Balıkçı Sabahattin

We stumbled upon this special place tucked away in the Sultan Ahmet district in the midst of older homes, abandoned homes, and cobble stone streets.
Absolutely the BEST fish and shrimp! Freshness is incomparable. Meals do not use too many spices — you can taste the fish itself.
Note: fish do have a lot of small bones — choices range from sea bass to grouper to mulles to tourbot and then some exotic native to the region: loufer, etc.
Our fav were the prawns, loufer and the sea bass!
Service was very good.

Okay forget the fact that I can’t even pronounce the name, this place is pretty swank. Firstly, it’s a little hard to find. But you may already know that. Once you eventual do find it you will be greeted by a serious display of the day’s catch– Branzino– sea bass, mullet, prawns, dorado, turbot, which had, and others I am not sure of. All packed in ice. You decide on the fish and they clean and cook it. Fried and grilled over charcoal are your choices. They start you off with mezze, which today were
Spinach in golden raisin, fava bean with fresh herb, fried zucchini in yogurt sauce, grilled bread with olive oil and something like harissa, marinated sea bass, great calamari, and rocket salad. This place is a short walk from the Hagia Sophia, and not a tourist trap. Highly recommended.

The fresh fish is delicious and a welcome change from everyday fare. The mazes and desserts (try the halvah with ice cream) are also quite good.
However, the service was quite rude. The waiter grabbed our dishes before we were done and barked at us that the next dish was waiting. Compound this with the fact that most of what we ordered was not available and the touristy atmosphere (not a local to be seen) of the restaurant, the overall impression was poor.

A very clean and good restaurant, try the rice with masel it’s more than delicious, try also the calamari & the sea bass. I highly recommend as one of the best fish restaurant in Istanbul

Pretty decent seafood. Very fresh and cooked with little of no sauce/​spices. It is well recommended by locals and expats. My wife and I visited based on a recommendations from friends that lived in the city… so it was wroth although the food taste wasn‘t particular one of the best, but can‘t day more about freshness

We had seen the Unilocal Reviews, but were headed for another restaurant (which we found closed for Ramadan), and luckily, we found out way back to this hidden gem. The service was excellent, and the food was some of the best we had during our stay in Istanbul. The fish was very fresh, and the starters were great. We were dressed casually, and did not feel out of place — even though it is a white tablecloth restaurant. We sat on the terrace, and there was plenty of other tables available, but they quickly filled as the evening progressed.

Traditional Turkish starters, followed by incredibly fresh fish, served whole. Loved every bite.

Great fish restaurant with fresh fish from the Bosphorous. Good staff, great ambiance, great food and drinks.
Will visit again the next time I am in IST.
Keep up the good work Mr. Sabahattin.

This restaurant was recommended in one of the guide books I had for a great seafood place. It definitely has a large seafood menu, but I think the prices were a bit high for what it is.
It’s more of a fancier joint, though you can dress casual. The waiters are professional and accommodating. For example, they allowed us to pay for half of a wine bottle since we didn’t finish the whole thing.
I like that this spot did not feel touristy, though, and the spot definitely has some charm. If you are looking for traditional and a little nicer of an occasion, this would be a good choice.

This was our most disappointing meal during our trip to Turkey. I had several people strongly recommend it, but I’m not really sure what they were thinking. Service was poor and achingly slow even by European standards.
Food and wine were overpriced, and there was very little that I could eat as a vegetarian which is unusual in Turkey. After eating my decent eggplant dip, I got to sit around and watch my husband eat a $ 35 dollar fish. Sure it was fresh, but there was very little done to it. No one offered to de-​bone it for him when it was brought to the table.
At least there were plenty of kitties roaming around our table. They loved the fish head and tail pieces!

