Old House Restaurant Terrace — Restaurant in Fatih

Avoid at all costs!

Not sure how this place is rated 4.3 out of 5. Being a Local Guide with a long travel history I can confirm that it's worth 1 star only. Well, I've already spent 3 full days in Istanbul eating in different places in old town and that's the worst one for sure.

Typical tourist trap and I was easily caught like a mouse. Have been walking to my hotel, I was moving near this restaurant and the guy came to me from saying that they have a delicious food since his mother is a chef. Having not enough time to check for other places, I decided to give it a try. Well, if that was true, his mother should reconsider cooking. Anyway, I have to blame myself only.

Pricing. It's crazy actually. I spent 95.70 for mixed grill and small cup of Turkish tea. The highest price I paid since I've arrived to the city for such a miserable amount of food! I was also provided with a tiny piece of baklava and another cup of tea after the main course - just would like to mention it as well, however, that wasn't a relief at all.

Food. Really below the average. Looks like I was given the worst meat they had. The lamb wasn't salted and was old. The chicken wasn't grilled properly and kefte were awful, tasted like heated in microwave. Moreover, the majority of the meal consisted of chicken - the cheapest meat you can find. No traditional bread or kebab in the meal. The salad consisted of cabbage and carrot only.

Small portion, so I had to buy nuts in the store to finish my dinner.

The guys working there seem to be nervous people, running, floating around, annoying, staring at the guests, despite there were a few people in the restaurant except myself. The waiter even threw down the cutlery on the plate of one of the guests, although he apologized. At least, they had a fast Wi Fi inside.

So, once again, avoid this place full of scam. If you can, just take 10 minutes walk at the direction of Galata bridge and you'll find heaps of places with affordable prices, friendly professional staff...

We stayed in istanbul for four days, so we thought we would give this place a try since it was on the same street as our hotel. When we entered the restaurant we were lead to the terrace through a long dirty staircase that had a peculiar smell. We sat on the terrace at night but were very surprised that there was not a single light whatsoever. We tried to get our waiters attention but he was preoccupied with other guests and constantly on his phone. When we finally got someones attention we asked to be moved to the lower level so we could actually see our food. When we got our food everything was very underwhelming. We ordered the boneless fish special which came filled with bones. We had to remove the bones our self. The service was very unprofessional, the waiters kept knocking things over and they didnt even notice that our table didnt have napkins until after our food was served. I DO NOT recommend going to this restaurant the service and food are not worth the hefty price tag or aggravation. I have no idea how this location has so many good reviews it certainly does not...

At the end of the meal everyone at our table clapped!

We first came here by accident while looking for a good old Turkish coffee. What a nice experience it was! On the balcony we have heard a bit of the prayer coming from the Blue mosque that is located just a few steps away.

The staff is actually made of family members who are all so very kind. Later we realised the name The Old House has to do with the property history. You can ask the family to give away a bit of the story as I don’t want to ruin the experience :)

We came back for dinner and oh my gosh how delicious it was. We had some meze as a starter: Yummy! For the main I had the Sultans favourite meal “Hunkar Begendi” or a lamb dish made with puréed eggplant and my sister had the “Kuzu Guvec” or Lamb Casserole.

We trouly recommend this place for the authenticity and lovely atmosphere and those who worry about things like cleansines! Everything was delicious!

PS you won’t have an issue...