Istanbulfoodlovers — Restaurant in Fort Walton Beach

Worst Mediterranean/Turkish food & restaurant experience ever!!!! I’m a frequent ethnic food diner but this was awful!! Chose it due to great-looking photos & proximity, but red flags abounded: empty during dinner hour, bad odor (musty & burnt plastic), surprised staff when we wanted to sit, outdated/dirty decor (Christmas decorations in July, old & faded pictures/art, stained chairs/tables). Only Louisiana hot sauce on tables despite “sauces” promised with food on menu. Oddly, three patrons walked in & ordered ONLY SAUCE, to-go; no food! We Ignored our gut feeling to leave due to my dining partner’s ravenous hunger & the tempting-looking g-map food photos. Water tasted salty & funky, & looked suspect. Waitstaff disputed there was no odor in the restaurant and maintained he didn’t smell anything at all and could offer no explanation for it. The labneh tasted okay but was not real labneh - it was runny and more like a bad tzatziki sauce. Asked owner what the best thing was to get and he highly recommended the combination plate, but it was reeeeally bad, so we were thinking if this was the best, WOW!!— then how bad must everything else be?!?!? There were four types of food on our plate: a) meat (which was not great but ok- edible), b) purple cabbage that was raw, c) 4 raw baby carrots (umm, is this snack/picnic time??), and d) 2 carbs of some sort which for the life of us we couldnt figure out what they were, even with our experience with Mediterranean food. Neither was rice - there was no rice, surprisingly. One I could’ve sworn was over-boiled mashed hominy but I know that’s not a Mediterranean thing so I otherwise have no idea what it was. The other was some type of grain that was overly cooked, mushy and badly seasoned, with a bad smell. I am SOOO glad we didn’t order anything else!!!!!! No one ever checked on us and we had to go up to the counter to pay, which took a long time for them to come out from the back to the counter. (Wish we coulda just left!). Then, “Icing on the cake” is this: Driving home, my partner started to get suddenly really tired and groggy behind the wheel, like at a scary level. I really think something was in that water- or that they even spiked the water or maybe even the food with something. Because there was no reason for him to act like this and for this to happen. He had to pull over and take a nap and did not feel well. He had eaten much more than I has (I was only able to choke down a few small bites), and he had drank the water which I hadn’t. If life was fair, then honestly, we really need to be refunded and apologized to for such a horrible experience… but what can you do. Oh another thing - I saw someone saying in one of the reviews that the owner combs & pads the reviews to make them better. (Does he AI the food photos too??). Definitely, Never Again!!! Listen to your intuition!! Lesson learned!!!!! 🤦‍♀️ —To Owner: It won’t allow me to reply to your comment directly, but if you see this, since you offered a refund in your comment, yes, please just reverse our credit card charge. (We cannot come in since we are a long ways away- were out of town on a...

I grew up with amazing Turkish restaurants in Vienna/Austria and spent plenty of vacations in Greece and Turkey - as much as I wanted to love it, I just can't and I am very disappointed.

Despite knowing about the bad ratings of the restaurant that was there before - Ali Baba - and which sign is still outside, we wanted to give a chance because I was craving Mediterranean food like I had back home in Europe. In retrospect I simply wish we had not gone there.

I ordered a gyros/ kebab sandwich and though I didn't want any fries, I asked for some Tsatsiki to be added to my gyros if possible. What I got instead was a shallow plate with some runny yogurt with not much flavor and some oddly cut pita served at the side for which he charged us extra. My gyros/ kebab sandwich came in form of a tiny roll of pita filled with some fatty kebab meat and salad. I was still quite hungry after the sandwich as there was not much to it and even finished the pita side with the odd yogurt.

As I was still hungry I decided to give the baklava a try. We got 4 tiny pieces which looked like he took two pieces and cut both in two as none of the pieces had remotely the same size. The "baklava" had nothing to do with the amazing Turkish treat I came to love - no crispy layers, quite soggy, like it was soaked with some sugar water instead of Sirup. It was very disappointing. What was odd is that he also served us a dessert "on the house" which was actually quite decent but which we didn't order .

The Turkish tea I ordered was also quite disappointing as it was not very strong - I got no spoon until I used my cutlery to stir in my sugar.... Also according to the sign in front of the restaurant the tea should have been free with my gyros sandwich but he charged me for my tea and one tea refill.

When we got to pay I wondered about the overall amount - after reading through some of the Ali baba reviews I guess we were charged the same 18% service upcharge as other customers because he skipped very fast over the tipping option - well, the joke is on him - my boyfriend would have tipped more than that.

Well, the little gyros/kebab sandwich is definitely not worth going back to and eating there upset both of our stomach. We guess it is because of the fatty kebab meat which prevents me still from going to sleep - why I am thankful that I actually didn't have more of it. That's why I am writing this review at 5am instead of sleeping as my stomach still hurts.

The baklava portion was ridiculous - did he run out of baklava? Two of the 4 pieces were hardly bigger than the bottom part of the dessert fork and didn't taste right....

The atmosphere? Used napkin on the dirty floor underneath me when I set down, hardly anyone there but one big table occupied by guests,... Now I know why there weren't more other guests..... Overall quite a weird feeling.

Just very disappointed! ...and overpriced for what you actually get! I love Turkish and Greek food but I will not come...

Went here based on a Google search, which had it highly rated from lots of reviewers. Weak on food and underhanded pricing! Ambiance nice, it was 3:30pm when we arrived after a long day of traveling and we wanted something light and tasty. Service was responsive, the two of us were the only customers. The order was brought up quickly and the disappointments started. But first, the hummus appetizer was tasty and a generous portion, and the pita bread was warm and fresh. Next, the chicken Gyro sandwich was all dark meat and was dry, a bit chewy, and not much of it. Had to ask for some tzatziki sauce to help get it down. The accompanying fries were good. Chicken shish kebab plate was nicely spiced but a small portion. The scoop of rice was watery and had been cooked for a while. The Bulgar wheat side was tasty. Tea was ok. Now, for the biggest disappointment - pricing. Cup of tea was $4 - despite the sign outside saying tea was free with a gyro sandwich! Chicken shish - a small portion of cubed white meat (4 cubes), a scoop of bulgar wheat and watery white rice was was almost $24! The dried out chicken gyro with fries was $13. Hummus appetizer with bread was the most reasonable item at $9.31. Then came the bill - presented at the register, not the table, the waiter checked "no tip", then told me$67.66 for this small meal! I paid it, had to ask for my receipt, left a cash tip on the table, pocketed the receipt, and we left. Shocked when I looked at the receipt later that evening! An 18% Service Charge ($9.74) had been added without any warning, signs, menu mention, etc., for a party of two. No wonder the server was reluctant to mention my receipt! Unacceptable and underhanded were the two thoughts that crossed my mind after seeing my receipt. I have eaten Turkish food in Turkey, throughout the the US, and other countries and never paid that much for what we got, or had a service charge tacked on with out being with a large group or given a warning. I will not be back and do not recommend Istanbul Food Lovers.

OK, Owner of Istanbul, reverse the charges on my credit card, that would be a step in the...