Sarnıç İstanbul — Restaurant in Fatih

Overpriced for the Quality – Needs Improvement

My spouse and I dined at this restaurant, and while some aspects were enjoyable, our overall experience did not meet expectations. The food was not bad, some dishes were tasty, but they were far from being exceptional or worthy of the price we paid. The appetizers and main courses were average at best, nothing special in terms of taste or presentation—something you could easily find at many other restaurants.

The Real Issue: Price vs. Quality

The biggest concern here is the pricing, which simply does not match the quality of the food. The fixed menu was priced at 3,750 TL per person, including only a single glass of wine, which was a very basic Doluca—one of the lowest-tier options available. A more refined wine selection would have been expected for this price.

Additionally, we ordered a bottle of wine, which retails for around 500 TL in stores, but at the restaurant, it was priced at an outrageous 3,300 TL. Our total bill came to 11,900 TL, which, based on the current exchange rate (37 TL per Euro), equals approximately 330 Euros.

Comparing to Global Standards

To put this into perspective, I have dined at Michelin-starred restaurants in some of the most expensive cities in the world, including Paris and Amsterdam. In those establishments, I enjoyed far superior meals, with two bottles of high-quality wine included, and the bill never exceeded 150-200 Euros for two people. Yet here, for a meal that was simply average, I ended up paying more than I have at Michelin-starred fine dining establishments in Europe. This is simply unjustifiable.

What Are You Really Paying For?

One thing is clear: the restaurant’s design and ambiance are stunning. However, the pricing structure makes it feel like they are trying to sell the venue itself rather than the dining experience. The building is old, and it seems as if the high prices are meant to cover rental costs rather than reflect the value of the food.

Furthermore, the dance performance was underwhelming and does not justify the high cost.

Exceptional Service – But That’s Not Enough

One positive aspect was the staff, who were absolutely wonderful—extremely professional, respectful, and attentive. The service was top-tier, and I have nothing but praise for the team.

Final Verdict: Not Worth the Price

While the ambiance and service were impressive, the pricing needs serious reconsideration. A meal of this standard should be priced at 6,000-7,000 TL at most. With more reasonable pricing, this restaurant could attract a much wider audience and provide a truly enjoyable experience.

However, at its current price point, I would not return, nor would I recommend it. There are far better options available for both...

First the negatives: LOCAL drinks are included with the menu, this wasn't very clear to me and it isn't indicated which ones are local, so İ picked one that wasn't included and let the free one go to waste. service was a little slow at times i mentioned beforehand being bad with yogurt (severely lactose intolerant, esp with yogurt for some reason). The solution was to be served the same menu and İ was simply warned of what contained milk. While İ did enjoy being able to have a little taste of everything, even if İ couldn't finish it, it would have been nice if they double checked if İ was intolerant or allergic - huge difference!

As for the positives...whew. dining in a ROMAN CİSTERN. Bonus points for the person seating me, who gave a short rundown of the history of the place when he found out i study history. Very nice! the cocktail I had was one of a kind. İ had the cotton blossom. Sweet, pleasantly bitter, a punch of yuzu, i went through a whole experience with each sip. There were dried chamomile flowers on top for a dried floral whiff every time İ had some. "Cotton blossom" was a fantastic name for this fantastic drink. the food was hands down incredible. The care and attention to detail given to each individual dish were incredible, and each had a few different ways to experience it by having it with the little garnishes. İ never would have expected beets, berries and mint to go together, but İ ate almost the entire plate despite the labneh in it. The mezze was varied and covered everything - an earthy dish, a fresh dish, a salty savory dish etcetera. My main course, the beef shashlik, was so tender i thought for a second they had served me a minced meat kebab. They truly know how to elevate their ingredients beyond simply the sum of them.

Despite some small hiccups with the service i had an absolutely fantastic time, and if the current menu wasn't so heavily dairy-based İ would...

It has been a year since our first and last visit to this restaurant. The food was sub-par. Too expensive with too little portions. I’d rather go eat at a Michelin restaurant and protect my ears from the horrendous “shows” and at least have a gastronomic experience worthy of the cost.

And I’d like to point out a big mistake done by the entertainment team.

I had international friends over for a quick dinner. For the sake of historic interiors, I brought them over here. Because they had limited time before their flights, I wanted to have a good experience with them…

The music was TOO LOUD. Every 10-15 minutes some non-Turkish entertainment activity (dance or other types of shows) was done as if they reflect the culture here. It’s really tacky; zero taste.

The dancers seemed to be of Eastern European or Slavic origin, so not Turkish again.

All of this was tolerable until the point of the female dancer coming over to our table and having the AUDACITY TO PUT HER HANDS ON MY FACE while she was dancing.

How could you DARE to touch a person’s body without consent?! It was obvious that I wasn’t enjoying the show anyway, and she did that on purpose to provoke some reaction from me.

I had to push her away to stop her. It was absolute harassment from her part. I hated it so so much. And because of my guests, I did not make my way to the manager.

I’m an anthropologist, an avid cultural studies scholar, also a university instructor. This abomination of a “show” already misrepresents our history - it’s not Turkish, not Ottoman, not Byzantine, not Roman; it’s nothing! And then some stranger feels so comfortable to insist to put her hands onto a customer’s body. It was horrible.

If the managers see this review, I hope they take notes. (And if the management has changed since last year, upon seeing proof I would delete my comment and come back to try the...