Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası

What a gem of a place !! Thanks to the guy who recommended it when we went to have beer at Sultan Ahmet. Our best meal in Istanbul was here. It was absolutely 💯 delicious. Don't remember the names of the dishes but everything was so good we wished we had some extra stomach. If we weren't leaving the next day , we would have come here to eat again.

A really good restaurant. The food was delicious, with a wide range of vegetarian dishes. The waiters will advise and recommend any plant based meals offered on the menu. The service was excellent and we felt treated with care and attention at all times. As a foreigner, this place stands out from other Istanbul restaurants in regards of quality, kindness and an overall great quality-price rate. Would definitely recommend to any visitors and I hope to come back soon. Don’t miss it!

Excellent food, super friendly staff, superb service! Price is good for such high quality tasty dishes. Also great choice from the menu with pictures and english description. I would definitely recommend a visit!

Recommended by the Driver… Regretted by the Wallet We walked in with high expectations, legendary flavors. But instead, we got: high price and zero delight. The menu looked like it was dreaming of Michelin stars… the taste didn’t even pass a street-corner simit test. The driver suggested it up like it was the spot only insiders know. Turns out, it’s just one of those “suggested to every tourist” places where your wallet cries louder than the tea kettle. We paid a premium price for food that tasted like someone Googled Turkish recipes but forgot to read them fully. The ambiance tried to look posh, but honestly felt like a corporate PowerPoint pretending to be culture.

Today we had “kağıt kebabı” and “sultan kebabı” with the as I remember “dondurmalı kadayıf tatlı” the mezzeh’s we had was stuffed vine leaves, haydari and an aubergine mezze. We also had half and half lahmacun, all to try their quality. Their service and quality was very high end. We enjoyed most of what we ate. Their visual presentation was lovely. We definitely advise this place to anyone who likes the eastern Turkish cuisine.

Akdeniz Hatay Sofrası was easily the culinary highlight of our trip to Istanbul. Far from tourist traps this was authentic experience. The staff were genuinely friendly and offered great recommendations; definitely ask them what they suggest. Excellent quality food, generous portions, and truly fantastic prices for what you get. Highly recommended!

The food was extraordinary, I loved it soo much, one of the best spots for real Turkish food.

Friendly staff, great food and a great view and atmosphere. They were very generous, and served us watermelon and tea, free of charge. This restaurant is not overrated like many of the other known places here in Istanbul, so I would definitely come here again.

legit, really tasty hummus. if you order ahead you can get the salt dome chicken. fried peppers good too.

Very good Turkish food at a reasonable price. Service is excellent as in any typical Turkish restaurant. Overlooking the major Adnan Menderes Blv with a nice ambiance. We dined on the second floor. The servers speak Arabic well.

There are a lot of great restaurants in Istanbul. But this one is at the top of my list! The appetizers/starters are absolutely incredible. They present a bunch of small plates at the beginning of your meal and you get to pick out which ones you want. The zaatar salad and the kisir are really good. The hummus topped with meat is also super. The breads here are fresh incredible. For the main meals, we got an assortment of kabobs. Everything was of great quality. Most importantly, do not miss out on dessert here! The knafeh is the best I had in Turkey AND the Middle East. And the other desserts are equally superb. If you had to pick one restaurant in Istanbul to visit, this should be it.

