Leb-i Derya

Leb-i Derya offers one of the most spectacular Bosphorus views in Istanbul. But the building is very old.. Be careful.. Perched high above the city, it’s the kind of restaurant where dinner feels like an experience — the skyline, the lights, and the water create a setting that’s hard to forget. The atmosphere is elegant yet relaxed, capturing the essence of modern Istanbul dining. The menu balances seafood, meze, and meat dishes with refined simplicity. The sea bass ceviche and grilled octopus are standout plates, and the cocktails are crafted with care. Service is polished and friendly, though it can slow down a little during peak hours. Perfect for a romantic dinner or for hosting visitors who want to see Istanbul at its best. Tip: Arrive just before sunset to catch the golden light over the Bosphorus — it’s the moment when the restaurant feels truly magical. Reservations are highly recommended.

This place was an absolute disaster!!! Outrageously overpriced — for a main dish that cost around 800 lira, they brought us a plate of fries and three pieces of smelly meat. We also ordered starters, and what they served didn’t match our order at all. The restrooms were filthy, and the kitchen looked disgusting. The only thing that wasn’t terrible was the view. I’m honestly ashamed I brought my family here. Avoid this place at any cost — it’s not worth a single lira.

Absolute disaster – avoid at all costs! We came to what looked like a promising restaurant with a beautiful view, but the experience was appalling from start to finish. The entire place was run by one single person – the cook, the barman, the DJ, the waiter – all in one. We were the only customers, and it quickly became obvious why. It took 45 minutes for our food to arrive, and everything was clearly frozen food. The taste was utterly disappointing. To make matters worse, the restaurant’s payment system completely crashed, making the whole process painfully slow and frustrating (and with the intention of pushing us to pay by cash). Great view, yes – but absolutely not worth wasting your time or money here. The worst dining experience I’ve ever had in Istanbul.

Attention: This place doesn't exist anymore. The restaurant has now another nome but the new management has kept the listing and logo of the old (good) restaurant to scam people who used to go to Leb-i Derya. Our group did a mistake. We should have left the moment we sat down, but we insisted on staying for a drink, fondly remembering a great dinner a couple of years before at Leb'i-Derya. I don't know what kind of business this establishment runs, but: - We asked for sparkling water: "I am sorry, we are out of water" - We asked for cocktails (which were listed on the menu): "I am sorry, we are out of cocktails" - We asked for the wine menu: "We have white wine and red wine" We nibbled a few ok-ish appetizers while drinking the one and only kind of beer that they had and left very quickly. It is sad that a once great place has been destroy by the current management. Don't go!

The starters we got were delicious yet they did forget one. We got the mixed grilled meats, steak was cold and over cooked but rest were really good. Most of the cocktails on the menu and the whiskeys they did not have and the wine they served us was burnt. And service was rushed and pretty poor. View was amazing!! Also worth noting it is not in this location that it shows on google maps. It is up the hill.

Absolutely one of the best restaurants we have visited together over the past few years! Incredibly designed place tucked away up a staircase up an elevator and up another staircase. Once you’re to the top you’re surrounded by absolute beauty, a friendly staff, and world class food. Can’t say enough good things about the mushroom/potato appetizer, the grilled sea bass, and the loin/meatball entree...can’t wait to go back

Very poor experience! I highly advise against it. We went there for New Year's, and we paid 100€/ adult and 75€/ child, including a 5 years old. The menu promised included 4 courses: an appetiser, shrimps with some sauce, a pastry and a main course + New Year's special dessert, and unlimited soft and alcoholic drinks. We got an appetiser with 5 spoons of different dishes, one pastry they put with a claw on each plate, the shrimps were half of baby shrimp for each person and the main course which was a piece of overcooked meat with some bad sauce and a lot of rice. The special desert was a small pastry filled with halva. The unlimited drinks were wine, vodka tonic, gin tonic, still and sparkling water, lipton ice tea, and Sprite. They ran out of tonic, wine, and sparkling water by 11:00 PM and tried to charge us for extra wine and sparkling water. At midnight, they gave us a bottle of proseco for 15 people and tried to charge us 300€ for it, even if it was included. All though there were plenty of English speaking waiters, we got one that couldn't understand one word of English. We gave him a tip of 100 €, and at the end, another waiter who was drunk and had nothing to do with our table came begging for money and cigarettes. For entertainment, there was a belly dancer who wouldn't leave until all the men paid her

