Hamdi Restaurant

This place is extremely overpriced for its quality.
Dinner was ok, but it was unbelievably expensive for its tiny little portions. If people make that much money from this kind of service you would imagine the place would be perfect but it was poorly decorated and unpleasant to be in. The staff lied us about the top floor being unable to dine before the iftar hour, but when we went there saw lots of people already eating there. I would never ever consider coming here again. Ever.

1 star for the view, and 1 star for the cog kofte (raw kibbe for those who know the middle eastern name.) we went there at 8 on a Wednesday evening. The waiter poured a little less than a half glass of water for each of us (so like 2 sips?) and we ordered the normal lahmacun and cig kofte and were planning on ordering kebabs, but the servixe was terrible so we left after paying. The cog kofte was old and dry and had an overpowering taste of garlic. The lahmacun had lamb meat (I believe) but there really wasn’t much flavor to it at all. We asked the water for olive oil and waree refills and 15 minutes later when we still had empty glasses and no oil, we asked for the check. Wouldn’t recommend.

Best meal I had in Istanbul; I had the kebab roasted inside eggplant… Very very good! The appetizers were delicious… Your choice from a large tray they bring to your table…
Service was great… Call ahead and make reservations and ask for the 3^rd floor table looking out over the Bosphorus. This place is busy during tourist season.

Grandioser Blick vom 3. OG über den Bosporus! Hervorzuheben ist ebenfalls der charmante Service, die Auswahl an kleinen Vorspeisen und das Gratiswasser.
Das Essen ansich ist absolut in Ordnung, aber auch keine Meisterleistung. Für den Preis (Hauptgerichte zwischen 30 – 35 TL) kann man nicht meckern, es geht aber auch weitaus besser.

I recommend the restaurant. On the other hand if you are looking for special taste this is not. Service is good, presentation is good but I could not find the essense of authenticity. It seemed to me more touristic.
Anyway if you are in Eminönü, it is one of best choices.

I g ive 2 Stars based on food and price, I ordered 6 lamb pieces with raw turnip. parselysprigs, 3 Spoonful of COUCUS. 1 grilled small pepper, 3 spoonful of salad, 2 hand palm sized pieces of bread. It was 32. They brought me one small piece of bread and few pieces of black olives and few pieces of chopped peppers without asking if I wanted any, so I assumed it was free. They werent… so I ended up with bill of 43… I am not going to talk about the views. I regret going to this place… I would get some local street food and enjoy the view. Do not go there unless you do have a tree that grows money… so I walked down the street, getting chicken sharwerma because I was still hungry. yes, it was that bad… do not go there…

Well I actually want to give this place 3 and half stars but since its between 3 or 4 I am going to have to go with 3.
Listen if you are coming here, come for the view. The view is what makes this place extraordinary. A few people mentioned this place to me so I decided to give it a shot. It had a great location and once again great views of some of the historic sites in Istanbul.
The restaurant has a very small balcony for smokers and people who want to snap photos. and 4 tables in outside seating area.
I sat inside because there was no space outside.
I ordered a few things. The spicy kabob was pretty good, the sebzin kabob was mediocre, and the turkish pizza (meat pie is what we call in dtown) was average. The portions were small to me. Honestly I left this place hungry lol. You truly are paying for the view and the ambiance.
The service was just plain bad. My waiter never came back to check to see if I wanted anything else, had to flag someone down for service.
I am glad I came here but definitely not coming back. Too much to explore and better food to be had.
The locals did tell me the food was pricey and overrated, chances are you wont find it pricey, but definitely not fufilling for me!
If you do come here, you wont regret the views !:)

Great food
It was raining heavy that afternoon, so we looked for some shelter after visiting the Spice Bazaar. This place looked good enough, so we went in.
And what a lucky choice this was. Turned out to be one of the best place we’ve been in in Istanbul.
They have a rooftop and also an upper floor — both with great views. But we decided to stay on the ground level. A bit more down to earth… filled with locals, which was nice.
We ordered some beer, Içli Köfte and Lahmacun (kinda like pizza). The Icli Köfte was really good — nice seasoning and meat filling. But the «Pizza» was the highlight. Great seasoning and spices, good meat and herbs… crunchy crust. And the beer went perfectly with that.
Service was friendly and helpful. We really enjoyed our meal here… and prices are pretty low for this quality. Good and authentic food!

