Palatium Cafe and Restaurant

In the area people from the left and right were trying to drag us into their restaurants, but at Palatium Café there was noone outside. We checked out the menu, and thought "why not!". The restaurant was cozy with nice decorations,and the food was very good. We got flatbreads and spreads compliments on the house. The bread was so good, and it turned out they had a stone-oven outside! I got the "pide with roasted meat" which was very good and reminded me of a pizza. My wife got the "special kebab" which she enjoyed. We had delicious apple tea to drink. Our neighbour table got some fancy dish in a clay pop with a large fire show, which we will have to try out next time.

First off- nice people and good food. I enjoyed the Turkish wine. Affordable and matches any California wine for the price. Worth mentioning: It’s built on top of an old palace. You can go look. Affordable meal with history. Great find and I’m so glad we stumbled upon it.

We had our first meal in Istanbul at Palatium Restaurant, and it was a perfect start. We got complimentary fresh bread straight from the stone oven, served with hummus, yoghurt dip, and another delicious mix. For mains, we had the pide with roasted meat and the Palatium special kebab – both super flavorful and cooked in the big stone oven as well. The apple tea was a nice welcome, and for “dessert” we had sahlep with cinnamon, which was creamy and delicious. Cozy atmosphere, super friendly staff, and surprisingly reasonable prices considering it's a touristic area. Everything tasted amazing – I’d definitely come back. 1500 lira in total for two people.

After an excellent local dinner (our 3rd time there), the owner invited us to the basement. It turned out they had uncovered remnants of a palace from the Constantinople era and even closed the restaurant’s facade to restore and preserve the artifacts. If you’re in Istanbul, in about six months they’ll open it for public visits. Highly recommended!

Lovely place. Highly recommend. Laid back, easy going, no pressure. Great food, big qty. The owner is very nice. Overall very pleasant.

A cozy place to dine. Service is fast but the food will be consume slowly to savor the taste. Gani, the staff that serve us is very good and friendly. Highly recommend

An absolute hidden gem in this beautiful city, great atmosphere great service and the best food we had whilst here. We recommend the yoghurt kebab.

Warm, relaxing cozy atmosphere. Has two floors. Very quick service. Big variety of tasty, fresh food. The best hookah. Quick service. Always make sure clients are happy. Recommend to visit. We tried other different restaurants, but spent here three evenings.

Great restaurant. We really enjoyed sitting on the bean bag chairs and socializing. This is a mixed indoor outdoor space. The food was very good -- as others recommend, the clay pot chicken was very good. Also recommend the lamb. as it got busier the service staff became a little unresponsive. Prices were average for sultanahmet tourist areas. Great ambience.

We did a last minute dinner decision and it was absolutely fabulous We sat in there rooftop dining area Ordered lamb chops and eggplant lamb kabob Bottle of Syrah

One of the best restaurants in Sultanahmet! We were in Istanbul 7 nights and came here three times. Great food and ambiance!

Spacious respite from the street crowds, almost empty on Sat night. Heavy furniture with waiters in black blazers. Slow service. Food did not match the atmosphere. Subpar all around except ambiance.

Food below average. Meat not good quality. Everything was too oily. Service was below average. Place was near empty and it took forever to get the food. Would not recommend. Ambience was not bad.

It was a real nice experience. The Turkish flare makes this place special. We all loved our meals. We visited the underground level which is full of history. Hukka can be smoke there too.

Place looks awesome, great chill vibe, nice area, great seating, lighting and the food was not that bad. The staff was flat out terrible, uninspired, flat, no energy. At one point they played a Christmas song in June in a place that has a club like atmosphere... perplexed, this place should be packed. Service and energy make a difference. Fire the staff and start over- uninspiring!

It is kinda hidden by Hagia Sophia because most of us doesn't walk toward Bosporus after visiting Hagia Sophia. It is a cool place to dine. It sits on top of a part of early east Roman Empire palace. You can see they glass floor. The food is not bad but not spectacular compared to other restaurants nearby. The service is good as well.

The food was fantastic! Had the lamb chops, which were great. Ambiance is very Istanbul, but subtle. Great spot for dinner and to just hang out for a while.

Love this restaurant...food comes in hot pots. We had the Egg Plant casserole and Lamb Kebab. Both dishes where served promptly and tasted excellent. My wife and I highly recommend this spot. It's slightly off the beaten path but very close to the Four Seasons hotel.

This place was a delight. It is steps away from the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, but has history of its own. We enjoyed a surprisingly good meal while relaxing on comfy stuffed chairs (think bean bag with a back) in front of the plate glass windows on a cold and rainy night -- delightful view, comfortable seating, beautiful atmosphere... Then, after stuffing ourselves silly and then enjoying a complimentary tea service to end the meal, we inquired about the famous excavations underneath the restaurant. Our server was delighted to take us on a personalized tour himself, since it was low season (mid-March) and only four or five of the tables were occupied. Wow... I say wow. It's hard to believe that the owner of a restaurant on his own nickel has been able to excavate such an impressive piece of history... Turns out that they noticed an unusual hole in one of the walls and had to spend quite a while getting the government to allow him to dig through that wall (which had been stucco'd over) to discover several large chambers of the ~1700-year old "diplomatic wing" of the original Constantinian era palace. Still does it all on his own dime, while dealing with bureaucrats every step of the way. Overall, well worth a visit - for the decor, the food (actual quality, not tourist quality), and for the brief history tour.

