"Genuine Hospitality and Cuisine On arrival to Istanbul , many tourists order the chicken şiş (chicken kebab) for a meal because it's familiar and safe, but they're really missing out on some of the best food in the world! I encourage anyone visiting Turkey to gastro-travel through the country's tasty cuisine and sample the many Ottoman dishes and succulent regional kebabs on offer. My favorite place to take guests is Fuego Cafe & Restaurant in Sultanahmet. Fuego opened in early 2012 and is fast becoming one of the most reputable restaurants in the tourism precinct. The outstanding service by owner-operators Can, Ali, Mehmet and Salih has earned the restaurant accolades. Try the Ali Nazik (minced beef on yogurt, eggplant and tomato mash), Hünkar Beğendi (tender lamb on a bed of smoked eggplant puree) or pilic dolma (stuffed chicken with a rich saffron sauce) and wash it down with a glass of Turkish wine from the comprehensive wine list. The restaurant is also open late, so pop in for a nightcap or two on your way back to your hotel. If you're a coffee drinker, ask Can, a former barista, to brew you a cappuccino, latte, espresso, French coffee, Irish coffee, or even a herbal tea. Fuego welcomes guests for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all through the year and can accommodate people with food intolerances—just ask your waiter for recommendations."
"Genuine Hospitality and Cuisine On arrival to Istanbul , many tourists order the chicken şiş (chicken kebab) for a meal because it's familiar and safe, but they're really missing out on some of the best food in the world! I encourage anyone visiting Turkey to gastro-travel through the country's tasty cuisine and sample the many Ottoman dishes and succulent regional kebabs on offer. My favorite place to take guests is Fuego Cafe & Restaurant in Sultanahmet. Fuego opened in early 2012 and is fast becoming one of the most reputable restaurants in the tourism precinct. The outstanding service by owner-operators Can, Ali, Mehmet and Salih has earned the restaurant accolades. Try the Ali Nazik (minced beef on yogurt, eggplant and tomato mash), Hünkar Beğendi (tender lamb on a bed of smoked eggplant puree) or pilic dolma (stuffed chicken with a rich saffron sauce) and wash it down with a glass of Turkish wine from the comprehensive wine list. The restaurant is also open late, so pop in for a nightcap or two on your way back to your hotel. If you're a coffee drinker, ask Can, a former barista, to brew you a cappuccino, latte, espresso, French coffee, Irish coffee, or even a herbal tea. Fuego welcomes guests for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all through the year and can accommodate people with food intolerances—just ask your waiter for recommendations."
I recently had lunch at Fuego on June 13, 2025, and it was an outstanding experience. We ordered two appetizers, both of which were extremely tasty and came with delightfully inflated bread. The flavors were impeccable, making each bite a delight. The service was very good, adding to the overall positive dining experience. I highly recommend Fuego to anyone looking for a great meal. I’d rate it 5 out of 5 stars!
Amie Lange
Google
I have eaten here many times on my trip to Istanbul. The service, food, and atmosphere are bar none. They treat you like family - Omer and Heybet are especially charming! The chicken Shepherd Kebab and the Cheese Pita (try to aubergine dip) are personal favorites.
José da Silva
Google
Great restaurant with great food and excellent service.
The food was super fresh and tasty! I would definitely recommend.
Very reasonable prices as well
Lynda Finau (Lynne)
Google
Awesome Food, Awesome services . The food here is to die for. The waiters are awesome. Dogan and the other boys are very good. Thank you so much . Recommend this place to anyone.
Carmen Rosa
Google
I want to say a big thank you to Doğan and the entire team at Fuego Café! The service was warm and welcoming, and the chef’s food was absolutely delicious. For three days, my friend and I couldn’t resist—we just wanted to keep coming back because everything was such a delight. Highly recommended for anyone visiting Turkey who wants a memorable dining experience.
Jonathan Chan
Google
delicious lamb shish kebab and wonderful service! no pressure from the staff on what to order and they even served complimentary pita and tea.
Noame Naduva
Google
Too good
Delicious Food
Very good service from the staff
Highly recommended
Ivelin Mollov
Google
Absolutely love this place! The manager was very friendly and polite, as well as the staff. The food was very delicious and at reasonable prices. This adorable sign welcomes you as you sit down at your table. We went there for lunch but we liked it so much we came back for dinner as well. The place also offers plenty of good vegetarian options, which is rare for Istanbul. So, next time you are visiting Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque choose “Fuego” for you well deserved lunch break.
Andreea A.
Yelp
The best place to eat at Hagia Sophia!! Great food ! Great service!! Absolutely excellent!!!
Hideki K.
Yelp
Fuego is an excellent Turkish restaurant with great service that's a couple blocks from Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia. I highly recommend the Grape Leaves appetizer, Yogurt appetizer (#2 on the menu) and the Lamb Kebabs entree (#56 on the menu). The yogurt drink and the fresh lemonade with mint were also good.
The restaurant has reliable Wi-Fi, with English speaking staff, and accepts credit cards.
Michael S.