Excellent dinner spot with great views! The staff is nice enough but not as attentive as I would have liked. It took a while to just order our bottle of wine, asked for wine menu like 4 times. But the bread was nice and the food came out quickly. We shared the pizza for our appetizer and I got the pistachio meat dish which was delicious! Wine was good and prices were reasonable. Overall a very nice dining experience.

This place is great and I was able to try many more types of kebabs. I love the pistachio encrusted kebab the most, I’m dreaming of it now! It is quite pricey compared to anywhere else we’ve been in Istanbul, and also make sure to call in advance for a reservation, obviously you should during Ramadan, when we were there.

this place was my favorite for Kebabs in Turkey, the Pistachio and Yogurt were specially good. The selection of side dishes and dips were amazing, try as many as your stomach allows you too. also the people and ambience is great.

Das tollste am Restaurant ist der unglaubliche Blick auf den Bosporus und die Galatabrücke. Es ist interessant, die Istanbuler Schickeria zu beobachten. Das Essen samt Vorspeisen war lecker und sehr professionell serviert. Die Gerichte waren allerdings eher einfach — Iskender Kebab und andere Spieße. In der Türkei und in Istanbul gibt es einfach auch viel tolles Streetfood und man kann für viel weniger Geld gut essen gehen. Trotzdem lohnt es sich, mal in einem so feinen Restaurant wie dem Hamdi zu essen.

We came here for a late afternoon lunch after the 90 minute Bosphorus cruise. We were hot and starving and definitely did not want to be slogging through town to find something to eat. Thankfully Unilocal!came to the rescue.
I typically steer clear of places located in such close proximity to super touristy spots (Ferry docks, spice market), but we decided to trust the Unilocal reviews and I’m so glad we did. It turns out we later saw this restaurant in one of our tour books as well.
We were lucky enough to sit on the top floor patio and enjoy phenomenal views. I took a great panoramic shot of the Karakoy, Kadakoy areas with the water.
This is a white tablecloth restaurant with excellent service. One of the fancier places we saw on the trip. I get the sense that even (well to do) Turks eat here, that made me feel better.
I was super bummed that they don’t serve the iskender kebop after 3pm, so I followed the servers recommendation for another kebop. I think it was maybe lamb and veal? anyway, the food was excellent. Their bread was some of the best we enjoyed on the trip. If you have a pickier eater in the bunch, they also have several chicken dishes.
I thought prices were fairly reasonable given the location and atmosphere. It won’t be a cheap meal by Turkish standards but it felt like a steal by American standards.

My mouth is still watering thinking about the food at this restaurant. The kabob was the best I have ever had. The service was very attentive and the restaurant was very well staffed. The restaurant is on the third floor of a building near the spice market. We were able to snag a spot on the small balcony and the views were incredible. The balcony has the best view, although it seemed that most of the indoor tables had good views too. You can eat and watch the ferries on the Golden Horn and the tourists walking across the Galata bridge and in the plaza near the spice market. I imagine it would be a wonderful place to eat lunch or dinner.

Views: 5 stars
Food: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Overall: 3 stars (not good value for money)
We had high expectations from Hamdi based on the numerous glowing reviews on various online platforms. The fact that their terrace offers spectacular views of Galata bridge where the golden horn meets the Bosphorus is indeed true. But food and service did not match said views, sadly.
During Ramazan, they are doing iftar on the terrace instead of standard dinner, so we made a reservation for the fixed price, set menu iftar, excited to share this special experience with locals. Except for the view from the terrace at sunset, unfortunately our experience left a lot to be desired, especially given the 95 TL (approx. 30 USD) price pp. The mezzes were not well seasoned. Dessert did not even include the Ramazan special, Güllaç. None of the fruit was edible. Baklava tasted less than fresh. But the biggest blow was that when it came to kebaps — their apparent specialty — each diner received eight 1 inch cubes (assorted kinds). Really? For 30 USD pp? A single 7 TL durum has more meat than that! So during Ramazan, unfortunately we cannot recommend the terrace dinner at Hamdi. Not in Istanbul where good food is everywhere. We also felt that service blatantly favored native diners over visitors. For several of the courses, our table was served after all of the locals’ tables even though we were in the middle of the room. Very strange.