After a long, long day of sightseeing and walking in Istanbul, I was in the mood for a top-notch meal. I wanted the best-of-the-best; I wanted to eat a gross quantity of food, and I wasn't going to settle for second-best. Being in the Grand Bazaar, I read that Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi was just the place for which I was looking. So, I set out walking. I walked and walked some more. Then I asked for directions. Everyone I asked seemed to indicate the same thing: "It's just down the street - ten-minute walk." So, I walked another ten minutes. Much to my chagrin, Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi still eluded me. Finally, I hailed a cab and found myself in Aksaray. I had imagined that Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi would be a small restaurant. It wasn't. I was immediately greeted by restaurant staff, who opened the door of my taxi and warmly welcomed me into their large establishment. The smells of Turkish soul food were tempting! While the restaurant staff did not speak English (which is not something I expected), they did have an English menu. It's a good thing, too, because their choices are myriad. Based on other reviews I'd read of the restaurant, it seemed imperative to begin with Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi's famous hummus. I'm definitely glad that I did...and since I planned to do even more walking that day, I was sure to eat two full servings of the restaurant's delicious bread. Making a dinner decision was among the toughest decisions I made during my trip. Because I was unwilling to settle, I ordered the mixed grill. This was the best way to sample the various meats offered by Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi. As I suspected, the minced meat (lamb and beef) kebap was my favorite part of the dish. While I did not order a dessert, I was happy that restaurant staff threw in a sesame cookie at the end of the meal. I came to Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi with a voracious appetite; I left as a member of the "Clean Plate Club." If you find yourself is Istanbul, make sure that Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi is on your list of places to try. It just might be a mouthwatering memory for years to come!

Good food nice choices of food good customer service I guess one of the best in Askaray area.

Amazing food great service very reasonable prices!! A definitely a musty place to visit while inIstanbul

The food from the Hatay region is famous within Turkey, and for good reason. We went to this restaurant at the recommendation of a Turkish person from near this area, and were not disappointed. It was the most interesting meal that we had during our entire trip in Istanbul. The restaurant isn't just about the food, it's also about putting on a bit of a show. They have a several foot long kebab which they carry on a special very long plate. There's also meat baked in a clay jar which is then cracked open at the table. Or you can get chicken baked in a salt crust, which is set aflame at the table before the crust is broken. Both the clay jar and the chicken have to be ordered a few hours in advance, as they take time to cook, but the family sitting next to us ordered both and so we were able to admire the dishes nonetheless. Most of the food is already prepared. It is served in small plates, so the format is that you order many different plates of food. Our waiter was also able to give us half plates of some dishes so that we could sample even more delicacies. He was very attentive and talked with us about some of the dishes that we tried. Before we left we were given a magazine about the Hatay region and some soaps. We spent a fair amount of time there, sampling the food and talking, and did not feel rushed. When we left we were pleasantly full and were glad that we had taken the time to appreciate the meal. Tea and coffee are complimentary, as are the kömbe (sesame cookies). We were also given small glasses of gül şerbeti (rose sherbet) which we both found delicious although our previous taste of sherbet had been less enjoyable; we wound up ordering a larger glass. The prices here are quite good, especially given how tasty the food was. Our total came to about 65 lira for two people without tip, which was far cheaper than at any of the other nice restaurants we tried, and only a little more expensive than some of the quick ordinary places we ate at. We sampled haydari (a dill yogurt and garlic dip), tebbuli (bulgar, onion, tomato, lemon and parsley salad), bakla ezmesi (fava bean humus), mumbar dolması (a rice filling in a sausage casing), kemmunlu biberli aş (seasoned cracked wheat), oruk fırında (a minced meat in a wheat shell) and oruk haşlama (oruk fırında with a pomegranate sauce). For dessert we had the aforementioned kömbe, which we found a little dry but which went a treat with the clotted cream which was served with the Hatay usulü künefe (cake of shredded wheat and goat cheese). I also got candied figs, which were good but very sweet.

This is definitely a place I would recommend. The food is good, not extraordinary, but for the price it's worth a bit of a detour. They also do put on a bit of show with the special dishes and long kebabs, which is fun to watch. Had it not been for the nice fast-food joint feel (a bit like McDonald's) of the decor, then this might have been an even better experience.

Modest appearance from outside. Ordinary seating area decor. Excellent food with well executed grilled meats and great Kenefe desert. Affordable prices.

Excellent service! Excellent food! It's like bridge between Turkish & Arabic cuisine. I recommend "Tuzda Tavuk" and "Kabak Tatlisi" ;)

Excellent - I was taken here as a guest and really appreciated it as I would never have known about it otherwise. The kebabs were succulent and tender, with large portions. Gorgeous kibbeh, hoummus, stuffed vine leaves and rose sherbet, as well as kunefe - dramatically flambeed at the table. An excellent experience and very generous portions. I didn't pay the bill so have no idea if it's good value, but in my view, Turkish food doesn't get any better than this!