Pio Gastro Bar & Bistro — Restaurant in Muratpaşa

Wonderful food, service and ambience. My partner has food allergies which were taken very seriously by our waiter, who took a written note to the chef to ensure that no mistakes were made. We started with tapas: bourbon shrimp with avocado cream and shrimp mayonnaise, smoked duck breast with onion jam, and sea bass tartare with pickled cucumber and rocket mayonnaise. The sea bass was exquisite: marinated in lemon and black pepper, perfectly offset by the crunch of the cucumber and the peppery tang of the rocket mayonnaise. The duck was served in smoke, rich, complex and sweet, beautifully complemented by the onion jam.

We followed it with lamb and monkfish for our main course. The lamb was served with pineapple and beetroot flakes - the best cut of lamb we've ever eaten, succulent and cooked to perfection. The monkfish was fried in cornflour with vegetables and cauliflower cream. It was good, but didn't quite compare to the rest of the meal; the fried batter flavour was a bit overwhelming.

To drink we had homemade lemonade, one glass with strawberries and one with mint: both refreshing and beautifully served with slices of apple. After dinner we enjoyed two unusual cups of tea, hand concocted with the care I would usually expect of a good cocktail. The Spicy Ottoman tea with cloves and cinnamon was fine, but the Winter Tea with fresh ginger, mint, lemon, black pepper and honey was exceptional. At 260 TL including service for the whole meal, this was a delightful fine dining experience and...

I recently visited Pio - a Spanish restaurant in Kaleichi - Antalya, expecting a unique fusion of Spanish and Turkish cuisine. Unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired.

The cocktails were a major letdown. While the menu promised a variety of flavors, what we received were sugary, overly sweet drinks that lacked the balance you’d expect from a proper cocktail. It felt like they had sacrificed quality for sweetness, making the drinks almost undrinkable at 600+ TL.

The real disappointment, however, came when we ordered nachos. What arrived was not even close to the crispy, cheesy, and flavorful dish I had in mind. Instead, we were served a bag of plain chips – yes, a literal store-bought bag of chips – with the explanation that this was the “Turkish version” of nachos. The chips were bland, with no real toppings or effort to elevate them to the level of an actual dish. It was hard to believe they were charging for what felt like an afterthought snack.

In terms of atmosphere, the restaurant was cozy, but the food and drinks simply didn’t match the environment. If you’re looking for authentic Spanish flavors or even a decent fusion, this place may...

22/12/24 review update: it turns out the food quality has clearly decreased. Was there again, for dinner and ordered the same dishes we have been ordering for over a year (beef tataki and truffled oil parmesan fries). It was empty with just 1 more table occupied there, which was already eating by the time we got our food and for my displeasure, the fries came as tasteless as they can be. They were extremely hard, the parmesan cheese was looking like shredded plastic and the tataki beef looked like cat canned food. The spicy sauce taste was not present at all and the caramelized onions looked like strings of thread... Almost invisible 😔 New photos added for comparison. Unfortunately there are lots of places that started so well l, with really nice food options, lost their quality in time. This is one of them. 24/02/24 We only go there for the beef tataki and the parmesan truffled fries. Last couple of times we've been there, the fries are too oily or burned.. not great. The beef tataki used to be better as well, but still tasted great. The music inside can be too loud sometimes, but they can accommodate the request to...