Albura Kathisma

We ate here 2 out of 4 nights. There is a great choice of food for every taste but most importantly if you want a taste of Turkey. The staff are fenomenal, they work as one, so lovely and polite.

This was a great Turkish dining experience. From the outset we felt so welcomed by the staff and management. The atmosphere was fun because we chose a table close to the street. The hubbub of night activity was lively and invigorating. The service was attentive but not hovering; we appreciated that. For our food choices, we ordered a Turkish wine (the name escapes me), a deep-fried meatball appetizer — delicious! — and Walnut Lamb. It, too, was very good; done just right with a mild sauce. One note: you’ll enjoy this restaurant more if you like cats; just like in the rest of Old Town İstanbul, cats are given free access here. And, unfortunately, cigarette smoke is unavoidable.

Host was very friendly. We ate twice and the food was delicious. Price is honest, so expect no surprise charges at the end. If you're in the old city, ignore all the people trying to flag you down, and head here.

Food was good, service was excellent. One of the best things about this restaurant is they don't try to hassle you. It just gives a better atmosphere of choosing where and what to eat. In addition, they have a gigantic cat 😂

I recently visited Albura Kathishma Cafe and Restaurant and it was an outstanding experience! The ambiance is warm and inviting, making it the perfect spot to have a perfect food to eat. The menu offers a delightful mix of traditional and modern dishes, I particularly enjoyed their breakfast set with the unlimited Turkish tea. 😃 The staff were friendly and attentive, ensuring that my experience was nothing short of excellent. Whether you're looking for a cozy spot to catch up with friends or have a perfect spot to eat , Albura Kathishma Cafe checks all the boxes. I highly recommend this cafe and restaurant to anyone seeking a blend of great food, excellent service, and a welcoming atmosphere. I can’t wait to return!

My daughter and we loved services we have received from her. She made us to feel it's our own place and my daughter keeps saying she wants to go there again. Food was good. Cannot comment about price as everywhere is pretty much same.

Great food, great service and definitely one of the best places in Istanbul to eat. The food is fresh made with good ingredients and the staff is service minded so if you come to East rule and want to eat in the Sultan area just behind the famous Moskés Come to this amazing restaurant.

Great place to relax and eat! The service here is really good, and the Wi-Fi works great. I was recommended to eat here by TourGuide, and it did not disappoint! As you will see, it has won many awards from Trip advisor, and the staff are not overly pushy at all (which can be quite common in Istanbul.) I ended up staying much longer than expected, and if you can get a seat outside, it's very nice and relaxed. You gave me some free tea afterwards probably because they knew the tour guide who referred me. The lamb chops were delicious and I felt that the prices were extremely reasonable, especially in comparison to everything else in the street/in the old town. A hundred percent here again!

Fresh seafood, tasty pitcher chicken kebab, best hummus we ever had, friendly waiters speak good English, will come again.

My husband and I, hungry and jet-lagged, were wandering in Sultanahmet, looking for a place to eat when it began to lightly rain. "Barkers", some aggressive, seemed to be outside of every restaurant, trying to lure you into their establishments. This restaurant had slightly better prices and a somewhat less aggressive barker than the restaurant we had just looked at. And, it was now raining more heavily. We intentionally ordered light -- the lamb donor plate in the photo, a chicken soup, and a bottle of water. As it was served with a bread basket and olives, it was more than sufficient food for the two of us. All delicious. At the end of the meal, we were given two complimentary Turkish teas. Total cost was 415 Turkish lira, before tip. Service was attentive, without being overbearing. Two quick notes on ambiance. I was surprised when a cat jumped up on the bench next to me when the food arrived and only then realized that there were a few in the restaurant. This was not a problem for me, but others may not like cats as I do. Finally, many people smoke in Turkey. Many of the servers congregated at the table next to us to smoke and chat over tea. Unfortunately, their smoke made our meal less than ideal. One star off on our overall rating for this reason.

We almost missed out on this gem of a restaurant, but the street-side attendant, whom is SO KIND AND HELPFUL, ushered us to a gorgeous street-side table right in the sunshine. We ordered food for a small army, and EVERY dish was beyond our expectations. Lamb 10/10 - both the chops and stewed lamb was cooked to perfection and SO TENDER! Service was impeccable! All of the servers were friendly and attentive. They recommended all of the best dishes based upon our likeness. Not only was everyone amazing at their table service, but they were so helpful with local attraction recommendations and directions. So good we traveled over an hour 2x to eat here at this restaurant! If you're in the area, stop by and grab something amazing to eat, you wont regret it!

