5. Kat Cafe Bar Restaurant

Ma grande déception stambouliote.
Oui la vue est géniale, mais franchement, pour manger ou passer une soirée, ça né suffit amplement pas, et pour le coup, je trouve que cette adresse né vaut pas le coup !
— La qualité de la nourriture n’est pas vraiment là. C’est réellement «bof, mouais». Que ce soit la chicken salad, le houmous, la pita (qui était SCANDALEUSE), ou les seafood linguine. Tout était vraiment ultra-​bof, voire vraiment pas bon.
C’est simple, nous n’avons rien fini, et pourtant, nous sommes sortis en ayant FAIM.
— Les tarifs ! Qui sont vraiment ultra-​abusés. J’étais prévenue, via les commentaires Unilocal,sauf que je pensais que la nourriture était au moins à la normale stambouliote, et que le surplus était pour la vue. Que nenni !
Donc une entrée avec des pitas surgelées toutes sèches/​un houmous pas terrible/​en quantité minuscule pour 28.5TL (8,50 €) c’est juste scandaleux. Sans parler que dans la plupart des restaurants, ce type d’entrée est OFFERTE.
Une chicken salad à 27.9TL (8,50 € oui oui le même prix que l’entrée…) avec de la salade sèche, très peu de poulet, un assaisonnement banal, bref aucun intérêt et aucun goût. Sans même la quantité.
Et enfin une seafood linguine à 44.9TL (presque 14 €) avec RIEN dedans, de pauvres fruits de mer décongelés, caoutchouteux et sans goût, alors qu’on est au bord de DEUX mers ?! Juste à côté du port de pêche d’Istanbul? C’est pas un scandale ça ?!
Et les cocktails? 35TL le Narcissus, soit plus de 10 €. Plus cher qu’en France, pour un cocktail sympa mais vraiment sans plus, et pourtant le plus cher de tout ce qu’on a bu à Istanbul.
— Et enfin le service: il était pas bien méchant, mais vraisemblablement il né comprenait pas un mot d’anglais (ce que je peux comprendre, admettre et jusqu’à présent on avait TOUJOURS trouvé moyen de se comprendre) et ça devait le paniquer de nous servir. Résultat, il préférait né PAS nous servir. Ou nous dire «oui oui» (enfin «yes yes») alors qu’il n’avait rien compris.
Par exemple, on avait bien insisté pour avoir d’abord le «seasonal appetizer plate», qui était de toute façon rangé dans la catégorie «Starters». Je vous rassure, il avait la carte en turc pour bien comprendre ce que nous souhaitions.
Et avoir ENSUITE, nos plats. On avait même hésité à commander en deux fois, pour être sûrs, sauf qu’on avait déjà tellement galéré à ce qu’il vienne prendre notre commande qu’on a pas osé prendre le risqué qu’il né revienne jamais.
Bön beh résultat, il est arrivé, normal, avec les trois plats en main. Ca né rentrait pas sur notre minuscule table et il était un peu exaspéré que nos verres né soient pas finis (en même temps, on comptait les boire avec notre apéritif !!!), on y était pour rien s’il nous avait collé sur cette minuscule table en arguant que les autres étaient réservées alors que pendant 2h30 nous n’avons vu personne dessus, et enfin, POURQUOI AMENER LES TROIS ENSEMBLE ?!
Du coup, mon compagnon ayant ses pâtes chaudes, on a mangé nos plats avant de tenter l’entrée. PFFF.
Et pour finir, nous n’avons jamais eu d’EAU. Que nous avions pourtant spécifiquement commandée. Jamais, genre, euh, jamais. Mais en même temps, quand on l’avait commandée, il avait l’air tout perdu parce qu’on voulait de l’eau plate, qu’il né comprenait pas (probablement) le mot anglais pour «plate» et que du coup il du préférer né rien amener.
Genre plutôt que de demander à ses collègues, nous redemander, ou se le faire expliquer HEIN.
Bref, assez mauvaise soirée dans ce lieu, que du coup je né recommande absolument pas.

The perfect end to our incredible 10 days in Istanbul!
The rooftop view is exceptional, the drinks are unique and refreshing, and the service lovely. We truly felt like royalty in this one-​of-​a-​kind, classy, beautiful oasis.
We shall forever refer to it as «The Shooting Star of Istanbul»!

Beautiful place. Charming entrance. Ex pat vibe. Spectacular view. Pricey but not horrific. would love to go again. I just had a drink, I didn’t eat.

First, the view! You can watch Istanbul in a amazing way from here! It is stunning! Second, the salads are amazing and the fruit desert is so big! It serves two easily! Third, the service was great, they has a problem with my reservation, but they fixed it really fast while i was drinking in the bar. So, it was one of the best place which I have visited in Istanbul!

Amazing place — service very professional and the view is stunning
Definitely recommended
PS — you should try the #50

Way overpriced. Only good thing about this place was the view. Food is average and service is even worse. They charge 15 Liras for one 0.75L bottle of water. I was shocked to see it on the bill. I would suggest you to go here if you have too much money to spend on a mundane meal, if not keep on looking for some place else where you will get you moneys worth.

This place is all about the location. I had a great time and enjoyed the view, but the service was pretty poor. I had to remind my server repeatedly about some fries that I had ordered. The food was mediocre, but not terrible. I’d definitely come back again, but I wouldn’t expect anything spectacular aside from the view.