The Palatium is a very nice looking and cosy place to hang out for a drink. The Food we had (hummus and lamb pide) was tasteless and had no spices. They automatically add 10% gratuity which is not fair for the service they have. We where there low season and it was kind of empty, but still four waiters where standing around staring at their phones. So for a talk and drinks I´d like to come back, but foodwise there are better places.

Just got here from the US, this place is great. Great food, drinks, atmosphere and decor!

Nice sumptuous cushions, slight smell of shisha/hooka/nargile in the air in the back yard of the restaurant. Great servers and ambience. Mixed drinks, juice, beer ... All the good stuff.

My most favorite cafe/restaurant/lounge in Istanbul! The environment is absolutely beautiful, comfy, and cozy. The employees are all absurdly nice (which is a huge plus if you're familiar with Turks). The food is delicious. They've got a large variety of options from soups to salads and even larger meat and fish dishes. They've got tea, coffee, beer, etcetera. They've got hookah! And beautiful decor. They've got comfy couches and bean bags as well as tables! Whatever you want, they have! Free wifi! And the icing is that some of the floor is glass so you can see the ancient city below! It's absolutely incredible! Ask for Gani - he's the best employee here with the biggest heart! You'll be treated the best! Enjoy!

Jasmine tea is delicious. This is a decent place to hang out & have tea or coffee in Sultanahmet. The decor is nice, & seating is very comfortable. The food is overpriced compared to other places in the area, so I skipped it. So hang out here, & then go eat somewhere more reasonably priced.

It's actually one of the best restaurant I visited. Almost all the food is cooked in a fresh wooden pot and all the food tastes really fresh. When I ate in the restaurant I was the only person in the restaurant eating alone with my family. There's also a dungeon museum that you can get in for free. TRULY THE BEST RESTAURANT!!!!

Good restaurant, good service. My husband and I visited the place twice because we wanted to see the "Cities of the Underworld" cave/city ruins and the food was decent. For both meals, we ordered a combo of soda, tea, coffee/latte, various grilled meat and veggie dishes and pides. I gave an extra star for their wonderful meatballs and the reasonable price for all the dishes but removed a star because we got two dishes that were under-seasoned: chicken wings and salami pide. I love that the clay oven or grilled food came out on a cast iron skillet- which was actually sizzling hot. A couple of restaurants we tried in the sultanahmet area sent us food on a cast iron skillet that was cold (what's the point?!). If you want a simple and relaxing meal and a tourist destination (underground ruin), we recommend this place, though we don't recommend the pides. *We came here off-season, right after winter so the place was not packed with loud crowds.

Unlike other eateries around here, They automatically add 10% gratuity. We came here for lunch and also for dinner. The food was pretty good and reasonably priced. The beer was slightly cheaper here than other places. Our main attraction was the fact that you could hookah, and the nice big windows make for a good lounging/people watching place. The indoor patio was a very nice place to have lunch, as it had an open roof. The claim to fame of this place is that it is built over some ancient building and you can actually go down the stairs and check it out. Pretty cool, but the novelty wears off quick.

Interesting fusion of the Turkish experience and pop culture. Good food. A bit on the pricy side, but I think it's worth it. Located in a historical site. Would recommend coming here for the experience and ambiance.

Love this place! Best ambiance , great food and friendly services ! My favorite experience was looking down my feet and seeing ruins from 1000 years ago! This place is a must visit spot!

Very much enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the place. Nice music at just the right volume, helpful and friendly staff, good service and amazing food. Not cheap, but then again all good restaurant are not. The terrace come in handy if you are a smoker.

We went in here for dessert, because of the cozy chairs in the window. It was very authentic and lovely restaurant. The prices were a bit high but for desserts it was perfect. We had milkshake, chocolate ice cream and baklava. The chocolate ice cream was so delicious and creamy! Try it. All in all a very nice place. Be aware that they add 10 % service charge!

Easily my favorite restaurant in Istanbul! Maybe ever. It's a beautiful space, go out back and smoke a hookah and explore the castle ruins this restaurant is built on! The staff is amazing and food is to die for!

They apparently don't serve water here, though they won't tell you that as you ask multiple times for some. The food was good that we had though, and the seats were comfy. The music is horrible but that seems to be the norm for all restaurants around here.

Great for dinner or just hanging out. The food was the best, the chicken cooked really well--not dry but well done and juicy, and the mezze (hummus, etc.) were flavorful and fresh. I especially recommend the cheese pide, which had tons of white cheese and came out hot and melted through. It's a simple dish but when done right it's excellent. Also, the kunafa dessert with pistachios and cheese is superb. Best kunafa (kunafeh) I've had outside of Nablus, where it's a particular specialty. The service was good but can be a bit slower since it's a more relaxed place. Still we were out in a little over one hour, even with having dinner and drinks. Definitely worth a visit. Also, they have wifi so it's a good place to just have a drink and check your email if you need to. You won't feel rushed even if you don't eat anyting, like in a cafe.

Lovely airy interior. Perfect for a rest after walking the town. Great service. Great food.