We were staying in this very nice, tourist, safe and nice neighborhood, one block away from this place and walked trying to find a place to have dinner, I wanted a cozy Turkish looking place and this place looked like it but the music was way to Americanized so we were going to pass. This guy invited us in but I told him we wanted some Turkish music, so what did he do? He changed the music from his phone and Turkish music started playing!! We began with lentil soup, and an octopus salad, both were amazing! The soup was more into the creamy side since it was all blended. The octopus was so tender, so delicious. the greens, capers and the light oil dressing were a great combination of flavors but incredibly well balanced, The amount is generous enough to fill you up so, if you are not a big eater this is your go to. The price was super accesible (under $10 usd for the salad and $3 for the lentils) I was already full but I had already ordered lamb with walnuts that I did enjoy a lot but could not finish. My husband ordered lamb as well and it also tasted very good. We paired it with 2 beers and a glass of wine, it rounded to $75 usd (tip is included in the check but they charge less that 10%) Over all great vibe, nice place, good service, excellent food!! A must go to!! Ps Remember this is Turkey and staff is a lot more relaxed than in the States so they do chat, smoke and have a cup of tea together while they are waiting tables. Don't make a fuss out of it.

Just had a wonderful lunch. Our waiter recommended 3 dishes - a lamb, chicken with honey and beef. All 3 were tasty. Appreciated the kind service!

Amazing food. We had pitcher kebab for main dish and kunefe for dessert... amazingly authentic! Highly recommend this place... they offered free turisk tea on courtesy

Incredible restaurant for a late night bite The staff is amazing and the food very good Excellent shishas

Good food. But won't call it one of the best. Ordered the Adana Kebab, it wasn't as juicy I hoped it would be. Rice was really good!! But certainly the service was amazing!!

I want to restate how much I love this restaurant! I've come here several times a year for six years, and it never lets me down. The food is good, the menu is accommodating to all kinds of eaters, and the fact that it's located inside some Byzantine ruins is a bonus for any history buff! I love their seafood, but their vegetarian food is great too. It's reasonably priced, even for being located in the main tourist restaurant drag. This was a highlight for my family during their visit to Turkey-- it will be for yours too!

From a recommendation from a friend, we went to Albura for our first dinner in Istanbul. Albura is located along restaurant row on Akbiyik Caddesi St. We were seated and greeted by our friendly waiter. After ordering our drinks, we placed our orders. After getting our delicious Turkish bread shaped like a bloated football, (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#74b4WkwkUSYsPp0i-44XDQ) our food selections were: Seasonal Salad: Seasonal green salad leaves, black olive slices, green peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers; topped with corn, Turkish white cheese and walnuts; dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. A nice, light salad that was shared amongst us. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#Izml73u3LPd_1VtjQISySQ) Kuzu Sultan (The Ottoman Sultan's Lamb): Roast lamb with "iç pilav" (Ottoman style rice with raisins, pine nuts and spiced with cinnamon), broccoli and mashed potato. Meat was tasty and tender. A hardy dish (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#aMxK8eeKltWk7wHexhX-Rg) Farm Köfte (from a Turkish Kitchen): Specially flavored minced beef together with lamb, grilled and served with seasonal vegetables, fried potato and rice. Delicious and perfectly seasoned. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#OUjF20SEtPy87X4hi6vArQ) Beyti Kebap (Kebab with Garlic): marinated lamb & beef marinated in garlic, parsley, sweet pepper and spicy grilled on a skewer. With grilled tomatoes, green peppers, and bulgar wheat pilaf and pita bread. Tasty and was not overly spicy. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#JJV8YUSgK6cpdsGRtn3_zA) Manti (Turkish Ravioli): Homemade ravioli filled with succulent lamb and served with a yoghurt, garlic and mint sauce, drizzled with chili oil. Nice sized portion, but was too doughy and not enough filling and was bland. We were warned by the waiter on this dish. Our bad! (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#S-RX5quYQZb-idFO6SVn4g) Hot Chocolate Soufflé: a chocolate soufflé served hot with ice cream and rich chocolate sauce. If you like rich chocolate, this is for you. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#bDPT24iKJ0mKlCt4sgY1dw) Figs, Cloves & Cream: Figs are soaked in syrup with cloves, married with Turkish clotted cream and ice-cream, and come with fıstık (chopped pistachios) on top. Wow, never had anything like this and it was delicious. Now this is a Turkish dessert. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/albura-kathisma-istanbul?select=E4ta2fxbQd5g0oNN3JISpw#YXnAwN76gVHlJSik196jCA) We had two dinners on Akbiyik Caddesi St. and by far this was the better of the two meals. The only disappointing dish was the Manti, but we were warned by the waiter not to order it. Friendly servers. P.S. From prior knowledge, the restaurant sits about some historical ruins. We asked our waiter and he gave us a tour of it. Cool!

