La Romantica Fish & Meat House — Restaurant in Fatih

WARNING: Beautiful Presentation, Horrific Pricing & Deceptive Practices

My family of four (with a 14 and 11-year-old) visited this restaurant, drawn in by the inviting appearance. We were sadly misled from the start. The owner, with disarming charm, refused to provide a menu, insisting he would personally curate a perfect meal for us. We naively trusted him.

Our meal consisted of shrimp and squid appetizers, a basic salad, and an impressive main course platter of sea bream and sea bass, served with rice, potatoes, and vegetables (as shown in the photos – the food looked great). We also had four beers, a cola, and a bottle of water. For dessert, they brought us complimentary baklava and a fruit plate.

While the food was competently prepared and visually appealing, the shock came with the bill. A staggering €370, plus a €30 tip, totaling €400! This breaks down to an incomprehensible €100 per person for a meal that, based on their own outdoor menu prices (which I later saw), should have cost a fraction of that. This was, by far, the most expensive meal of our entire stay in Istanbul.

To add insult to injury, the owner flatly refused card payment, insisting on cash only. This experience left us feeling completely ripped off. Avoid this place if you value transparency and fair pricing. Do NOT let the owner "curate" your meal without seeing a menu...

Do not let the friendly attitude of the owner fool you. His main objective is to make you feel at ease to then take advantage of you. Only order from the menu and do not let them bring you stuff you did not order. They will charge you premium for it. Be careful with ordering fish. First, the quality is average, but then they will charge you whatever market price they want. Be very clear on what you want and only order what has a clear price or they will rip you off. What should have been a lovely evening ended up in a twenty-minute negotiation battle when we received our check. Service was very poor too. We received our food but had no plate, we received water but had no glasses, one order took forever…Long story short, I would not...

Tucked away in the Fatih district of Istanbul, only metres from dozens of hotels and less than a 10 minute walk from the Basilica Cistern and Blue Mosque lies the friendliest little restaurant you could imagine. From the moment we stopped to look at the menu, we were basically family. On our second visit, we were greeted by name with no expectation that we would dine there that night. In diametric opposition to the usual “My friend, come in a sit, what can I sell you? Oh you break my heart” grift that you get just walking past most places in Istanbul. The food is amazing, as is the service. If you find yourself in Istanbul and in need of a genuinely friendly face, do yourself a favour and visit...