Balat Sahil Restaurant

I tried marinated herrings, stuffed onions, Cretan mash, pickled mushrooms, and topik. I also had turbot. Everything deserves five starts.

We were thrilled to end up here after searching for the right place to eat on our first night in Istanbul. Ferruh took such great care of us and the food was…amazing! I recommend highly the sea bass, the green peppers and the stuffed onions.

Everything was far beyond expectations and so delicious. Side note: the waiters especially who work at the teras were so friendly and smiling 😊

Great food suggestions for the meze that change daily, helpful staff, best seafood meal we have had in Istanbul--the turbot was delicious. We went early, at 5 pm, so you should probably make a reservation for anything after 6:30. They have tables for 4 and 6.

Delicious food, very authentic atmosphere and attentive staff. The mezze and the fish were very tasty. Watch out because you will probably be overcharged as a tourist (the owner will probably reply here and say that it’s what we ordered, but it’s hard to believe that locals pay 3.500 Turkish lira every night for two beers, 5 mezzes and one large fish).

Balat Sahil is great! We stopped in quickly for a meze lunch. The host was kind and speaks English, and he had wonderful recommendations (topik, levrek in lemon sauce, cacık, onion dolma, and a veggie one that İ can't remember). The meze were all delicious (we tried them separately and in combos on the accompanying warm bread). İ just wish we had time to stay for a proper fish meal, as you get to pick fresh fish for the chef to grill, fry, or broil--if you go, plan to spend more than half an hour so you get the full meal experience :)

An authentic restaurant with infamous “mezes” in the historic Balat district. It perfectly serves as a grand prize following a joyful walk across the narrow streets. Although menu consists dominantly of seafood, it has also all typical “meyhane” elements and meat dishes as well. They have some unique side dishes as well. You should definitely try “Topik” and “Soğan Dolması”. A fine selection of local rakis are served. I personally prefer Beylerbeyi Mavi.

This is the best dining experience of our stay in Istanbul. The food is fabulous and fresh and Ferrun took great care of us.