Wow great food missed this kinda of real deal food for almost 30 years loved it. You have to try this food when you here. Great service.

This place has the best service and the food is amazing .The guys are welcoming , great music, the ambiance is just beautiful. I definitely recommend you to visit and see it for yourself.

I brought a group of nine and we all ordered something different. The food was outstanding. Highly recommended.

Good place. Seems kind of just average but I'm coming from adventurous taste buds. Was definitely "good"...wouldn't say earth shattering like my experience at Khorasani and Can Oba just down the road....but, good :) Interestingly, people who walk in seem to have already been here one or two times. Waiters are definitely friendly and on point...cool trick, they run their ordering off of their smart phones. Their English like in most restaurants here are very good. Geared to tourists, but they don't hound you at the curb like other places across the street do. Excellent outdoor covered patio for dining.

Incredibly delicious and wonderful service without the excessive hassling! Everything we ate was incredible! I highly recommend!!!

The best steak I have ever had in my life super good with mushrooms and everything else.

Loved that the had signs that said HASSLE FREE since most restaurants are full of hassle in Istanbul. We had a fabulous meal here...I had kofta kebab, not too spicy and wonderful. Also tasted someone elses eggplant tomato and yogurt dish, stuffed with meat..fabulous. Salad was great, calamari was perfect. Service was great and there were nice sprayers to cool us off a bit. If you are headed to the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, this should be your lunch place.

The food was fairly good and the restaurant was very tourist-friendly. They don't aggressively wave menus in your face and the service was attentive. Both of these qualities make them stand out from the regular "tourist trap" restaurants. I loved being able to tour the underground excavations after our meal.

This restaurant is very good. Lots of tourists, but delicious food. Also came highly recommended by our hotel, which is a good sign. Veggie options are good and not super limited! Woohoo! Ambiance is nice, and wine was good. It was great for our first night in Istanbul. If you are in the area, definitely go.

Nice ambience. Passable food. Lamb on the muttony side. Fresh salads. Great pita bread.

Great food & service!! Best food I've had during my whole trip to Istanbul. So fresh & delicious. Location is nice & lively. So glad I tried it out! Friendly staff was a cherry on top.

Hassle free zone! Such a break from the rest of crazy Istanbul.

The staff was absolutely wonderful and the food was excellent. You could tell all the ingredients were fresh. Easily the standout restaurant on a street full of good restaurants.

Great place, staff is not pushy, which is rare in Istanbul. This is our 2nd time in a week that we have been here. We ordered the Rocket Salad, fried calamari and vegetable balls (like zucchini fritters). For desert chocolate soufflé, yum! Great outdoor patio as well. Our server Mehmet was the best! Go, go, go to Albura Kathisma! If you are in the Sultanahmet/Blue Mosque area you can't go wrong with this place! Hated to leave.

After some serious hotel trouble that necessitated a last-minute move, we were really ready for our first dinner in Istanbul. Happily, thanks to the lovely people at Albura Kathisma, our logistical headaches were soon forgotten and we settled into a fabulous three days in Turkey. First we ordered raki to toast our trip (my pregnant friend got a delicious mint lemonade instead.) Along with this came a mezze plate that I'm coming to realize is featured at most restaurants: an assortment of six dips presented on a platter with fresh crudites and a pile of mixed greens in the center. There was a Russian salad, basically cooked vegetables in a mayonnaise sauce; a deliciously spicy red-pepper tapenade; two kinds of eggplant, one light and one dark; garlicky hummus; and thick, creamy yogurt. They served this with a huge soccer ball-sized bread pouf and also the thick, chewy bread which is more common here. Everything was fabulous, even the Russian salad, which is not usually my favorite. For entrees we shared three among four people, which was the perfect amount after our appetizers. Zucchini stuffed with lamb and rice, served with more of that thick yogurt dip; kofte kebab with a lovely, colorful assortment of vegetables, from pickled cabbage to carrots and cucumber; and manti, dumplings stuffed with lamb in a yogurt-butter sauce with mint. Everything was excellent, though the manti were a little too large and doughy and overshadowed their own tender, meaty filling. The crowning glory was dessert. My friend ordered knafe, which was too sweet for me -- it came swimming in sugar syrup -- but the cheese was wonderfully rich and the "shredded wheat" topping was still crunchy. I chose the figs and cream just out of curiosity, and I was blown away by them, as was everyone else at the table: four figs poached in a clove-spiced syrup, arranged around a scoop of vanilla ice cream, poofs of whipped cream and chopped pistachios. It was heavenly, especially with sips of Turkish coffee between. Our waiter was funny, helpful and mostly invisible while we enjoyed dinner, which came with plenty of time to enjoy each course. After dinner one of the other wait staff showed us to some kind of underground cavern that they appear to be excavating. His English was poor, but I think he wanted a donation. We had already tipped our waiter well, so passed on that; it was kind of a weird experience. Just say no, thank you, and enjoy the wonderful food and service!

