Lokanta 1741 — Restaurant in Fatih

I must start from the most disappointing thing. At my table there were 2 guests that couldn’t eat any diary product (milk, butter and cheese derivatives) and even if I reserved the table 2 weeks before compiling the form where the intolerances were asked, when we arrived at the restaurant no one remembered that. Moreover, these 2 guests could order only 2 of the plates on the menu, the less elaborate and interesting, even if we asked for any possible variation of the plates of the menu that could interest them.

The restaurant is in an antique hamman and is very elegant and fine furnished, marvelous I’d say.

Aperitif cocktail were very good, tasty, complex and very well executed and presented, even if a little bit expensive (around 18€ each).

The plates were mostly from the traditional Turkish cuisine, minimally presented but I’d say not so much re-elaborated for a such pretentious cousine, since we are speaking about a Michelin quoted restaurant.

Concerning wine, the list is synthetic but complete, we tasted a very delicious local red wine. The only problem was that the cheapest bottle had a price of 55€ and coming from Italy I have to say that it doesn’t worth it a big deal.

Considered we were 7, taking 7 cocktail, 8 starters, 5 main courses, 2 bottles of water and 1 bottle of wine (55€) we spent 92€ per person (638€).

Overall, the expense surpassed the experience, especially if I have to compare it to other restaurants in Istanbul where you can eat with way more fair price and with a more careful service. I’d say that it could be a really good experience for locals that can afford it.

It’s a pity but I hope reviews like mine could help the restaurant reaching the level it deserves, both in food...

Overall a disappointing meal. I would not return for the tasting menu.

Starting with the positives: The restaurant is very attractive, the dishes from the tasting menu were reasonable sized portions and a few were flavourful and well balanced (the highlights were the pide, moutabal, octopus, lamb loin and the desserts). However, the remaining dishes from the tasting menu were quite bland and lacked depth of flavour (especially the circassian chicken, roasted cauliflower and goose dumplings). Also, many of the plates prior to the main course were served as one portion in the centre of the table which had to be awkwardly split between two. There was little creative flair to the plating or consideration of how to present the food for the number of diners.

The pacing of the meal was completely off. We arrived at 8pm so we were one of the last tables to be seated, yet still it took nearly 3.5 hours to be served the whole meal. We had to wait more than half an hour for some dishes and had to repeatedly ask to be served more water. Several other tables nearby faced the same issues, so it seems the restaurant simply do not have enough staff.

I could have overlooked these issues if the prices were more reasonable, but quite frankly 14,000 TRY (£312) for 2 tasting menus and 4 glasses of wine is outrageous given the hit and miss quality of the food and painfully...

After having a pretty awful experience at a Michelin Guide restaurant the day before, I walked into Lokanta a bit nervous — and even more so when I saw a menu I couldn’t understand. But to say the least, my in-laws and I were blown away by this restaurant — the service, the food, everything. From a month-long trip across Europe, this was everyone’s favorite restaurant by far!

One of the male servers was patient and kind enough to walk our whole family through every item, explaining each dish and even showing us pictures so we could make choices we’d all enjoy. From the very first dish — the moutabal — we were already asking for seconds. By the time we got to dessert, we’d enjoyed everything so much that we decided just to order one of every dessert. The baklava and the chocolate dessert were our favorites.

Our waitress, Nurhan, was exceptional. She was attentive and intuitive, always nearby but never intrusive. Every time we needed something, she was there before we even had to ask.

When we’re back in Istanbul, we won’t hesitate to return, and we’ll recommend Lokanta to anyone visiting. This place absolutely deserves a...