Gallada

We recently had the pleasure of dining at Gallada in Istanbul and it was nothing short of extraordinary — an elevated culinary experience from start to finish. Atmosphere & décor From the minute we arrived, we were captivated by the space. The décor is beautifully designed — modern and elegant yet intimate, blending Turkish heritage with contemporary flair. The terrace overlooking the Bosphorus adds a magical touch, especially as evening draws in and the lights of Istanbul begin to shimmer. The furnishings, lighting and ambient music all harmonize to create a setting that is both stylish and comfortable — perfect for celebrating or simply indulging in a special evening out. Quality of food Gallada’s cuisine is truly artful. Inspired by the ancient Silk Road, the menu weaves together flavours from Türkiye, Central Asia and beyond.  Each dish was thoughtfully composed and beautifully presented. From starters that surprised in texture and taste, to mains that showcased sophisticated technique, every bite demonstrated care and innovation. The balance between local ingredients, creative cooking methods and bold flavour combinations was simply outstanding. Design, style & music The restaurant doesn’t just excel in food — the overall style makes you feel immersed in something unique. The design details — from refined tile work to the terrace’s ambient touches — all contribute to a memorable setting. Meanwhile, the music in the background added energy without overwhelming the conversation: it felt in just the right place between elegant dining and a dynamic night out. Service & staff Our dinner was elevated by the service we received. The team were warm, professional and very attentive without being intrusive. A special note of thanks to “Alper” — his personalised attention made our evening feel especially tailored and memorable. He guided us through the menu, offered thoughtful suggestions, and his friendly, genuine care made all the difference. Overall experience In short: Gallada offers an exceptional combination of everything you’d hope for in a top-tier dining destination — stellar food, refined ambiance, impeccable design, and service that gives you that “we’re glad you’re here” feeling. It’s the kind of place you go when you want more than just a meal, but a memorable event. Without hesitation, we highly recommend it and look forward to returning. Thank you, Alper, and the whole team for making our time at Gallada so special.

Great view, Ok atmosphere - can talk but lighting was a bit too dark. We ordered Journey TL 6,290 per person. Food was tasty. Not a norm variety for a fine dining experience. Photos below - ps: each plate is to share between two. We had few different staff attending us - no consistency. And mostly no introduction of themselves. We weren’t offered pairing wine with the food. The first food was explained in details - what they were and how they were cooked / prepped, but no continuity, other food was just the name of the food or a simple explanation. Not sure if the space between tables were not wide enough, but a staff knocked into my chair for walking too fast. The complementary chocolate that tasted like one of the meal at the end is pretty cool.

Nice location, friendly and attentive staff, amazing food. Highly recommend the bread with bone marrow and the smoked tomato starter. Mustard ice cream was very good but tuna belly tartare was quite bland. Shrimp dumpling tasted amazing but dough could be improved by making it thinner. Beef ribs were tender and tasted great, the potato side dish was unimpressive. Chocolate with smoked filling were incredible. Cocktail with tea was very good.

No drinks order taken, drinks menu sat on table for duration of the meal. First round of dishes explained very thoroughly but none of the others were. Food very tasty, best dumplings I’ve ever had. Dessert plates were cleared then we sat for an age waiting for someone to come over with the bill. I’m prepared to pay a lot of money for an amazing dining experience and this did not meet the mark. Due to the lack of wow factor, I would not recommend. AUD570 for two “feed me” menus (ie each dish was shared), a bottle of sparkling water and a $50 cocktail. Postscript - The post dinner chocolate was incredible!!

We had a lovely dinner. Everything was perfect: the food, the service, and the place. The final touch was amazing. Thank you for making it an unforgettable night for us!

