Kuzguncuk Balıkçısı

I would love to give five stars based on food alone — I had a delicious fish soup and fish manti, which was actually more like fish wrapped in borek with garlic sauce — but I think I’m gonna down grade my rating a bit for a few reasons. First, they don’t serve alcohol here, which isn’t really a problem in and of itself, but would be nice. Second, the service was a tad on the slow side. We weren’t attended to for about ten minutes and it took just the soup another ten minutes to arrive. Third, the atmosphere was a bit awkward. We sat upstairs — which was beautifully decorated — but there was no one else there and no music playing until we started to eat. So I felt a bit awkward. It was kind of like being in someone’s house though, so that was actually quite nice.
Overall this might be the best fish place I’ve been to in Istanbul. But, if you’re looking for something with a warm and friendly atmosphere, this might not be the place, at least in winter. I know in summer when people can sit outside for lunch here it’s a fun crowd.
Will be back!