Federal Galata — Restaurant in Beyoğlu

As e regular visitor of Istanbul and a picky coffee lover, I’ve checked the highest ranking coffee shops throughout the city and have found that often, opinions given are confusing because people mix the quality of internet, food and cakes in the review for the coffee. I will focus only on the coffee quality which in my opinion, is the best at Federal in Galata, especially if prepared by Samet or Kübra-something like a ‘veteran’ barista because she’s been doing this for many years. I always take the double shot cappuccino served in the standard coffee cup for this type of drink, because I like the strength and taste of it as well as the perfectly made foam. The coffee blends change and I particularly like the one they have currently. Samet is my favorite Barista and I have utmost respect for him for the hard work he’s doing, helping out in all sorts of tasks, on top of making perfect coffees, never a frown, never an attitude, always kind, always with a smile! Hope his managers notice his qualities and reward him accordingly. Overall, apart from him, the rest of the team are also very kind, positive and welcoming, with an ambiance, energy and music choices changing depending on who’s on duty each day. Although I haven’t eaten there and cannot give reviews for food, for those interested, they have a versatile menu too, serving different salads, sandwiches, pasta, deserts etc., which look delicious and are served in a very...

The good : The café has a very European feel to it, Parisian rustic almost. Music was soft French music and the volume was satisfactory. The café has all kinds of seating that would cater for most, if not all and even has al fresco style table at the top as you enter inside. The furniture was also very chic.

The bad : We had a very poor experience on our visit. We ordered the grand Turkish breakfast(come for 2 person) and also espresso. The breakfast was so-so, the menemen was by far the worst I've tried, the other tapas style dishes were okay. We asked for extra Turkish simit and the waiter told us hesitantly that the chef won't like it, so I offered to pay extra but ağın was refused bearing in mind that the waiter spoke English fluently. Then I asked for turkish tea which they didn't seem to have bearing in mind we ordered 'Turkish' breakfast. The espresso after taking the first dip, had to be abandoned. I relayed this to the waiter for it to be passed on to the management of they wish out cared for it. In any event, will not...

I had higher expectations from here based on the reviews. Hailing from the U.S., I'm not expecting the same quality of coffee as there but so far, my experience of small coffee places in Istanbul have been surprisingly good. Unfortunately, the coffee here is pretty basic but it's really the baristas service that was shocking.

We came in as a large group after visiting Galata towers. For one order, she forgot to add the requested extra shot and when asked about it, sighed and rolled her eyes and my BIL just decided to let it go. For me, she made a Frappuccino instead of the requested ice mocha. When I mentioned this to her, again she started rolling her eyes and sighing and replied with, it's the same thing! No, it's really not, and for a barista of a local roaster to say that shows her ignorance and inexperience of coffee practices, as well as terrible customer service. Needless to say, won't be...