Comments on: “No Reservations” in Istanbul: Our Take

By: John

John — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:09:49 +0000

Hi,

Where is the open air area with the mix of restuarants depicted in the show? Would enjoy a nice outdoor meal while visiting Istanbul.

Thx

By: admin

admin — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:30:32 +0000

All the places reviewed on the blog have addresses listed at the bottom of the individual posts. Enjoy your trip!

By: Gandharva Kumar

Gandharva Kumar — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:03:26 +0000

Can anyone please tell me exact address of all the places mentioned in this blog. I’m about to make a gastronomical trip to Istanbul. It will be helpful. Thank you

By: jahra

jahra — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:00:32 +0000

wrong observation

who said she thinks mezes of Çiçek Pasajı looks good?

By: Mulayim

Mulayim — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:13:40 +0000

The problem with that Turkish girl and her family is their “Look at us, we are a modern, European family! We can speak ENGLISH!” attitude. Also, like all other hipsters in Istanbul, she thinks mezes of Çiçek Pasajı joints are good, which is completely stupid.

By: Sevin

Sevin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:58:48 +0000

And sorry I forgot to add, he hasn’t eaten any desserts but a little bit of güllaç. That’s not fair!

By: Sevin

Sevin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:52:11 +0000

Truth be told, I loved the places Bourdain has visited but he could do better with a better fixer.
Kale has always been one of my favorite breakfast spots with lovely views of Bosphorus but I can’t say they serve the best breakfast in Istanbul. But they have an advantage over Van Kahvaltı Evi that Kale doesn’t smell of freshly cooked eggs and boiled milk, which kills my appetite (for some the smell may be appetizing, I don’t know). But if I can’t sit outside in Van Kahvaltı Evi, I don’t go there at all. Having said that, another smelly but amazing spot, that I’d wish Bourdain to visit is the tiny little bal-kaymak shop of a Bulgarian family in Beşiktaş. It is an amazing place at the center of Çarşı and even featured once on National Geographic channel. With lahmacun, I agree. Nişantaşı is not the best place to taste one but the rest of the places he visited seems OK to me.
Yet I have some other problems. I know that Bourdain is a meat-lover but he should have tried some basic zeytinyağlı vegetable dishes like zucchinis, dolma, aubergines, weeds, celery roots, green beans and even leeks. He only had a couple of mezes and a single artichoke and I believe he missed a lot. He also missed the chance of eating a good fish with rakı by the Bosphorus. He instead settled with Beyoğlu.
And, oh my God, what was wrong with that Turkish girl and her family? If any of us was his fixer in her stead the show would be much much better. And finally the music… I don’t know whether it was Egyptian, Tunisian or Iraqi but I’m 100 percent sure that it wasn’t Turkish.

By: Vanita

Vanita — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:28:08 +0000

Hayley…can I have dinner at your boyfriend’s mother’s house? lol

By: Vanita

Vanita — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:20:13 +0000

I will be visiting Istanbul in a month and super excited to try all the foods i’ve been reading about. I am a food nut and love reading about all your recommendations. I am travelling alone so looking for good cheap food to try on this trip….any thoughts?

By: Mulayim

Mulayim — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:16:48 +0000

@Hayley: Namli? Please… They are one of the most overrated joints in Istanbul.

I liked the episode but the girl with terrible accent and her family were annoying. Also, he should have tried some baklava in Battaloglu, Sisli. A culinary visit to Turkey is never complete without baklava.