Picante

The best Mexican food in town!!! Margaritas are also great!!! The oeners are very friendly and the service is superb. Thanks!

As a US expat living in East Turkey, this restaurant was everything I needed. Guacamole was great, they have REAL sour cream, and good margaritas. Also, great tortilla chips. I want to eat here every night.

I have been back several times since my initial review. I have added another star. They have expanded their menu so there are a much better selection. The owners are very friendly and we’re happy to accommodate my husband’s somewhat experiential drink preferences. He had the steak chimichanga. I had the pulled beef burrito and we shared ground beef nachos. Beef 3 ways and all of them very good.

Great change of pace here in Istanbul! After being on the tourist trek for 3 days we were a bit kebabed out.
Picante had very authentic and delicious Mexican food. (with some unique Turkish twists…) I started with a margarita and we shared some chips and guac… yes!!! Real, delicious, fresh guacamole in a town that doesn’t appear to have a single avocado in it. The margarita seemed a bit pricey but it was quite good, and actually reminded me a lot of Hussongs. To eat, I had the beef taco plate and the wife a veggie quesadilla. My tacos were very good, the side of refried beans were amazing with some extra spice I wasn’t used to. Her quesadilla was a bit… uhmm… different with Turkish cheese and veggies in it but she loved it. To top all of it off they had their own extremely spicy hot sauce, it was so good I brought a bottle home. The meal total was less than 100 lira and we were definitely satisfied.
Also of note is that Picante is in the center of all the action with a ton of bars and clubs around it… as far as we could tell this part of Beyoglu is THE place to be on the weekend in Istanbul.

A little overpriced, but as the only Mexican restaurant we’ve come across, it’s hard to complain. My husband and I both had enchiladas, which were quite good. Lots of vegetarian options, and a solid drink list. The service was the warmest we’ve had in Turkey, and it’s obvious the owners take pride in their restaurant.

The food here is fantastic. I remember commenting to my friends that you could tell it was made with love. The owner is very passionate about his restaurant and it reads through his treatment of his customers and the food that he makes. I went to this restaurant after weeks of kebaps and doners, and it really hit the spot. A little overpriced, though this is understandable due to the lack of Mexican ingredients found in Turkey. The combo really can’t be beat — kind, wonderful owners and delicious food. I wish they would come to the States and open up a restaurant here so I could visit them more often!

While my husband has thoroughly enjoyed the meze platters and tea that Istanbul has provided us, he decided that he needed a little Mexican fuel to satisfy his undying love of corn, hot sauce, and cheese. Enter Picante. We were pretty surprised to find a Mexican restaurant amongst the land of dolmas and hummus, and this could be why Picante can set such high prices and get away with it. My husband ordered veggie enchiladas and a Sprite and I ordered the veggie burrito and our bill came to 56 TL. Given that the portions weren’t too heavy, this was even more than US prices. My burrito was the same size as what I could get at Taco del Mar for $ 6 less.
However, the food was tasty and hit the spot, and the service was excellent. The location is great for people-​watching and has really neat décor. The long and short of it is that I would only go here if you don’t mind paying at least 50 TL for 2 people or if you are really hurting for some Mexican food.