Yelp
It is still open and very good, which is my main reason for reviewing this. It was open in July of 2017. Yes, terrorism has crushed the western tourist economy, but the restaurant is in business. I don't know if ownership has changed.
I have had a lot of good meals in Istanbul and this was one of them. I would order the dish that comes in the clay pot that they need to break in order to release your food. Presentation of that dish was awesome. Staff were really friendly, and was easy for this non-Turkish speaker to communicate with them.
I did end up spending 100TL for dinner for one person, but 1/3 of that was for 2 beers.
I would go back again.
Sarah S.
Yelp
We went to Fuego based on the recommendation of someone at our hotel. It was about a half a block away at the end of an alley way full of restaurants with people standing outside vying for your business.
The drinks flowed, the delicious food we ordered on the recommendations of our server were great. The service was great but sadly we learned that they were closing the next evening due to lack of business. You can tell tourism or the lack there of is hitting this area hard, the mosques had plenty of people around even on a day that was pouring with rain but these restaurants a block away were empty. We were the only people at Fuego.
When you're only in a place for 36 hours it's hard to justify going to the same place twice but Ali convinced us. We went back on the very last day of a 17 day vacation to have drinks to wrap up our trip.
So sad that this is the state of things in Instanbul, we had a great time during our short visit thanks in part to the people we met.
Mark P.
Yelp
I came to Fuego Restaurant with a group of 17 people for dinner and had an excellent experience. Serving a large selection of Turkish food, the menus are available in various languages and photos give an idea of what some of the foods look like. Normally these tourist oriented menus indicate poor quality food and service, but this was not the case here.
I decided to try something different and went for the shrimp casserole cooked in a clay pot. The combination of shrimp, tomatoes, cheese and spices came out bubbling hot. It took a while to cool down, but once I was able to get a bite, I knew I picked a great dish.
The staff did an exceptional job of taking care of us and they even split the bill for easier payment. Everyone in our group seemed to be pleased with their food. 4 stars for a great dinner!
Mohammad B.
Yelp
Food very good, Service excellent. We went to the famed NusrEt steakhouse the other night. This was much nicer and a third the cost.
Kumar S.
Yelp
Very nice place to have a dinner. It was very close to where we stayed. Staff were very friendly and hospitality was awesome. Great variety dishes at reasonable price.
Would definitely recommend this place
Jean Alex B.
Yelp
The food was delicious and outstanding customer service. And I love the bread as well, they gave us more with no extra charge. I had the Ottoman chicken meal and it was very tasty.
Gwanhoo L.
Yelp
This place has great food at reasonable price. Service is excellent. They give you complimentary Turkish tea. I definitely recommend this place to everyone.
Stella I.
Yelp
It's a very good place to eat in the heart of Sultanahmet. It's quiet, nice place with very good food and great service. Prices are high but it well worth it. I would definitely recommend it to go there. Thank you.
Masha P.
Yelp
Food is good, staff very friendly. Prices comparable with restaurants in the area. I would recommend this place for sure.
Jeff D.
Yelp
Great lunch and excellent service- did not feel touristy as it is down an alley just across the street from the Blue Mosque. We had seafood salad, two meze appetizers and a chicken casserole dish. All were quite good and final bill was $30 usd for lunch for two
Kayley N.
Yelp
After a 14 hour plane ride (which was naturally delayed further because United is always screwed up) and fighting sleep to get over the jet lag, the Husband and I came here for dinner on our first night in Istanbul. Really, we were scoping out the meeting point for our tour the next day and decided we might as well eat here too.
Pros:
-We were there on a Saturday night and it was empty. Which is just another reason why I love traveling to a place during its "off season." Service was exceptional.
-The Hummus. I am super picky about certain dishes, hummus being one of them. This one tasted EXACTLY like my father in law's, and he's from Palestine. So darn good! Get it!
-Location. It's right there in the thick of tourist central. Easy walk from most hotels and sites.
Cons:
-The food is what you'll find at every other restaurant nearby. The same kebabs, the same bread, etc. I'm not saying the food is bad because it's not, but there's no variety from it and the place right next door. And that means the food has been made "tourist friendly"...I've had better Turkish food in Houston.
Dr Adi Z.
Yelp
It's a regular restaurant, kebab is greasy, fresh juices with strange taste maybe prepared long time ago. Bad behavior of hunter waiter who's hunting any costumer entering the side street! I don't know how this restaurant get high rating!
Michael S.
Yelp
Best meal we've had so far in Turkey! Stuffed beef fillet was great! Service was excellent. Good prices too.
Rajah S.
Yelp
When you walk along this street every restaurant will bug you except Fuego. They don't harass you at all. Their food is very good. Excellent service and they deserve 5 stars.
Kim P.
Yelp
Staff was super friendly! All very helpful, kind, and clean. The food was amazing!!! Everyone was bragging about how good their dish was. The sultan stuffed chicken, Ali nabik, tortellini, and kebabs. All of it was delicious. The staff was a delight and always smiling. The place was clean and the ambiance was great! Definitely recommend. Finally a dish I could eat and enjoy!