This restaurant were close to our hotel so perfect for a dinner our last night in Istanbul. We got there quite early, around 7.30, so not that much guests there. Yet. A nice waiter placed us on a table facing the busy restaurant street outside and no worries about being cold because all tables "outside" are infra-red heated. I ordered fried squid roman style calamari as starter. Well cooked and tasted as they should. For main course, sea bass in saffron sauce. A bit disappointed there, the fish were well cooked but the sauce tasted more of cream than saffron, rather tasteless, but overall a well cooked meal. This place have good food, perfect waiters and no barkers (which are really rare in Istanbul and a relief). The place got really busy and when we left a couple of hours later the restaurant were packed. So, this is a good alternative to all the restaurants in the neighbourhood with reasonable pricing but don't expect a gormé dinner.

I found it with ease and had a Turkish omelette and coffee. It was very well done. It was quick service. However, the loud "American music" that early in the morning was a bit much.

This was such a good choice for dinner during our layover. The food was outstanding (I had the "Ottoman Emperor's Favorite Dish" and plan to return for more!), and our server Osman was just wonderful. We nearly missed our flight because we didn't want to leave. Absolutely recommended. However, the restaurant was surprisingly empty - US tourism in the city is non-existent compared to last time I was there. I hope this restaurant can withstand the current political climate so that it's still around when people start coming back to Istanbul. Such a shame for both countries...

My food was excellent but wasn't amazing value, probably due to its location near hotels and tourist attractions. Had good service as well.

Great hassle-free place with amazing food and friendly people! We walked around the area a lot before we finally decided this was out spot! Drej went out of his way for us and was very kind to us, ask for him when you go! Apart from the delicious food, at the very end you can take a little tour of a hidden historic gem that happens to be at the back of the restaurant! We'll definitely be coming back!

No pushy sales pitch, just genuinely delicious Turkish food. My lamb dish (something walnut, something Dervish) was highly recommended, but it was just very OK (way too tangy). Was a huge fan of the sauteed lamb dish (again, the name has escaped me) my fiance got. Staff was great, and we even got to see the hidden ruins beneath the restaurant!

We happened into Abura Kathisma tonight having passed it 2 nights ago enroute to another restaurant in the area. It was rather crowded so we were happy to find it quite empty tonight though we started much earlier! Nobody was standing outside trying to get us to step in- nice change in this very touristy area. I had the guvech - lamb with tomatoe, onion, garlic and peppers cooked in a terra cotta pot and served with rice - it was SO very good. My pal had a chicken kebab with pepper and rice and he was equally pleased. And the chocolate soufflé cake with vanilla ice cream topped it all off! GO ENJOY RETURN - we will return. Nice Atmosphere, attentive service, delicious food = A++

A friend and I happened upon Albura one night. The doorman was nice and not overly aggressive or sleazy like some on the street. He won us over with the promise of Raki! We assumed the food would be just like any other place on the street, but having tried the others I can say 100% that Albura is far superior. Not only quality but the price. The service is excellent -- Drej, the two Hussein's, Abuzer, and the rest of the guys are very attentive and will make sure you have a top notch dining experience. I felt so comfortable there that I continued to return alone after my friend left. As for the food -- I returned so many times that I have many recommendations but The Adana (spicy) kebap, the Turkish Ravioli, and stuffed grape leaves are my top three. And if by chance you have room for dessert give the chocolate soufflé a try. It is melt in your mouth delicious. If that isn't enough, go ahead and stay all night smoking shisha and enjoying a cocktail made by Emmoglu. Seriously, this is a great place with the nicest group of dudes working. Give them a try -- you won't be disappointed. Oh! And there's a hidden palace/cave in the back of the restaurant that you can tour for an added touch of history! Where else can you get THAT?!

Good food, not great. Reasonable prices and good atmosphere. What's nice is that they don't hound you to look at the menu while you're on the street, which gets old very quickly in the area.

We had dinner here two nights during our honeymoon. Good food and the best part, they were never pushy nor did they ever include the "tourist tax" that so many restaurants in Istanbul include on the bill. They are next to some undocumented ruins and like to show them to guests if they are interested (a donation was not requested). It is through a passage way in the wall of the restaurant. Seemed iffy at first, but it was legit.