Really wanted to like this place. Sadly the food was overpriced and bad. I ordered the Seafood Pasta. It was so overcooked the noodles tasted like instant noodles. The prawns were the frozen type and the squid was not fresh at all. I didn't finish my main meal. And what was most upsetting was that there were barely any ingredients in a dish that cost over 400 turkish lira. Furthermore, the cover charge was 95 Lira per pax but the bread served was stale. The service charge was a mandatory 10% even though the service was just okay. They were welcoming and polite but clearly didn't care how poor the quality of the food was. The only thing that was nice was the view. But with a couple smoking right next to the window it was not a great place to sit either. The music - some Turkish dance pop - was way too loud and didn't have the right vibe. They were trying to make it more of a place to drink than eat somehow which doesn't seem right. The building itself was old. To get to the top you need to take the lift / stairs but the lift wasn't working and the lights were off. Imagine going down stairs in darkness. Overall it was a huge disappointment and unfortunately I would not recommend anyone to come here. Save your wallet and stomach the hassle and avoid this place ! You'll feel better for it.

I made a sunset reservation on a Saturday night and we had the whole place to ourselves! The views of the Bosphorus are amazing. Service was great. The spot is on the 6th floor and is called Endam but this location is called Leb-i Derya. The spot is chic and hip in aesthetic with house-mix pop songs playing (nice vibes). Food is a little pricey and not everything on the menu may be the best. But I got the veal and mushroom risotto and I don't know how to describe to you how delicious it was. The meat was so tender that it fell off of the bone immediately. Hardly any fat and none of those chewy random pieces within the meat. The risotto was perfectly cooked and a sin for how good it tasted. Bill was with tip included for the veal and water was around 1200 tl, so not cheap, but very tasty and worth the view.

True. The view is a really good reason to go to Leb-i Derya, the one on the sixth floor of the Richmond Hotel. No doubt, this is magnificent, and it would clearly let them get away with mediocre food, that's how nice it is. But it isn't. Of course, if you are looking for something really heavily authentic, you should go somewhere else. This is not the place. They put caramelized shallots on your beef skewer, and serve it with an eggplant souffle that is topped with almonds and pistachios. The ingredients are what you would expect, but the way it's prepared isn't. But it's tasty. Really. The meat is super tender, well spiced, delicious. The shallots fit too well to just be decoration, the spicy tomato paste is wonderful, and the souffle - hey, nothing wrong with doing eggplant in a different way. The Bosphorus Kebab with lamb and chicken was equally delicious, and I was lucky to get a bite or two of the lamb shish with plums, pomegranate molasses, smoked eggplant risotto and fresh thyme - really tasty stuff. Again - it's anything but traditional, but it's very good. The only thing that was too much on the bland side was the almond crusted shrimp gratin - the sauce the shrimps were covered with... it more or less just consisted of cream, and was yearning for some spices, some pepper, a bit of salt. But the marinated salmon with horseradish foam - really good stuff. Even dessert brought some nice surprises. Like the tahini parfait and pomegranate sorbet. Actually that's what I would call contemporary authentic, in a way. Queen of the dessert discoveries though was the lavender ice cream that accompanied the (traditional) chocolate souffle. So delicious that even the kids loved it. Yes, the bill is higher than in other places, but we didn't really think we paid too much for what we got. Especially if you take another look at the great view while having your coffee. Try it. We liked it.

Great view, average food. That about sums it up. You'll get an amazing view of the Bosphorous, but if it's great "Turkish" grub you're looking for, look elsewhere. The food was OK, the prices a tad high, but the view spectacular. With a standard menu (read: not traditional Turkish) it's a decent plate that will run you about 40-50 lira, but the view is what you're really paying for.

