Istanbul Turkish BBQ Restaurant & Takeaway — Restaurant in England

This review is actually 3 months old. The only reason I am posting now is because I was in the area and I remembered about my awful experience. I went to this restaurant with my family as it was the only halal restaurant in the area The one star represents the food only. The quality of the food was excellent but it was overpriced.

Now, the reason for the negative review:

The waiter who serviced us clearing had issues with us. He led us to our table without saying anything to us. He gave our menu' s without talking to us. He then went to the next table and was offering them everything under the sun. He was checking if they were satisfied and offered complimentary drinks and dessert. This was a Caucasian family.

When we were ready to order, I called the waiter over and he took the order. He wrote down the order and walked away. Again he said nothing to us. Behind us came in a group of 4 caucasians. The waiter did a hop,skip and jump and went straight to them. He was talking that much, I thought he was going to pass out. During the meal, the waiter did not come over and see if all was ok. He did walk past us a few times so he could have asked if he really wanted to. After eating, I asked for the bill. The waiter bought it over and there was no offer of any complimentary drinks or dessert. I don't expect to be offered freebies but I feel if you are going to offer one customer, you should offer others. I paid the bill. The waiter tried to round it to the nearest £10, whilst trying to claim tip. I made sure that he did not get any tip from me as his level of service towards me and my family did not deserve one. On our way out, another waiter greeted us and held the door open for us. If this guy was our waiter, I'm sure this review would have been a lot more different. The waiter who served us was an elderly male and because of him, I will not be visiting...

One of the best Turkish restaurants I have been to. I spent a night in Southend with my wife, never been here before. There wasn’t much to do due to the winter season so we decided to go out for a meal. After searching through google we couldn’t find much and come across Istanbul. Parking facilities directly outside so that was a bonus. Where we live in London, it’s always a hassle to find a good restaurant with parking. We went inside, staff were very attentive, someone who I believe was the owner was also very welcoming. Complimentary bread and dips, and Turkish bread and dips are always good. We ordered a couple of starters that were both lovely and good portions. The mains were just Wow!!! I’m a big eater so I had a main which was Turkish kebab with sauce, both chicken and lamb. It came out on a sizzling plate to keep hot and just looked absolutely amazing. We’ve been to many Turkish restaurants in London but have found the quality isn’t always the best. This one however was amazing, I could honestly not fault it in anyway. I’m writing this review because of the amazing evening I had here. Our London favourite is in Canary Wharf but Istanbul are now on par with it. The service was absulotuelt amazing, 2 lovely ladies who were very attentive and friendly. They took some pictures of my wife and I, which is much appreciated.

If I ever go to Southend again then I will only eat in this place. I did not expect such a lovely meal, honestly one of the best dining experiences...

How rude, ignorant, illiterate and unbearable is the short waitress who has a small tattoo behind her ears? She works as a waitress and astonishingly has absolutely no knowledge, care, or understanding about the seriousness or implications of food allergies. When asked if she knows or could check whether the bread has any milk product in it, "what? It's a Turkish restaurant what do you expect" was her reply. I wasn't sure what to make of her response so got up and asked the chef myself who was helpful. Throughout our stay, the waitress was loud and miserable to customers that she was serving, not just to ourselves. Food was decent but the experience was very bad. The prices are way over the top for what it is. Eat in other nearly places that offer far better customer service and value for money. Also the restaurant is really small and...