Sur Balık Restoran Sarayburnu — Restaurant in Fatih

First I must mention that I don't get pay for writing this review, I am writing this first handed in the restaurant secretly on what I feel and what I saw.

My server today is Hamit.

We booked this restaurant via our Hotel receptionist, he helped us to call for the restaurant free shuttle service which take us straight to the restaurant.

When we get off the car, we were greeted and welcomed by one of the staff (I believe it's the manager).

Then the manager asked us where we would like to be seated, inside, outside or upstairs which can view the seaside, a "Thumbs up" on this.

We ordered Baked Octopus, Fish soup X 2, grilled squid as appetizers, and sea bass in salt as main course.

Baked Octopus had a bit too strong of beer/wine taste,a little burn but it was cooked spot on, not overcooked, which a lot of restaurant couldn't cook the Octopus right on the spot.

Fish soup was extremely tasty, just love it.

Grill squid taste very good as well, it wasn't overcooked, I am amazed on that.

Moving on to main course, we ordered a sea bass in salt, it's wrapped around with a thick layer of salt, "Hamit" set it on fire around the fish, after the fire is extinguished by itself, he digged away all the salt and pilled off the fish skin (because it's all salt around the fish skin) splited the fish meat between myself and my wife. The fish was huge, and we couldn't finish all. Most important thing, the fish is fresh and absolutely tasty.

Turkish tea that we got were nice, not too strong not too weak, Perfect!!

We were also offered mixed fruit.

Conclusion, the restaurant is very nice, nice atmosphere, staffs are friendly, they are professional and attentive.

Especially "Hamit", he smile to us all the time, and I also observed he use his true heart to serve other customers as well. Keep up the good work "Hamit"!!!

This is a word for tourists, some people think this place charge you a lot for a meal, but before you make a judgement, you have to think about the location of the restaurant sat in? The atmosphere? The choice of the foods? The professionalism of the staffs?

To be honest, if a restaurant isn't good and isn't full of customers, would you go to this restaurant? So there must be a reason why a restaurant charge you this amount of money.

To me, I had all these food and the total cost is 453 Lira...... it's not expensive at all if you compare to other major cities.

A general suggestion to the restaurant staffs, they should learn some more basic English (Except Hamit, because he can speak good English), so they can communicate better with...

When we arrived, we got served with some bread, olive oil with parsley and olives, but waited a long time to get the drinks. Luckily they served us with a bottle of water (without asking and which I assume was added to the bill considering the final price). We waited even longer for the food, about 45-50mins, but weren’t too concerned about that since we thought it was a good sign. Sea bream was pretty nicely filleted bar 3 smaller bones, but didn’t have too much of a taste, and was served with a bit of mash, one broccoli and sliced onions. Lamb chops were deliciously cooked to the right temperature, but were served with french fries and onions. I was shocked when I saw such restaurant serving that as a side. Of course, this isn’t mentioned anywhere on the menu. We got served with hot napkins, and complimentary semolina halva and tea on the house. The waiters were professional in a serving manner but were tending to those who they thought would spend more, so it made it uncomfortable. But when we were handed the bill, we were shocked by the price - with the tip it was 3000TL per person, so you be the judge of it. So, the highlight of this fish restaurant was lamb and the beautiful dessert and tea, but the rest would not make me recommend it. It seems too posh and expensive for something that isn’t...

Service and Atmosphere at I recently had the pleasure of dining at [Restaurant Name], and I must say, the experience was nothing short of delightful. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with a warm and inviting atmosphere that set the tone for a fantastic meal. One standout feature of our experience was undoubtedly our waiter, Mr. Hamid. His professionalism and attention to detail made our dining experience truly memorable. From the moment he approached our table, his friendly demeanor and extensive knowledge of the menu helped us navigate our choices effortlessly. He was attentive without being intrusive, ensuring we had everything we needed throughout our meal. The food itself was exceptional. Each dish we ordered was not only visually appealing but also bursting with flavor. Mr. Hamid also provided excellent recommendations, and his enthusiasm for the menu added to our overall enjoyment. It was clear that he genuinely cares about the customers and their...