Off the beaten path, at least a little bit, is a hidden gem for seafood lovers.
This restaurant impresses with upper class ambiance (the waiters are wearing dress shirts and bow ties, the décor is stylish and cozy) and delicious food.
We ordered the eggplant salad and the fried calamari as starters and got deliciously spicy, flavorful dried-​tomato and pepper paste with olive oil on the house and it was fantastic. The menus lets you choose from roundabout 10 kinds of fish (priced between 30 and 60 TLY) and our selection of sea bass and snapper did not disappoint. The fish comes grilled to perfection and buttery as can be (without being buttered, I should add), accompanied only by some arugula leaves and a slice of potato. But you will definitely not miss any sides, the fish tastes to-​die-​for!
There’s plenty of outside seating (they have blankets too, when it gets chilly) and you can pay with credit card (tips are cash-​only) and I would strongly recommend coming here (if you are strong enough not to give into the temptations of the other, more-​flashy looking restaurants you have to pass to get here with their rooftop terraces etc). A great, cozy, classy spot with excellent food!

Sabahattin occupies a cozy old house just a short walk down toward the sea from the Hippodrome. It came highly recommended from the staff at our hotel (
) as the best seafood in Istanbul.
This is a place where the food takes the center stage and not the surroundings. They are known for their Turbot — I didn’t know what Turbot was until the gentleman held up the fish for me to take a picture (a bumpy little thing — he kinda looked like a wide snapper), so I could send it to my best friend’s husband who is in the seafood business. It’s a flavorful fish found in the Mediterranean, Baltic and Black Seas. They have a variety of mezes — a little less to choose from than some of the other restaurants, but these were definitely crafted with a lot of thought. We enjoyed the anchovy, shrimp, gelfite and the usual yogurt mezes. For dinner we shared a whole fish, which was served with rice and vegetables. Not being a HUGE fish fan, none of this really impressed me.
I didn’t stave though — dessert was right up my alley. They truly have the most interesting selections of dessert I’ve ever imagined: Nut Zucchini, Apricot with Cream, Quince with Cream, and I had the Semolina with Cream. No — not flour with cream, this was like a heavenly, ultra creamy, rich dessert with a tasty semolina crust. It was devine. Top that off with a glass of Reki (or two) and you have a meal, my friend.
Mr. Sabahattin was sitting at a table by himself while things were winding down in his restaurant. I excused myself for a moment and came back to Mr. SS9 striking up a conversation, sharing a bowl of cherries with him. It was classic!
For the true fish connoisseur, this place is a haven. You must not miss it, if you can get reservations.

The food in here is good. The environment of this restaurant is very interesting. An open roof dining. We came with friend who has been doing business in Istanbul. 7 of us. A great night in this restaurant.

Einer der besten Fischrestaurants in Istanbul. Liegt etwas versteckt. Es gehen sehr viele einheimische. Das essen ist sehr gut. Ich hatte Seabass (gegrillt) und mein Mann Trank Fuschsuppe. Sehr köstlich. Muss man besucht haben

Wir waren zu zweit während eines längeren Istanbul-​Aufenthaltes in diesem Restaurant, da es uns in diversen Reiseführern empfohlen wurde. Wiir hatten an einem Samstagabend im April nicht reserviert und bekamen um 18:30 Uhr noch einen Tisch mit dem Hinweis, dass eine größere Gruppe später am Abend erwartet würde.
Es waren viele Einheimische dort, deren Porsche und Audi-​Geländewagen vom Personal auf dem gegenüberliegenden Parkplatz geparkt wurden. Der Service war sehr gut, die Speisekarte übersichtlich, einem gehobenen Fisch-​Spezialitäten-​Restaurant typisch.
Der eingelegte Thunfisch und die Scampis in Zitronen-​Olivenöl waren vorzügliche Vorspeisen (je 15 TL), das Bier zu 10 TL und das gute Glas Wein für 15 TL. Das Hauptgericht war eine gegrillte Dorade (30 TL) und ein frittierter Steinbutt (60 TL).
Liegt etwas versteckt zwischen der blauen Moschee und dem Meer, jedoch ohne malerischen Ausblick!!! Uneingeschränkt empfehlenswert, mit noch guter Preis-​Gegenwert-​Relation.