16 Roof Bar & Restaurant - Swissotel The Bosphorus, Istanbul — Restaurant in Beşiktaş

My brother and I came here on Thursday evening, Oct 31st. We live in London but we are here for a short visit. A close friend (Turkish) of mine who lives in London used to come here so he strongly suggested this place for us. I had to answer the call and find out why this venue is so special. As soon as we entered the building, we were greeted by security with a smile and warm welcome, we went through the metal detector and then were shown how to get to the roof. We got off the lift on level 16 and wow! Simply wow! I have no words. Already sold.

We then were greeted by a host, Sevval who welcomed us and asked if we have a reservation or not. We said no and he said "don't worry, we will accommodate you". He politely asked us to wait while his colleague, who is called Ali, came to collect us. Ali took us for a small walk in the venue showing us around restaurant. He was full of energy and very helpful. We finally chose to sit the bar area and Ali directed us to his floor/bar staff.

We then sat down by Betul who told us how to order and to let her know when we are ready to order. As we are going to have a dinner elsewhere, we went for bites. Crispy Chicken was amazingly mouthwatering, 10/10. The lemonade and lemon ice tea was great! The drinks were made by Cem and emirhan.

All in all, I now know why my friend strongly suggested this venue to me. Unfortunately we are leaving back to the UK but I will definitely come back for a full dinner. I will also be recommending this venue to any friends I have who are coming to Istanbul in the near future. Great venue, top class service, delicious food and tasty drinks. Thank you for all for a great time.

P.s. the music choice was the cherry...

Im sharing my deep dissatisfaction with the service I received during my recent visit at Roof 16 restaurant.

I had booked a table in advance and arrived at 5:05 PM, just five minutes after the terrace opened 5:00pm. The restaurant was nearly empty at that time — only three tables were occupied, and none had ordered food yet. I kindly asked the waiter if I could sit at a corner table with a view. Despite the availability, he refused and said those tables were booked. However, your website clearly mentions that table selection is not guaranteed.

To make matters worse, just 10 minutes later, another couple arrived and was allowed to choose any table — contradicting what I was told. I was only offered two tables next to the stairs, far from any enjoyable view. This felt unfair and dismissive.

The service itself was even more disappointing. The blonde waitress who took my order was noticeably rude. When the food arrived, she simply dumped it down without a word — no greeting, no courtesy, not even a simple “enjoy your meal.” Her attitude throughout was unprofessional and unfriendly.

I had planned to enjoy a nice dinner, but the service completely ruined the experience. I ended up leaving after just one drink. I strongly believe hospitality staff should treat every guest with basic respect and kindness — sadly, that was not the case.

I hope you take this feedback seriously, as no guest deserves to be treated this way. There are plenty of better options in the area, and I would not recommend your establishment based on...

Went here for a birthday dinner, they managed to serve the steak ordered for the main course 3 times cooked wrong after which we cancelled the order. First time the steak was cold, missing the side orders, second time they told they cooked new steaks, but they had just heated it in the microwave so now they where very well done, third time they where again well done and not medium-rare. The sauce bearnaise was served cold, with the comment this was how to serve a proper sauce bearnaise - it should be warm but minor thing compared to the rest. Instead of accepting that they cooked it wrong the waiters started discussing with us about that this was correct and so, clearly not a place where they live the Guest is right understanding. Service was also not near any expected level of a hotel at this level, food was not coming to the tabel at the same time, side orders where served later than meat etc. You had to ask for getting water in the glasses as they would just fill a few and then leave. In the end the manager brought a tuna steak which I ate because I was so hungry in the end. All in all, not a place that I would recommend anyone to go. Only reason for going is for a drink with the amazing view, DON'T order food. 1 star because of food...