Seos Cafe Restaurant — Restaurant in Fatih

A Disgrace for the Center of Istanbul!

This restaurant is located right in the heart of Istanbul — a place where you expect quality service, a pleasant atmosphere, and at least decent food. Instead, we were met with a complete disaster. This is an embarrassment for such a beautiful city!

The prices are as high as those of a fine-dining rooftop restaurant with panoramic views, but in reality, it's a cheap and dirty place that doesn't even qualify as a proper cafeteria. The interior is depressing, the atmosphere is tacky, and the cleanliness is questionable, making it feel like a back-alley eatery rather than a spot in the city center. But the real horror begins with the food.

We ordered meatballs, kebab, and shish kebab, and what we received was not just inedible — it was a total insult to the customers. The meat smelled so bad it made us dizzy. It was clearly not fresh, with a stench of decay, as if it had been pulled out of the trash, soaked in liters of oil, and grilled to mask the rot. The shish kebab was rubbery, with the taste of old grease. The kebab was burnt and dry, while the meatballs were unbearably salty with a disgusting aftertaste of spoiled meat.

For a restaurant located in the heart of Istanbul, this level of quality is simply unacceptable! Both tourists and locals come to the city center expecting high-quality cuisine, but instead, they get this… If this is supposed to represent the heart of the city, it’s a very poor representation indeed.

On top of that, the tables were sticky, the plates poorly washed, and the staff showed no interest in responding to complaints. It was a complete disappointment and a waste of money.

The center of Istanbul deserves better establishments, not this nightmare. Avoid this place...

⚠️ WARNING – BAD FOOD, HIDDEN FEES, AND POOR SERVICE ⚠️

Everything was dry and tasteless. My sister’s salad was even spoiled and had no seasoning at all. The kebab came without any sauce, was dry and the portions were stingy. The bread was dry and barely tasted like bread. The bulgur grains were thin and cold – definitely not okay.

Compared to other restaurants in Aksaray, where the kebab is juicy, tea, salad, and yogurt are always included at no extra cost, this place felt absolutely horrible.

We had to ask ourselves if tea was included and when I asked if something was free, the atmosphere, for a moment, turned awkwardly silent.

Then came a 10% extra charge, written very small at the bottom of page 2 of the menu with a picture of Visa and Mastercard — a prepared scam! This was the first time we were forced to pay such a strange 10% fee — really VERY STRANGE! Even though we paid cash, they still made us pay it, which felt like a shameful tactic to make more money.

When we questioned the fee, the waiter got defensive and started arguing like he had rehearsed answers. He even showed a very short “receipt” from a previous customer and said “this customer has paid for the fee” and things like “I brought you your water, tea…”

The strangest part was when we asked for the bill after several orders and he replied in a mocking tone: “Already ready?” — totally unacceptable.

🚫 Choose another restaurant nearby — here you get bad food, bad service, and...

Served us cold chips as part of the chicken shish so asked for warm chips. When we asked for some warm chips, the waiter did bring it to us but then charged us 250 lira for said chips. We asked for it to be removed and he proceeded to say we have to pay for it because we ate it. He then proceeded to tell us he knew the chips he served us initially was warm as he tasted one (I mean I didn’t realise waiters taste your food before its served to you - how unsettling). Bear in mind, we did not eat the cold chips we were served and returned the cold chips specifically so he knew we weren’t asking for complimentary extra chips. He argued with us and threatened to call the police if we don’t pay 250 lira for the replacement of our cold chips (he also told us he was the manager, which I doubt). In the end we paid it because we aren’t going to die on a hill over 5 euro. We might have just got unlucky with this waiter, he showed no understanding that there could have genuinely been an issue with the food we received. We didn’t get his name but he was the one working on...