Ziya Şark Sofrası Sirkeci — Local services in Fatih

Tucked away in the heart of Istanbul, Siya Şark Turkish Restaurant is one of those places that instantly makes you feel at home. From the moment you walk in, you're greeted with genuine warmth and hospitality that sets the tone for an exceptional dining experience. The staff are attentive, friendly, and impressively quick—service here is not only fast but also full of heart.

The star of the show is undoubtedly the mixed grill—a generous portion of perfectly grilled meats, each cut bursting with flavor and cooked just right. The ingredients are fresh, the spices are balanced, and every bite feels like a celebration of traditional Turkish cuisine done right.

One dish you absolutely cannot miss is the lahmacun. Served thin, crisp, and richly seasoned, it’s one of the most flavorful you’ll find in the city. Whether you’re starting with it or ordering it as a side, it’s a must-try that showcases Siya Şark’s attention to detail and love for real, honest food.

With its welcoming vibe, excellent service, and consistently delicious meals, Siya Şark is the kind of place you'll want to return to again and again. Perfect for both casual meals and family gatherings, it’s a hidden gem in Istanbul that deserves every bit of praise. Highly...

Pretty mediocre food, 3/5.

Perhaps I just got unlucky as there are a lot of good reviews from other people. I ordered a lamb donner kebab, and it was lukewarm, very dry, and not that flavourful. I had to force myself to finish as much as I could.

On the other hand, the mezze sides we got were decent, and my girlfriend ordered a vegetarian pide which was much better, so I consider this maybe a 3/5 option overall. As someone visiting from holiday, I was quite surprised as this was the first dinner we had in Istanbul, and I'd say the Turkish food I get back home is better than this place. Luckily, we ended up eating at much nicer places afterwards on our holiday.

The atmosphere wasn't the best here either because it has outdoor seating on a very busy street. One positive I will say though is that at least the staff are quite cheerful and friendly.

In terms of pricing, it is reasonable as it is in line with other restaurants in the main touristy parts of Istanbul. However for the same price or less, you can get much better quality food outside of Sultanahmet (say in Beyoğlu or on the Asian side of Istanbul).

My advice for tourists would be to try some restaurants in less touristy parts of the city to get better...

I wish I took a picture of the dirty forks and spoons they had on the table. I had ask them to change them twice and they were again dirty. They had dried food remnants on them. I had to go wash my own utensils so that I can eat. It was 4 of us and they started serving food in the most humiliating way where they go around every 15 minutes give u a tiny piece of Kebab and then 15 min later another piece and you need to wait till they decide to offer you the rest of your food. People don’t even feed their pets like that! They have no idea what appropriate food serving is. I asked the waiters a couple of times about items in the menu, they had no idea what they were! Why put em in the menu when you don’t even know what they are?! It seems that this place was good at some point and since it built its reputation, they stopped caring about customers satisfaction. I have been to multiple restaurants in Istanbul, this by far was the worst experience I had. Horrible service, Horrible head of waiters ( waiters were nice but not very experienced) The main person who was ‘distributing’ the food was rude, and disrespectful. Bottom line this is not a clean place, service is the worst I’ve...