Tatseven Alibaba - Eminönü — Restaurant in Fatih

Not hospitable towards tourists. This was our first meal upon landing in Instanbul. Chose this place because it was just across the road from the ferry terminal where we were planning to catch the boat to our next destination. Looked like it had a wide selection of food so we decided to go here for convenience. We waited close to half an hour for our food. Tables around us where locals came after us were getting served fast and they were all given baskets of complimentary bread but not us. Finally, because we waited too long and needed to catch our ferry, we told them to cancel our order and that's when they started arguing that they're already making it and it's only another few minutes away. We didn't want to make a scene so we told them to just pack our order for takeaway. At that point they also just then brought out the basket of bread for us but we declined because we were no longer interested nor had the time. Very...

The food at this place tasted good. However, what we witnessed was concerning, unsanitary, and unacceptable, so that’s why I am writing this review to warn people about it. The leftover bread we left, and from another table, we saw them putting them back in the tray from where they were serving everyone. I also saw one of the waiters putting a leftover chicken schnitzel from another table back in a main tray from where they were getting it to serve everyone. All of them were touching everything around them and then grabbing the food with their hands instead of tongs or gloves. Avoid this place at all costs. I regret eating here. I just can’t believe that they operate a restaurant this way, and a food safety administration has not closed this place. Extremely unsanitary...

Tatseven is currently my top recommendation for traditional food in Istanbul. The menu offers a large variety of options at reasonable prices. The lamb döner plate was a large portion, and it came with rice, blgur, fries, and traditional pickled cabbage. The içli köfte was airy and delicious. They also served tavukgöğsü, the chicken based pudding dessert, which was delicious and creamy. The staff were very friendly and spoke many languages. Overall, it was a positive experience, and I hope to go back soon for more...