Beyti — Restaurant in Bakırköy

Starving, and on the hunt for something that truly captivates Istanbul’s spirit, I stumbled across Beyti, a legendary establishment, mythical in status, dating back to 1945, and more notably featuring on Mark Wein’s best restaurant in Istanbul.

18km from The Ritz Carlton, the trip took around 1hr through Istanbul’s metropolis rush hour. A giant bull decorates the garden, signalling your stop.

A series of greeters met me at the front door, waiters moving at light speed, and effortlessly gliding to their destination, with copper coloured cloches preserving hidden secrets beneath them, ready to delight whoever was lucky enough to receive it.

After sitting down, I was frequented by multiple servers, each very well dressed, clearly and deservingly, very proud of their work.

I decided on the speciality starter, the “Imam Fainted”. This alone was an entire backstory of its own, the unique flavours bursting through impossibly, and was served in what seemed like seconds after ordering.

Next up, was the mixed platter. I’d originally eagle eyed the doner kebab, but I was kindly advised this was included in the mixed platter, which I had also ordered.

The doner kebab was served first of the mix - I was a little nervous I’d ordered the wrong thing, because there was no other signs of the other cuts of meat. However, after finishing the most perfectly sliced pieces of succulent doner, another waiter arrived and placed two sizzling pieces of grilled meatballs on my plate, along with mashed potato. Although arguably not ball shaped, these could be any shape they wanted, as they were absolutely spectacular.

Following that, I was presented with the sheesh Kebab or kidney grill (I couldn’t tell), but the cuts were perfectly singed on the outside, whilst perfectly cooked on the inside.

Finally, the lamb chop. I have no idea how this retained so much flavour. It was, quite simply, astonishing, and easily the star of the show.

Baklava, Turkish Tea and Turkish Coffee all followed, I somehow made even more space to fit in the Turkish hospitality. Once again, I was stopped short of tarnishing my meal with adding sugar to my tea, and I was given assurance that the Baklava was sugary enough, without adding sugar to the tea. The coffee was ultra strong and I felt like I’d just shotted 4 monsters, which was exactly what I needed from stopping me from slipping into a food comatose.

Truly satisfied and stuffed to the point of exploding, I was kindly offered a tour of the building by Yusuf. Softly spoken, and having dedicated 23 years of servitude to Beyti, there was magic to his storytelling that itself could have been a tour of Istanbul.

As we walked around, I realised Beyti is a time capsule, showcasing items collected from the Ottoman Empire, to various visits from Emperors of Japan, to Presidents of American. As we toured from room to room, what astonished me was the diversity in decor, almost as if each segment had been added on in each decade, each with its own story and charm.

As my journey came to an end, Yusuf bid me farewell on my journey after calling a cab. I left feeling like I’d just visited one of the great wonders of the world. I can’t wait to return and continue the culinary...

I had a wonderful experience at Beyti in April 2017.

I had a five-hour layover in Istanbul during a work trip and decided to leave the airport and catch a bit of fresh air, stretch my legs, and eat a real meal before hopping on another long-haul flight.

I found out about Beyti through the mobile Yelp app while waiting in the passport control line at IST; looking back I really wish I had known more about Beyti's illustrious history and renown as a fine-dining location.

As the restaurant's Wikipedia article states (yes, Beyti has a Wikipedia article), Beyti is located in an upscale and well-heeled neighborhood of Turkey's largest city. The taxi ride from IST was quick and I settled the fare with the driver for US$10.

As soon as I approached the entrance with my carry-on luggage, smartly dressed Beyti staff grabbed my bags and escorted me inside, the restaurant is large and there was no wait whatsoever.

As a non-Turkish-speaker, I was very happy to find that my waiter spoke fluent English and to see that Beyti has English-language menus available.

I spent about 75 min. at Beyti during my layover and ordered a three-course meal: (i) garden salad, (ii) steak, and (iii) baklava.

In general, I'm not at all a salad fan, but Beyti's garden salad was very tasty. There was a lot of red cabbage but it was flavorful and the dressing was exquisite. The steak was almost cooked perfectly, it was great to not have to worry about cutting meat with a plastic or butter knife during my layover. And while the baklava did take a little bit of time to arrive, it was completely worth the wait, very memorable.

I would also be remiss in failing to mention Beyti's very well-appointed bathrooms. The restrooms are extremely well-maintained, clean and spacious and were a pleasure to use.

Restaurant staff very kindly stowed my carry-on luggage in a storage room (free-of-charge) and called a taxi (that arrived in a matter of minutes) to take me back to the airport.

At the end of the day, I ended up paying just under US$50 for a delicious, three-course meal (generous portions) at what is certainly among the most visually appealing restaurants I've ever dined at. Beyti's staff is very attentive and the customer service here is impeccable. I wholeheartedly recommend Beyti and would, without hesitation, dine here again if and whenever I find myself back...

I was specific on the phone with the lady I spoke to on the phone that my husband and I were on a date and that we were looking forward to having a nice evening together. I even told her I wanted to sit outside and not in the center of the terrace. . Unfortunately when we arrived, we were seated in the center and I immediately asked to move once a table was available. The waiter said he would move us. Soon as we got our starter and asked to move, the waiter was trying to convince us that moving from our table to the other would help block the loud noises from kids sitting behind us. We persisted and it had. So many waiter's yet no one pays attention to when wine or water needs to be poured. Our waiter spilled my glass of wine on the table and tried to cover it with a napkin. That was making the matter worse as the wine glass was unstable. They should have completely changed the table cloth and offered an apperative or another glass of wine or champagne. The mezze’s were unappealing (lemon seeds should be removed from lemon slices, seeds from red pepper should be removed if it is to be used as a garnish), 3 hard bread rolls were used for mezze’s instead pita breads or ‘lavash’. We ordered 2 İskender. I specifically asked a discription of the meat that was going to be served and our waiter was not being being forthcoming. When the order came, it was a mishmash of different styles of meat served on bread, yogurt and sauce. Tea was being served before our bottle of wine was done. 3 times I was asked if my meal was done. We were offered a big bowl of fruits instead of being asked if we wanted dessert. We also paid 2x for pickles and cheese that we didn’t ask for. Hidden charges. Beyti was a reputable restaurant. A place we would get dressed up for, for special occasions and we would always get our money’s worth. We will not be coming back as everything was...