The service was outstanding—my drink glass was never empty. It was truly a team effort: everything was fast, thoughtful, and well explained. You could tell the staff genuinely cared about the experience. The food was amazing. The truffle pasta was hands down the best truffle sauce I’ve ever had. The mushroom dumplings were incredible (I actually preferred them over the shrimp). The lamb and short rib were both perfectly cooked and full of flavor, and the eggplant appetizer was delicious. Honestly, everything we ordered was fantastic. The décor is just as impressive—warm, classy, bright, and comfortable. It feels elegant without being stuffy. This place truly delivers on every level: food, service, and atmosphere. Highly recommend and can’t wait to come back.

Catastrophically disappointing restaurant. I took my parents out to check out the new top seaside hotel in town and its offering - I didn’t expect I would go back home to have to eat again. 1- the rooftop design is problematic you can not see the sea due to the bushes and hedges they created. They have nice olive and pomegrenate trees but the view is totally blocked. So don’t expect views while seated. 2- the service is terrible. I can’t count the number of mistakes here but I can tell you that they brought all the dishes at random times leaving us hungry. I tried to order some extra dishes to satisfy our hunger and they said the kitchen was closed. Then they said they could accommodate then they said they can’t. Overall it was horrible horrible horrible. The food items randomly have carbs and sugar in them, despite asking you about your restrictions, allergies and me stating I don’t want to eat any carbs the waiter said “gluten free - ok” and we were speaking in Turkish. They don’t care and they are not trained. Your glass remains empty, you ask for water they don’t come back for 5 minutes. They had run out of tuna tartare and meatballs. I think such a hotel should not run out of dishes. The service failed at the waiter level, then his manager, and his manager’s manager and his manager. They all need to he retrained and should go to some team building event to not contradict each other and learn to work as a team. 3- the food portions are small. We asked how many salads and artichokes we should order the waiter told us it will be enough for us. It wasn’t. We were sharing leaves and trying to be nice to each other. Leaves don’t cost that much why are you stingy with your food. At least provide better guidance and say 1 salad can be shared by 2 maybe or so. 4- the chef should resign. The main dish on the menu us peking duck supposedly “fusioned” inspired by the silk road. That means they substitute the thin rice rolls with lavash bread and they provide an additional tahini sauce. But they also serve you a horribly bad mockery of a peking duck. I had peking duck in Beijing and this one tastes more like goose from Guangzhou. It wasn’t crunchy, it wasn’t good at all. And it was the most expensive dish. Supposedly it was good for 3-5 people based on the menu. I think it can feed max 2 people. And you need to order a main each to have enough food. They brought the duck cold and they randomly brought the second part of the duck cooked in some awkward shameful sweet tomato sauce or something. It tasted like Microwaved Chinese food. This Peking Duck is a huge fail. They removed it off the bill but still they ruined my night there is nothing that can compensate for that. The chef should be fired or he should resign. I would be ashamed if any Chinese person came to Istanbul to eat this they will have a really bad experience. 5- the salad, the artichoke, the asparagus, the eggplants were decent. I think they need to increase the portion size on those. As there is nothing to order on the menu. You end up starving as there isn’t much stuff to order. Or they should recommend to order more orders based on the quantity of people. 6- they didn’t offer us any desserts. I asked for a portion of shashlik and eggplants. And they flip floopped and I got really frustrated with them. To avoid any more conflict and frustration, I decided to ask for the bill. 7- everything was served with 30 minutes or so of spacing between the servings. My dad’s dish came 20 minutes before the duck and the duck came and they disappeared for 30 minutes to prepare it and it came back cold and unappetizing. Horrible experience. We were starving. The hotel management should get rid of this chef, hire better staff, train the staff, and the food needs to be served faster, runners should serve drinks to make sure nobody has problems with drinks. They should redesign the terrace and remove the bushes. The food items if they want to make it fusion, hire Chinese people for Chinese dishes and do not use Turkish people at all to cook them. That is all.

we really enjoyed dumplings and ribs. view is very impressive. prices are high but reasonable for this kind of place. i am sensitive to loud music due to my medical condition but they were gracious enough to give me a suitable table when i mentioned this.