After freezing until my lips were blue on a Bosphorus cruise, I needed a pick-​me-​up. (silly me, I had forgotten to bring rainwear, so I was miserable and wet in the cold. Note to travelers: December in Istanbul is VERY rainy, and chilly evening temperatures combined with the dampness means that proper rain gear is necessary!)
Hamdi did not disappoint. At first glance, it seemed like it would be a touristy place, but there was a healthy mix of tourists and locals in the restaurant. When I was there, a large Turkish party was even holding a celebratory dinner a few tables away. The menu has an extensive selection of kebabs and is very reasonably priced.
I was able to get seating on the terrace floor (without reservations!) for a fantastic view of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn at night. The food is fresh and the service is phenomenal (waiters kept refilling our glasses from bottles resting in iced compartments next to our tables).
Don’t miss the baklava for dessert.

We got a table around 7 pm on a Sunday, but we had no reservations so it was a table on the 4^th floor in the back. Only one of us could kind of see the nice view.
Very professional service.
It was 101 TL for dinner for two, NOT including tip.
Service was good, though for the price point not sure how worth it. See my photos for food review details. The lean lamb skewer was the best, really juicy and flavorful. We also got a pretty good walnut salad. I also got the algam suyu (fermented carrot-​turnip juice), which tasted spicy, then bitter, then brine-​y in my mouth. Not for me!

This was my third visit to Hamdi, and I was hesitating to go there since my second time wasn’t impressive at all. I went there at early evening with my mother, and when we went up to the second floor, the waiter (with the suite) received us with unwelcoming look, like «what do you want?» instead of finding us a table for two. it was crowded somehow except three or four tables. My mother asked him (in Turkish) what’s in the upper floor and he rolled his eyes in a very impolite way saying «It’s full».
Honestly, if wasn’t for my mother, I would have left the place immediately.
Nevertheless, we ordered and the food wasn’t as good as it used to be.
The Eskandar is horrible. The desert was a big failure. the Kenafe was old and barely can be eaten.
That was my third and last time to come close by this over-​rated restaurant, and I would never recommend it to any one at all, not even my enemies.

Ein wirklich tolles Restaurant mit Weitblick über die Galatabrücke. Für ca. 28 — 32 TL bekommt man hier köstliche Fleischgerichte. Die Portionen sind gut und es gibt kostenlos Wasser und Brot zum Essen.

La vista del lugar es inigualable y la ubicación lo hace practico para acceder. Tiene la comida tradicional turca y no se puede no ir si se esta en Estambul. Las porciones no son abundantes y resulta costoso cuando se quiere probar variedad. Recomendable ir en grupo para poder degustar mayor variedad de platos típicos. Lo mejor es la atención de los mozos y el café turco con un capullo de cardamomo, cumplan con el ritual del café y estén atentos a los horarios de rezo ya que la proximidad con la Gran Mezquita hace que sea un momento especial

Fantastic does not begin to describe the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction from experiencing what is the Hamdi Restaurant. If you or anyone you know will be in Istanbul, they must come here. The Terrace floor is stunning rivaled only by the food.
My strong recommendation would be to make reservations well in advance and ask to be by the window. There you will capture the best views while you feast on one of if not the best meals prepared in the European and Asian continents.
The service is excellent the food is outstanding and the views are exceptional.
I think the location in Unilocal is off so just trust your taxi driver or your indicts if you drive to the old city and you see the restaurant, that’s it. Thanks Hamdi! May you prosper and grow beyond your capacity.

