Menemen Beşiktaş — Restaurant in Beşiktaş

a stellar opening performance to get 5 star reviews, but I fear it's slowly degrading to become like the rest of the restaurants on that street: very mediocre.

the menemen today was still amazing (health to your hands to the chef) but the service left such a terrible taste in my mouth that I rushed home to write this review.

This place opened a few months ago. I ate here 4 times in one month. I've lived in Besiktas for 2 years, I told everyone it's the best breakfast in Besiktas, maybe the top 3 most delicious menemen I've eaten in Istanbul. the first meal was impressive (see original review below), but slowly, it's really disappointed me.

first, a small thing: they used to give a wide range of little gourmet appetizers (pickled peppers, cheese, olives, tomato, milk jam) sourced from around the country. now the appetizers are 1/4 the original size, and very average. no milk jam. cutting costs in a bad economy, clearly -- okay, whatever. I can accept this.

the music was loud -- a radio blasting -- where you can barely hear yourself think, let alone have a peaceful conversation at breakfast.

these would not be a big problem, if it weren't for the service.

the waiter who greeted us my previous 3 visits was very friendly, smiling, warm, attentive. I looked forward to seeing him when I went there.

today, the waitress who served us was sullen, inattentive, and moody. she greeted us with no welcome, and by asking, "does your dog bite." (my dog is as docile as a stuffed animal). she didn't set our silverware, but handed it to us in a jar. it felt as if us sitting there was inconvienencing her. by the time we were finishing our meal, she and her colleagues were sitting there eating lunch.

wow, I didn't want to interrupt their meal by asking for a check.

what a shame.

I would have continued coming...

If you want to try a Blacksea version of the famous menemen called "cakalli", this is the place to go. The owner and the staff are very friendly and the service is great. If you are seeking a wide variety of breakfast (such as "serpme" kahvalti) this place will be pretty basic for your liking. Having said that I was happy with the quality and the taste of the bread, olives and the feta cheese. One little detail I noticed was the wet wipes they served. Their brand was Eyup Sabri Tuncer, which also happens to be my favorite local cologne. Nice touch! Portions are pretty filling even though they may appear small when served. In terms of views, don't expect much as this place is right next to a narrow pedestrian and motorbike street. This was not a problem for me as my full attention was on the food! One disappointing experience was the toilet hygiene. That needs a bit more TLC in this establishment. I would definitely recommend this spot for a unique...

This is a specific type of “menemen”, not your typical one. It is from the city Samsun and they prepare it in a very different way which I did not like… My husband enjoyed it but I did not care for the paste/babyfood texture. I wanted the usual style…where I can taste the ingredients seperately and chew in my mouth. But if you like experiencing new tastes then this is the only place in İstanbul who can service Samsun menenen. The owners are from Samsun so they know what they are serving and they use all organic ingredients which is tasty. But the atmosphere was horrible! The place is in an ally way and when you sit on the porch all you see is buildings that are 7 steps away and motor bike park… and flies… The service is super friendly! The womens restroom was so dirty that I wished I had my phone with me to capture it. It looked like men used it too, pee stains all over the toilet!! I had to clean the space before I could do my business…. That was VERY...