Ali Baba Büfe Pakistani Restaurant Taksim — Restaurant in Beyoğlu

Date of visit: June 02, 2021 12:26 pm. The restaurant opens at 10:15 am. My friend and I were in the mood for some Indian food and this smaller Pakistani/Indian/Nepali restaurant was only about 400 yards away.

We decided to try a little bit of several things and just bring leftovers back to the room. We first tried ordering off the menu chicken biryani but were told it wouldn't be ready for a 1/2 hour. We then tried ordering off the menu butter chicken, which wasn't available. Then the lahori mutton karahi which also wasn't available. We ended up being able to order the peshawari chicken karahi, chicken tikka paratha, 2 vegetable and 2 chicken samosa, the chicken biryani, an order of French fries and a banana and a mango lassi.

We asked that the main entrees be brought out closer to when the biryani would be finished.

Our lassi drinks were brought out and our fries. The lassi were perfectly, and correctly made might I add, and fresh ingredients vs canned. A tart yogurt was used as its compliment to its fruit to offset the sweetness of the fruit. We both enjoyed them, however I would have liked a banana a bit more ripe, but that is simply personal preference.

The French fries were fried to a perfect crispness. No salt tasted like it was added so that we could determine our own appropriate level for that. I felt the French fries could have used a very light dusting of spice, but again, personal preference and they were fine. Then was brought the samosas. Holy wow, the veggie samosa was absolutely fantastic. The spice flavor combination was flawless for anyone who likes a prominent spicy taste in the veggie samosa. I tried the chicken samosa and it was very mild in flavor, but also perfectly made and perfectly cooked. Between the two though, I will take the veggies samosa hands down each time.

The next items brought out were the chicken tikka partha and our biryani chicken with a side of chicken on the bone. The sliced piece of chicken brought out was great. The light dusting of coating was very nice and complimented the chicken flavor well. The meat was neutral like a great piece of chicken should be versus a processed taste. The biryani had a bit of spice to it and was very well made. Chicken tikka partha I had never had before and was made very similar to how a quesadilla would be presented. A home run on this item. It is a bit on the spicy side for most people, but I found its spice level to be very appropriate for my preferences. By the time we reached the previous course we were both already pushing our food capacity and requested the leftovers to be boxed and the remaining food on its way out to be also packed up to go.

Apparently the peshawari chicken karahi was very good because by the time we returned home later in the day after dropping off our leftovers earlier our other roommate had totally eaten all the leftovers.

While we were there we struck up conversation with the owners son. He said they had been in business for about a year and much of their customers were word of mouth.

Everyone there was extremely nice. All the food is hand made on the spot in front of you and not pre-made. It is a, smaller 4-5 table restaurant but I have a feeling that the more people that eat there will be returning very quickly for additional meals.

My recommendations to the owners would be to maybe add some Pakistani/Indian/Nepali traditional sweets to supplement their main business and draw in more guests. Maybe some jalebi, milk cake, or gulab jaman.

Thank you for a wonderful experience. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because several of the dishes we wanted on the menu, very early after opening...

It is a nice cozy restaurant, 5 minutes walking distance away from the famous taksim square. We ordered pani puri, butter chicken and chapati. The immediate problem we had was, our food arrived 45 minutes after we placed our order. No joke, there are only less than 10 tables and we were sitting outside in freezing cold. (We had to because it was impoasible to enter with a stroller plus, there wasn’t enough space inside. We continuously asked whether our food was arriving or not, and they kept saying it is coming now now. The moment our food arrived we were completely numbed and lost our appetite. They apologized for the delay and said they everything is cooked fresh from scratch that’s why they were slow. -which is unserstandable. But I was a bit puzzled when our pani puri came freezing cold (the sauce and the fillings), they said that it is supposed to be eaten cold. Butter chicken was good and spicy. Mango shake was excellent. Overall we had a bad experience with the service. But the waiter was very friendly. And for their effort, I give 3 stars. Butter chicken was 60-65 TL, Mango shake 30 TL, chapati 4TL, pani puri around 35 TL

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Ok, 1- We were not warned that cooking would take 45minutes to take, you should know by now that this is not normal. 2- Sitting outside in freezing cold would not be a personal preference for any sane person. Our baby -as your staff has already seen a couple of times-, is not old enough to sit on a chair. It was practically impossible to move in your restaurant with a stroller. One could hardly walk between the tables. These weren’t big issues for us if you hadn’t written this response. What I am saying is that, any human being should be kind enough to tell a family that their order would take up to 45 minutes, so that they have the option to wait or not wait considering the discomfort of sitting outside in cold. I am not sure if you read my review carefully. We asked a number of times whether our order would be delayed, I even went inside the restaurant to check and each time we were told that our order is coming now now. With this ridiculous response, you dont even deserve a...

We had an absolutely fantastic experience at Ali Baba Bufe (Taskim) in Istanbul. At first glance, the restaurant is small and modest. We visited around 15:30, and to be honest, it was completely empty—which usually would make me hesitate. But since it came highly recommended, we decided to give it a try, and I’m so glad we did!

The menu is short and focused, featuring all the top-seller Pakistani dishes. Personally, I prefer a limited menu—too many choices often means average food, but here, every dish felt carefully curated. The owner, Tariq Mehmood, personally greeted us with a warm welcome and gave a detailed walkthrough of the menu. He explained each dish in depth, which made it easy to decide based on what we were craving.

We ordered pakoras and pani puri as starters, followed by Lahori mutton karahi, butter chicken, paratha, tandoori roti, and butter naan. Tariq explained that everything is made from scratch, so there would be a wait—but trust me, it was worth every second. From the first bite to the last, our taste buds were taken on a flavorful journey through Pakistan.

What really stood out was the depth of flavor. You could taste the freshness of the spices, and unlike many Pakistani restaurants outside of Pakistan or the UK, the gravies here weren’t overly sweet or “samey”—each dish had its own distinct profile and tasted authentic.

We cleaned every plate—quite literally wiped the bowls clean! It’s clear the kitchen puts heart and soul into their food.

If you’re in Istanbul and craving real Pakistani food, Ali Baba Bufe is a must-visit. Whether the flavor suits your personal preference or not, there’s no doubt that what you’re eating is made with care, skill, and authenticity. Highly, highly...