This restaurant has a great terrace with a stunning view of the Bosphorus. The atmosphere is great and tucked away from the hustle and bustle of most restaurants in the Taksim area. I have heard a lot of great reviews about this place so decided to check it out with some out of town guests. The reason I gave it 3 stars was because I was not very impressed with the dishes and cocktails that we ordered. The dishes seemed very random ranging from quesadillas to curry chicken.
I recently went back for their breakfast brunch and it was a much better experience. The spread was great and the service was wonderful. All for a decent price. I heard they made some changes to their menu so I am willing to give this place another shot!

Wunderschöné Aussicht über die Dächer Istanbuls und den Bosporus, tolle Cocktails, leckeres mediterranes Essen. Gut versteckte Lage im Dachgeschoss eines Wohnhauses.

My reviews are usually pretty long-​winded but I’ll keep this one short and sweet.
–the food was great (my hubs and I only got salads, but they were dee-​lish)
–the cocktails (personally recommended to us by the manager) were refreshing and tasty
–the view (from the rooftop terrace) was BEAUTIFUL
–the service was EXCELLENT; so kind, helpful and attentive!
We are only here for a 4 days but may be making a return visit! Very impressed.
(It is a bit expensive though! Just FYI)

I first heard of 5. Kat in a Guardian feature on the best rooftop bars around the world. This made the list, and, having visited this place for myself earlier this year, can wholeheartedly agree that this definitely is one of the best rooftop bars that I have ever been to.
I visited the bar shortly before sunset and was blown away. The views were thoroughly amazing, and I fully encourage anyone visiting to walk around and take in the 360 degree view (including walking up the stairs to what seemed to be the staff smoking area).
I do agree that drinks are a little on the pricey side, but, to be fair, that’s been the case with almost all places with amazing views that I’ve been to. I accept there’s a premium to be paid because, hey, there must be plenty of people who come by and just nurse drinks, and, heck, one does need to pay the rent after all. Still, it wasn’t exorbitantly expensive, nor did they seem to mind when it looked like I was only going to have the one glass of wine. I’ll be the first to admit that their service wasn’t terribly good; when my friend decided to join us and we decided to see if we could have dinner there, we were told there were no tables available, despite there being several empty tables and no reserved signs.
In any case, if you want a truly wonderful view of the magnificent city that is Istanbul, I highly, highly recommend this place for a quick drink or two. And come before sunset. You won’t regret it.

5 Kat… Everyone recommended it so thought to take some guests to show them the great view.
First impression of the interior was very good as it is really nicely decorated (photo).
Headed up on the terrace where the view was amazing … Could see all of Bosphorus, Bridge, Kiz Kulesi… We were so excited and asked for a table for 6 (Sunday Noon time).
The reply was negative even though there were tables available outside, because we wanted to try coffee and sweets and not have the Brunch they were offering at that time.
The only place they could offer was on the inside bar…
After some negotiations and not wanting to leave, we suggested to sit somewhere outside on the stand/​tables they had. Happy we had the chance to stay…
We had our coffee etc and ended with a bottle of wine and some side dishes… I’m sure what we paid was enough to give us a table on the first place… (350tl)
And also… 12tl for a cappuccino ??
They should be more reasonable with the prices… Ok, the view is stunning… but service is not… Things could be better for the prices they are asking…
I will go there again… as the view and decoration was really nice but would be best if they would reconsider the prices and provide better service…

i was here three times: first time on my own for breakfast, second time with two turkish friends for tea and the third time with a german visitor for breakfast.
well every time the service got worse and worse. not only were we kept waiting for the menue alone over 30 min but then we couldn’t even catch a waiter to place our orders. both times with my friends people next to our tables experienced the same and just left. however as the breakfast isn’t too bad and the view on the bosphorus is simply breath-​taking, i tried it three times as mentioned. but no progress! like the other review here said it’s okay for drinks if you’ve got the time and patience. as i was lucky enough to enjoy the marvellous view, i’d sadly not come back myself. too much hassle with the (nearly non-​existing) service. :(

I am Turkish-​American living in NYC, and first visited this spot in 1998.
This place is ALL about the view. COMPLETELY. I recommend it for drinks only.
Reason being that the food is somewhat below-​average international cuisine at inflated prices. And the service is awful. I mean really, really bad.
…the bad service can be suffered if you have a drink in your hand, but not if you’re waiting to pay a lot for bad food!
Last week I had to complain to the manager… and she was extremely rude. I was with 5 Turks, all were equally upset. I’m talking super-​long wait, inattentive service, and two incorrect orders.
You see this reflected in the non-​English language reviews (vs. what you see in the English language reviews)…so beware!
Really a shame considering the view.

Really nice place .
Of course great view. But also a very nice music .
On top of the location, the place has a certain kind of charm .
The clientele is rather international. The staff is … slightly above the average the level of service you’ll find in Istanbul (slightly) .
Has anyone smiled? … Nop. still not.

An amazing restaurant. I came from the USA to here. The ambience is perfect. The cheese plate was amazing, the pasta dish was phenomenal, the dessert heavenly. Everything from a to z was perfect. This is a great find. I recommended it to everyone.

Das essen ist nicht sehr gut. Aber die Aussicht ist atemberaubend. Eher ein Glas Wein. Und Vorspeisen sind ok

Der Geheimtipp schlechthin in Istanbul. Zu Deutsch heist das Restaurant «5ter Stock».
Es befindet sich in einem normalem Wohnhaus und bietet einen atemberaubenden Ausblick über Istanbul. Über den Dächern ist die große Terrasse wo man einen tollen Abend bei super Cocktails und einen hervorragenden Essen verbringen kann. Bei schlechten Wetter gibt es auch ein Indoor Restaurant im 5ten Stock mit großen Panorama Fenstern und einer tollen Atmosphäre.
Auf jeden Fall ein lohnender Abschluß eines tollen Tages in Istanbul.