Hamdi is one of the more upscale restaurants in the Sultahnamet and definitely worth the little splurge if you can sit on outside on the roof deck. If not, things may be a bit smelly on the inside, just a warning. Deoderant isn’t big in Turkey, just sayin’.
What started off as a guy with s cart selling kebab turned into said biz owner owning pretty much the whole street. He must be doing something right? We snagged a 2 top outside on the roof, as we were in between reservation times, perfect. We went with a Turkish pitza topped with walnuts, garlic and pomegranate and a doner and a spicy kebab. We enjoyed everything, but the doner.
The pitza was interesting, more like a super thin pizza, no cheese. A great starter to try a Turkish dish. The spicy kebab was perfectly seasoned with definitely some kick and the doner was average. Not a lot of meat, subpar fries. This all, plus a coke, water and turkish tea came out to about $ 40 US which isn’t horrible, but street meat in Turkey costs about $ 2 US. However, views of the mosque and the Golden Horn, wonderful service and a nice relaxing meal as you get out of the spice market is worth every penny.
One of the more touristy spots, we did see a bunch of businessmen lunching as well as fellow Turks, so it’s legit. Give Hamdi a call, but definitely make a rezzie for that outdoor roof top, weather permitting.
P. S. Everyone and their mother smokes in Turkey, so if cigarettes do bother you, you may want to refrain from sitting outside.

For two of our days in Istanbul, we had a tour guide (who was fabulous and whose family goes back for generations in Istanbul) who took us to Hamdi for our first lunch together. It was the perfect location for seeing the beautiful Bosphorus, looking over at Beyoğlu, and for checking out the Spice Market (right next door) before or after lunch.
Unfortunately, the 3^rd floor patio was completely full, so we sat on the 2^nd floor. This wasn’t really a problem though — the views were still stunning from the 2^nd floor especially with a window seat. We enjoyed both boat and people watching from our seats while diving into an array of food. (note that they bring out a large tray of cold mezze in the beginning from which you can choose some of the items or not — just be clear to the waiters whether you would like anything or not). Our tour guide picked out her favorites hot mezzes for us to all enjoy — içli köfte (an appetizer of ground meat, bulgur, and onions minced together and fried into oblong shaped balls) and lahmacun (like a Turkish flatbread pizza — delicious). We ordered a few kebabs to share. My favorite was the kebab (lamb/​veal) with pistachios. It was quite juicy and succulent.
By the end of our feast, we were very full. But still could not resist a little taste of sweetness so ordered two baklava to share among the five of us. We ordered one «regular» baklava and one pistachio baklava. I had never had pistachio baklava, but it was delicious and definitely my favorite. It was perfect with a cup of Turkish coffee. Hamdi also sells its baklava to go in its first floor lobby.
After paying the bill, we went up to the third floor to further admire the view and take a few photos. When you call to make a reservation (and definitely make a reservation!), be sure to tell them if you want a 3^rd floor terrace table or a 2^nd floor table etc.
We enjoyed our meal — especially with the views and convenient location — and would recommend Hamdi to others!

Truly the best kabob in the entire world. I challenge u to find a better one
Pistachio kabob will change your life
Make sure to get that with their other most popular kabob together is amazing
I can’t remember the name ask them they know
And the dessert which is a traditional crispy sweet with cheese in the middle is out of this world. It’s called Kunefe
You’ll crave it for the rest of your life.
Phenomenal service I love them

Wir fanden das Essen gut. Es ist zwar immer voll dort, aber anscheinend spricht es ja dafür, dass das Essen wohl gut ist. Wir würden auf jedenfall wieder hingehen. Es stimmt schon, dass es sehr laut ist dort, aber das ist in den meisten türkischen Restaurants so.

comparado con los numerosos restaurantes de comida rapida que puedes encontrar en estambul es limpio
agradable y comida es correcta

Ich lebe in Istanbul. Und war hier nur 1 Mal und das hat mir auch gereicht. Viele Touristen. Essen mittelmäßig. Wenn ihr Kebab essen wollt dann geht zu kebapci Osman in elmadagi.

Essen nicht billig, aber preiswert. Die Portionen sind nicht zu klein. Wir haben auch keine Bauchschmerzen bekommen, was uns nicht überall passiert. Leider dauert es immer länger als es müsste, bis ein Kellner kommt.

Wir waren mit einem türkischen Freund aus Istanbul dort und haben den Abend sehr genossen. Das Essen war sehr gut und laut unserem Freund auch traditionell türkisch. Der Blick vom obersten Stock aus war genial! Es waren nur wenige Touristen dort. Die Inneneinrichtung war eher einfach, aber das hat überhaupt nicht gestört. Wie in südlichen Ländern üblich ging es recht laut zu Aber das gehört halt dazu.

