California Roof — Restaurant in Fatih

During my 5-day stay in Istanbul, I discovered the best view of the city from this café. It offers breathtaking views and excellent service. From here, you can see the Bosphorus River and Bridge, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Sulemaniye Mosque, Galata Tower, and all the other landmarks you can name. You can even see mosques and towers from the Asian side. The café is located right outside the exit of the Sulemaniye Mosque and has indoor and outdoor seating arrangements with two rooftops. When it suddenly started raining, they provided big shades outside too. They also have some cool artworks at the indoor area.

I tried their tea, coffee, French fries, and Shisha, all of which were reasonably priced. So, this café doesn't hike up its prices for the great view. The waiters were very friendly too.

The highlight was the free Dervish show held right at the restaurant in the evening, which I believe they arrange everyday. Normally, you'd have to spend a good amount of money to watch this kind of show outside, but here it's free!

I highly recommend spending an evening there. Their Shisha is excellent and well-prepared. If you stay until 8:00 PM, you can enjoy the free Dervish show. I haven't tried their other food yet, but I'll definitely be going back on...

I tried to give this restaurant my money. I really did. Walked up to the top, enticed by pictures and prices on their LED board at the bottom of the steps. Got to the top, waiter seemed friendly. Scanned QR code for menu, which, despite this being a tourist restaurant, had menu only in Turkish with exactly zero pictures or descriptions. Couldn't figure the menu out without translating every single item. Decided to go back downstairs to the LED board with English menu and pictures. Took photos of the various screens that rotated through the display and ran back up the five flights of stairs. Waiter asked where I went and I told him I went down to look at the English board. He looked at me with what appeared to be annoyance? Noted, after comparison, that the prices in the current menu were much higher than was advertised on the board. I tried to get the waiter over to ask him about the prices, but literally couldn't get him to come over again so I could ask and order. Finally, I gave up and went to another rooftop terrace restaurant 200m away, Stera, which was great.

I tried to give Mimar Sinan Roof 360 my money. I really did. But they foiled my every attempt...

We were here for dinner for two main purposes: 1) to see the whirling dervish; 2) for the nice rooftop views.

Tables by the view of the city can be quite popular and busy, but we managed to secure a seat as the staff thought we wanted a table there. Amazing views, and probably a great place for the views.

As for the food...it was mediocre at best. Not much vegan options for me. The pasta was cooked beyond al dente. Almost bland. They have a box filled with packaged condiments (ie salt, black pepper, mayonnaise, ketchup). Prices are slightly high.

Service was average. They have a portable charger which isn't free and added to the receipt, but they didn't specify this when one of us asked where we could...