Naki Restaurant — Restaurant in Fatih

Ah, Istanbul. The city of wonders, where history, culture, and surprise 15% taxes blend seamlessly into your dinner plate.

We were lured into this culinary treasure by the owner himself, who performed a passionate TED Talk at the restaurant’s entrance. With the fervor of a man selling enchanted carpets, he pointed to an aging menu board and swore on the holy chickpea that we’d be getting hummus and dessert on the house.

He proudly waved his phone at us like a medieval scroll, showing a 4.8 rating on Google Maps, no doubt blessed by the Algorithm Gods, averaged from reviews written by his cousins, a few tourists in hostage situations, and a chatbot trained on optimism.

He pleads that his food is of "higher quality" than others, for the same price. A bold claim. Also, a red flag flapping in the wind of desperation. "Just give me a chance!", he begged us, watching us remaining undecided. What can I say? I was hungry. And gullible.

Once inside (or rather, outside, where the wind was recreating a sandstorm scene from The Mummy) we were seated at a table designed for aerodynamic instability. Dust gracefully seasoned our food like the ghost of a clumsy waiter with a spice fetish.

The server, with the subtlety of a used car salesman on commission, lovingly guided us toward one of the biggest and most expensive platters, because why let hunger ruin a sales opportunity?

Then came the highlight of our evening: a stray cat approached us, clearly drawn by the smell of food (or desperation). We lovingly offered it a piece of our overpriced feast. The cat sniffed, paused in existential disappointment, then strutted away in what I can only describe as feline contempt. If cats gave Google reviews, this one would've left a 1-star rating saying "Not worth the purring."

The food was fine, neither a triumph nor a tragedy. Just edible enthusiasm wrapped in mediocrity, good enough to eat, but not good enough for the cat to stick around.

After the meal, the promised "on the house" dessert mysteriously vanished, possibly taken hostage by the same people who invent surprise fees. Speaking of which: a mysterious 15% “Tax” appeared on the bill, no explanation, no warning. Just the word “Tax”, floating there like an afterthought or a government experiment. And of course, because comedy is layered, the server came and looked at us with puppy eyes (perhaps trained by the same academy as the cat) and asked for a tip on top of that. At that point, I considered tipping the table over instead.

Final thoughts? If a man shoves his phone in your face and begs for your trust outside a restaurant, politely decline and follow the cat. She’s clearly a local, probably owns a better restaurant, and doesn’t waste her time on tourist traps with...

Review for NAKI Restaurant & Bar, Istanbul

We had a very unpleasant and even frightening experience at this restaurant. My daughter, cousin, friend, and I visited Istanbul and had lunch and dinner in many different restaurants every day. Unfortunately, NAKI Restaurant & Bar was by far the worst experience. The owner stopped us on the street and insisted we try his place. At first, he seemed polite and charming, but everything changed when it was time to pay. He claimed that their card terminal was not working and came to our table with just a pen and piece of paper, calculating a bill that was €42 higher than the actual menu prices. When I asked for the menu to check, it was obvious that the total he had written down was false. I pointed this out, and also reminded him that he should have told us beforehand if card payment was not possible. At that point, his attitude changed completely – he became rude, aggressive, and started shouting at us. A waiter then appeared with a working portable card terminal, which proved that card payments were possible all along. Yet, the owner kept insisting otherwise, demanding cash and even saying he would add tax on top of the inflated bill. On the menu it was clearly written that tax was already included. He then shouted that the menu was “old” and invalid. When we refused to pay the fake amount, he became furious, yelled at me that I was “just a woman” and had no right to talk back to him, grabbed my arm, and claimed that he was rich and didn’t need our money. He humiliated me in front of everyone, while several men (likely his friends) started gathering around, which made us feel extremely unsafe. In the end, my cousin left the exact amount of cash we had – which matched the real menu prices – and we ran out of the restaurant, genuinely afraid for our safety. After this experience, we didn’t even dare to pass that street again.

This was the worst dining experience we have ever had – full of lies, aggression, intimidation, and disrespect. I strongly warn everyone to avoid NAKI Restaurant & Bar...

We stumbled upon this place while walking through the street a few days into our trip. We were looking for a hookah place given the beautiful atmosphere. We were initially comparing the price of this hookah to the place next door, but visually looking, here looked better. We chose this place and the service was incredible. I requested a mint shisha, but the hostess, Zainab, stated their mint shisha that night was not very good, so she recommended grape (which normally I love, but it always depends). This is when I learned they make their own shisha, which is amazing. Fresh shisha and she wasn’t lying-fresh and tasty. It was great. We came back two days later and she recommended a very tasty white wine bottle. Zainab has been so kind and we truly enjoyed our time here. We hope to come back to our next trip. If you want a wonderful place with great service and...