War mal gut aber zur letzten Jahren wegen des Erfolgs so frech und auch hat on der Qualität der Gerichte verloren! Nachdem Hamdi in diesem trkischen Film erwähnt und auch danach von Viele gepreist wurde, hat es leider begonnen, schlimmer zu gehen
Was Hamdi zur Zeit bietet ist einen schönen Blick über das Goldene Horn. Es gibt noch eine Menge bessere Kebap Restaurants in Istanbul, welche noch köstlicher, gemütlicher und freundlicher sind.
Zum Essen kann ich nicht behaupten, dass es richtig furchbar ist aber wenn man an den alten Zeiten erinnert, kann man das Essen zur Zeit nicht so gut geniessen.

Nicht das beste Essen, was ich in Istanbul für diesen Preis bekommen habe, aber auf jeden Fall ausreichend gut. Außerdem hat man einen wirlklich beeindruckenden Blick über den Bosporus.

cok lezzetli yemekler.

Das Restaurant ist genau so wie die Umgebung drum herum. Voll und hektisch. Nichts um in Ruhe zu genießen. Was eigentlich schade ist, denn das Essen ist spitze.
Hier habe ich zum ersten Mal einen Pistazien Kebap gegessen. Der ist einfach genial. Vorab wird frisches, aufgeblähtes Brot serviert mit einer leckeren Sauce.
Das Preis Leistung Verhältnis ist sehr gut und die Preise noch human für die Qualität. Hier kann man eigentlich nichts falsch machen. Wenn man Glück hat bekommt man noch einen herrlichen Ausblick auf die Galata Brücke geboten.

Immer ausgebuchtes Restaurant mit schönem Blick auf die Galabrücke. Mittags essen dort türkische Familien, abends sind Freundesgruppen anzutreffen, für romantische Abende zu zweit ist es aufgrund der Geräuschkulisse weniger geeignet (trotz der Aussicht.). Das Essen ist sehr gut, die Auswahl an Vorspeisen reichlich (allerdings nichts mit Fisch), das Pistazienkebab wunderbar und die Preise sind angemessen.

Hamdi dürfte wahrscheinlich der meist genannte Kebapladen in Istanbul sein, wenn man Einheimische fragt welcher der beste in Istanbul ist. Eher über durchschnittlich teuer, aber auf jedem Fall stimmt das Preisleistungsverhaeltnis… Toller Blick auf den Bosphorus und den Haliç (Goldenes Horn). Leckerer Kebap und Garnituren… Auf jedem Fall zu empfehlen. Vor allem weil der Laden nicht sehr turistisch ist und man auch mal Türkisch hören kann :) Der Laden hat übrigens 4 – 5 Stockwerke.

Nettes Restaurant mit einem sehr schönen Blick über das Goldene Horn. Man kann draussen sitzen (Blick bis zum Bosporus), jedoch muss man manchmal wg. des starken Windes bereitgestellte Decken verwenden. Die überdachte Dachterrasse ist sehr angenehm. Jedoch sollte man bei mehreren Personen reservieren. Das Essen ist prima bei einem guten Preis-​Leisungsverhältnis. Der Tip hat sich wohl bei den Nichteinheimischen rundgesprochen.
Da Kebab die Hauptgerichtsspeisen dominiert, kann man schliessen, dass alle Kebabs sehr gut, wenn auch nicht sehr reichhaltig sind. Unbedingt eine Vorspeise nehmen.
Die Bedienung ist auch bei grossem Stress noch recht freundlich. Wenn man keine Reservierung hat, kann es passieren, dass man nur noch in den unteren Etagen einen Tisch bekommt.

Im Hamndi Restaurant findet man fast nur Einheimische und/​oder Eingeweihte.
Es liegt im ersten Stock, von dort hat man einen phantastischen Blick auf die Galatabrücke und den Galataturm.
Spezialitäten sind die Kebabs, die ausgesprochen lecker sind.
Ganz besonders ist hier das Pistazienkebab zu empfehlen, einfach köstlich und knackig, aber auch die Vorspeisen können sich essen lassen. Unbedingt den Spezialsalat bestellen!
Das beste türkische Retaurant, in dem ich bisher gegessen habe.

Un kebapci tres bon avec une vue sublime.

Ich habe nicht selber bezahlt, von daher kenne ich den Preis nicht, aber das Essen war sehr gut.
Original Türkisch. Mit Einheimischen