Retro Pera — Restaurant in Beyoğlu

We went there twice. Music can be on the loud side depending on the time of the evening but their falafel wraps and burgers are quite tasty and so are the fresh chips. The owner is a really welcoming lad and takes his time to make you feel heard and valued, really appreciated his service. We did not check the details in the bill but we do not think they are scammers like many wrote here - 2 huge glasses of wine and 2 vegan menus were 900TL, less than any dine in meal we had in Istanbul in 10 days. The staff are mostly friendly. There is a teenager whose function is not clear, he mostly sits at the bar checking his phone and doing nothing, but felt like he had to chase us in the street after we left, claiming we had not paid. He walked behind us like a creep until the owner confirmed to him on the phone that we had paid. Get rid of the useless staff, keep the ones who actually add some value, and you're set up...

Ordered shisha, which was mediocre. Stayed for an hour and paid 700TL. No price on the menu so I guess they can charge you whatever they want? $24+ for mediocre shisha is not the move 😑

Response to owner: we stayed 1 hour, 4 people smoked hookah (my uncle, aunt and young cousin did not smoke). It was our first night and we did not want to leave to find another place at that point. Again, $24+ for hookah is not good. Azure was MUCH better for hookah, but there are plenty of other good places as well. They also played music from 10-15 years ago. Yeah things could have been worse, but things could have been much much better. I mean look how the owner takes criticism. If Iiked the hookah, I'd have said I liked the hookah. Also sorry for the alllll the time you spent getting our 1 entire hookah ready.

Now downgrading to 1 star because the owner is a goofball that doesn't understand...

We had a cheeseburger and fries, but before we sat down and placed an order, we wanted to ensure that freshly ground meelat would be served. We specifically asked the question if the meat were frozen and thawed or fresh. The answer "of course fresh, always". So we decided to give it a go.

Worst decision ever. I do not know how many burgers, very good and very bad, we would have had in our lives. Many! We are true burger experts, and therefore it probably was a mistake to stop at this place for a start.

The burger was BY FAR the worst burger I have been served in my entire life. I took one bite and almost threw up right away. In one word: DISGUSTING.

Obviously I did not take a second bite and returned the entire burger. The waitress asked no question, perhaps it is common. Quite bizarre too.

Avoid this place unless your burger standards are...