This review is for the Yukosu location, but it seems like both locations are poorly managed and offer sub-par service. We, unfortunately, went to Leb-i Derya twice during our week-long visit to Istanbul. On the first visit, we scored a sweet spot at the bar and had an amazing view of Beyoglu; however, the view barely made up for the aloof servers and extremely slow service. How long does it take to pour two Efes? The menu and drinks are also expensive, but we let this slide due to the location. Unfortunately, we went to Leb-i-derya a second time, because it was close to our rental apartment and it was a beautiful sunny evening. The service was even worse on this Thursday night: no one greeted us at the door, we had to ask for menus once we were seated, and then we sat waiting for someone to take our order for 10 minutes even though the restaurant was fairly empty. We were so irritated over the inattentive female servers there, who were just standing behind the bar chatting, that we got up and left. There are so many great restaurants in this area...DO NOT EAT HERE. We recommend Ficcin or Tavanarasi if you are looking for good service and great food.

Good portions. Excellent lamb kebap. There is an eggplant spread that is also very well done. The view here is difficult to surpass. Get a bottle of Turkish red and enjoy viewing the cargo ships sail in and out of the Bosphorus harbor. Hip and intimate, albeit a little overpriced.

The views of Istanbul are the key draw, although the chef tries to be quite creative, which I like. We went there especially for the Ottoman-INSPIRED cuisine (I'm familiar with the "authentic Ottoman" places in town, some of which I find very good, but the goal here was to try something updating the classics) and found it a bit of hit-or-miss. If the quality of everything on the menu becomes consistent, this could be a really great restaurant. PS The two locations are quite close to each other, but this review is specifically for the Kumbaraci one. (http://www.lebiderya.com/kumbaraci_eng/index.html)

Another 6th floor bar/restaurant with amazing views across Istanbul. Much more chilled than some of the other super trendy bars of the city. A little bit cheaper too. Cheaper I said, not cheap. Lots of low level lighting, candles and wood finishes make it a very warm atmosphere. You barely even realise that you are effectivly sitting in a conservatory on the roof of a block of flats

Great view on the bosphorus, great atmosphere... One of the ever-in places in Istanbul. The food is good but not extraordinary. Shouldn't be your first choice, but if you have more than one night out in Istanbul, try it. You'll be fascinated.

Great view, great food, amazing service. Spent the night eating meze and drinking raki and can't wait to go back. Our server Taner was attentive, friendly, and even helped us plan the next part of our evening.

This trendy restaurant has a wonderful location in Taksim. It sees the whole Marmara Sea, old peninsula, Bosphorus. Just like the whole city under your feet. Leb-i Derya also stands out with its unique drink options and cocktails. We recommend you get a bottle of wine and enjoy the fantastic view on sunset here. Also you can celebrate birthday here by booking a private room. I celebrated my brother's birthday in one of the room with a spectacular view. Thumbs up!

The View is Great but the Food its only OK my Wife Order Meat and the Taste is Not so good.

Pricy but very good food. The view is unique and gives a nice atmosphere.

It was our last night in Istanbul and we wanted to celebrate. We chose Leb-i derya in the Richmond Hotel. Sunday evening. 9 pm. Place is more than half empty. We have a reservation. We ask if we can sit side by side. What follows is experience right of of Fawlty Towers. A greasy dude in a dirty golf shirt, baggy acid wash jeans and running shoes says no way. We have a reservation for two, we will sit at a table for two. This would be fine if the place was busy. It wasn't. Deadsville. We pointed to more than three tables that would accommodate us. We also point to several couples sitting at tables for four. No dice. Turkish Basil Fawlty was not going to budge. We hit the bar and play the waiting game. We buy an expensive bottle of wine and chat up the bartender. He pleads with us to eat in the lounge or the bar. He sounds genuinely afraid of his co-worker. A few tables trickle in. Buddy tries to seat them in such a way that it is impossible to seat us side by side. Eventually the place starts to clear out. He comps drinks. He chats up friends. He tries to keep bums in the chairs. Half hour to kitchen close. He pushes tables to together and sets up for a fantasy party of six. The GF has had enough. She walks over and calls BS on the party of six. Angry Guy tells us he will not seat us in his near empty restaurant. GF says he is mistaken if he thinks this will end that evening. Finally another waiter grows some stones. There is back and forth in Turkish. We are seated. Turkish Basil Fawlty glowers. We eat a thoroughly unimpressive overpriced meal. The only upside is the view. But there are literally hundreds of restaurants in Istanbul with equally good views. They no doubt want your business too.