Green Garden Restaurant Cafe — Restaurant in Fatih

We went to try this restaurant several days ago due to the unique atmosphere and the fact that no waiter tried to forcibly lure us in. It was unexpectedly the best experience we had in any restaurant in Istanbul yet.

The waitress was very kind and patient and when asked about the menu could describe and recommend clearly which menu items she prefers herself and what to expect from the dishes.

We went with the recommended aubergine appertizer and the lamb 'Testi Kebab' for two and a soup each as a starter.

When the main dish arrived, we were surprised by a very nice fire show, where the clay pot with the lamb kebab was skillfully opened in front of our table and served on a hot stone plate.

We also got turkish tea and pistachio Baklava free of charge after our meal, which was one the better baklava in Istanbull and the freshest we got in a restaurant.

The delicious on point taste, calm professional service and ambience was a truly nice experience after a tiring day touring the old historical sites of the Fatih district.

Would recommend going there. Definitely coming back next time we...

Tourist trap alert 🚨 – not the worst, but far away from good

We had dinner here during our stay in Istanbul. The staff was, as is typical in Turkey, very friendly – almost intrusively so – but honestly, that part was fine and even a bit charming.

Once seated, the pace slowed down a bit, though it was still acceptable. Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to expectations. Let’s just say it was nothing special – though at least there wasn’t too much of it. (Yes, that’s sarcasm.) Think “slightly better than below average,” and you’ll get the idea.

Up until this point, the experience hovered around 3 stars. But then came the classic tourist bait-and-switch: Pushing on you to write a review on Google. Also they mentioned something about better price. That in itself left a bad taste in my mouth – so I promised I’d leave a review later. Here it is.

The final blow? The bill showed that prices were listed without a 10% tax, which was only revealed at the very end.

As Swiss tourists, we appreciated feeling right at home – at least when it came to the price. Sadly, not the quality. (Yes,...

I can leave just the best feedback. We liked everything: food/ people/ atmosphere 👏 Food is great. We tried the best one I think - a special dish cooked in a clay pot 🤤😋 it’s amazing. We chose with fish (you can choose meat). It’s for two people, it’s big enough and it’s mouthwatering! 🥘😍 And except of a dish you get a show! It was great. We definitely recommend it to everyone! If you want to feel the Turkish atmosphere, eat great food, get a great service and stay in a wonderful place - visit it. 100% recommended 👌

There are other dishes we’d like to try till the end of our stay in the city. We have no reason to look for another place to dine. The restaurant is awesome and we’d like to come back ☺️👏

And sure you can enjoy desserts and...