was followed by warm calamari, octopus and filled flatbread. The main course was fish of the day. Dessert were two nice dishes. All in all it was very good but a little high priced. The waiters were very friendly and the upper dining room very nicely decorated. Don’t expect cheap, despite the area.

What a gem! The food was impeccable as was the service. Perhaps most compelling was the authentic feel of the place. Ask to speak with one of the owners, Ipek – she’s the most interesting person we met on the trip. A memorable dining experience all in all.

After along day visiting the sites this is a great choice in Sultanahmet area. Granted, the better food choices are in beyoglu but this is an excellent choice if you decide to stay close by. You will leave full and everything is pretty good. At first it seems overpriced but it’s bottomless wine so in the end it’s actually a good value. We enjoyed the set menu bc after a long day we didn’t want to make any more decisions. Totally worth a visit if your in the area.

very authentic and off the beaten path. there is no carnival barker outside extolling the non existent virtues of their food that so many other restaurants in this neighborhood rely on. no one here is out to con you, the simple tourist. expect good food and friendly service.

Amazing service and an equally good meal. The wait staff is very friendly and helpful. They bent over backwards to make this meal great. The fixed menu was delicious. The meal started with 18 different little starter «mezzes». We couldn’t decide on a favorite. The grilled octopus just melts in your mouth. I can’t say enough about the octopus. The main course fish options were very fresh and delicious. When they say unlimited alcohol they really mean it. Our wine glasses were never empty. We walked away stuffed and very happy.
It’s a little hard to find. You have to keep going all the way around the corner to find it. It’s deceiving because it’s the first restaurant we found without someone outside begging us to come in. The neighborhood is very safe. Don’t be intimidated by the walk. Well worth it.

Well, I didn’t eat at the restaurant yesterday night even if I really wanted to! Four people, we asked for a table. A man asked if we had called, even if there were many tables empty, I said no, it was our first time! He answered that they had the table BUT if I knew about their FIXED MENU, many, too many dishes, we couldn’t eat for sure! The cost? 50 euros each that in Istanbul is A LOT! When we said we were not that hungry and we could share two fixed menu, he said no and the woman behind him (the owner?) quite offensively said ‘Italians’!! I think they were really rude and I won’t come back there even if I am starving!

Excellent food and worth the price. Had an old-​world feel. The service was very good, though the language barrier (our fault, not theirs) obviously makes it a little harder to establish friendly dialogue. I like the fixed rate menu because it was more than enough food/​drink and it allows you to sample several different dishes without worrying about whether you will enjoy something or not. All three courses were great and everything was tastefully prepared. Would definitely go back.

Yum!
We came here on our last day in Istanbul and though it was a bit of a splurge for us, it was worth it. There was so much food, all of it was delicious, and the service was on point. There was calamari, octopus, eggplant rollatini, seafood orzo; everything was really delicious. For dessert, we were given something the waiter called «finger muffins» which were like little bits of funnel cake alongside a sesame paste and apple. With the dessert we were given a strawberry liquor, which was a bit cloyingly sweet but still good.
My favorite part of this experience though, was as we were leaving, we got to say hello to the cats hanging out downstairs. One of them crawled into my arms and purred, which I found so endearing. FYI, I’m a dog person. We were also given souvenir corkscrew wine openers, which was nice. Mine ended up getting taken away at the airport though, boo.

I’m in Istanbul with my parents who are celebrating their 57^th anniversary. We decided to go for a special night. When I spoke to the concierge at our hotel I mentioned they had a car they can send to pick you up as it is in SultanAhmet which can be tricky to navigate and many taxi drivers don’t know too well!!!
PICK-​UP
They came on-​time as planned. Nice young man helped my parents into & out of the car. Off to a good start.
AMBIENCE
There is a nice courtyard with a covered area that was perfect for nice warm August evening. We arrived at 8:00pm, a little early for dinner, but there were at least 3 other tables, and around 4 tables more arrived after us. The whole place has about 12 tables.
FOOD
They offer a set menu with a choice of 3 different fish. The set-​menu is 50 Euros about $ 68 USD at going rate. Included was a a) seafood pilaf, b) about 14 different mezzes which they told us we could have as much of any that we wanted more of, c) grilled octopus (outstanding), calamari, (which comes fried but we asked for it grilled they said of course!!!) with a walnut sauce on the side, d) fish options (grilled sea bass, fried red mullet, or sardine wrapped in grape leaves, e) tiny greek donuts w/​ice cream (delicious), and f) tea/​coffee.
The meal also included unlimited soft drink or wine.
SERVICE
Was great although English was limited, we were able to communicate. They were genuinely happy to see that we enjoyed the meal. Owner came to our table to check-​in and was very pleasant. As other reviewer mentioned she is a clear presences and runs the show. Clearly has high standards and it shows in the food and service.
Overall, I’d absolutely recommend and if you are staying in SultanAhmet or near Galata Bridge definitely call and ask about their car service. We tipped the driver 20tl when he dropped us off and he was very thankful.

Giritli is near a touristy area of Istanbul, surrounded by all sorts of shops and restaurants geared towards naïve tourists. You have to look a little harder to find Giritli, though. The seemingly unassuming restaurant is hidden in a quiet neighborhood in the area. And unlike so many of the restaurants in that area, no one’s standing outside the restaurant shoving a menu in your face and telling you that they have the best food in town.
The most memorable parts of the Giritli experience for me:
1) The mezes — so many different varieties of it that I had to suppress the urge to squeal with delight. Everything we had was delicious.
2) The grilled calamari. It came out early in the meal. I don’t remember if it came out before or after the mezes, but it’s so hard to find good grilled calamari in the states. So this was a memorable treat.
3) The dessert — it tasted like perfectly fried donuts that were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, served with a side of a mysteriously flavored ice cream that perfectly complemented the pastries.
4) The service — the waitstaff wasn’t exactly friendly; our waiter had a deadpan face that was all business. Very different from the other personalities we encountered during our twelve days in Turkey. Still, our waiter was on the ball, constantly making sure that our water glasses were full, that our wine glasses were full, and that we were lacking for nothing. It was really very endearing.
In sum, this was our best dining experience in Istanbul and I highly recommend it!

This restaurant is set up in a garden style… totally open air in a large enclosed courtyard. The food is Cretan… it is a three course fixed menu including unlimited local wine and raki priced at Turkish Lira 115.
The Mezes are plentiful, around 14 dishes of a wide range of food types including wild herbs and foraged greens from the Aegean region… this is a tasty and substantial feast …
The mains are based around fish. We had grilled fish and the chef truly ‘nailed’ the Sea Bass… it was as good as fish gets when it is served grilled.
The desserts were so, so … Turkish ice cream and ‘toffy balls’.
There is an interesting factor in eating here… the owner/​chef has a domineering manner and has her waiter team running ‘here and there’, and she aggressively directs her staff in the eye of the patrons. Not surprisingly the staff do not look happy and the night misses that personnel engagement which is often part of enjoying a great meal… at one stage we had to self serve the water because managing from a distance does mean some aspects of good service get missed!
A good night, but by no means a great one…