Lucca

Lucca is one the must go’s in Istanbul. Food, cocktails, music, the crowd is all good if you’re more into a fancy night in town. (it’s not a down to earth Istanbul bar). Grilled octopus, leman sea-​bass are my favorites. For cocktails I love anything everything they serve!:) you need to make a reservation at least two days ahead for a dinner table.

Mind blowing food, service, location. I loved every minute. Need to book at least 1 day advance even on weekdays. Strawberry tart must try!!!

Undoubtably the best place in Istanbul to socialize, eat, drink and even dance!
Food is excellent and the cocktails are superb! my favorite dishes are; duck pappardelle, lemon seabass, duck-​roll, grilled octopus, tuna tartare…
Follow on my Instagram account: oakyuz77 for more reviews and pictures. (Eat Pray Love.)

Although it looks like Euro-​trash, don’t let the appearance or the ambiance or a lack of service discourage you. Food is solid here.

My friends brought me here for the first time in November when I was visiting turkey and I absolutely had such a memorable and good time! food! music and drinks were good! I enjoyed everyone’s company! Place does get extremely crowded and it’s hard it get a table if you don’t RSVP. Xo

Hmmm I don’t really understand the bad reviews. Lucca is great, for the following reasons: tasty and varied menu with food made from local ingredients, delicious cocktails, great selection of local wines and beers, nice ambience, etc.
I had dinner here recently and ordered a bunch of mezze (appetizer) items:
— grilled octopus
— asparagus
— avocado bruschetta
— calamari
— a bunch of other things I can’t remember but I remember liking everything
Everything we ordered was fresh and tasty. We had a party of 8 and although we ordered a lot of food, there wasn’t a single non-​empty plate. I’m from DC and it reminds me of the food at Zaytinya, except about a million times better. The grilled ctopus was oh-​so-​tender. I asked the head chef if she massages the octopus (you know — like they do at super high end sushi restaurants in Japan), and she said no.
Service is excellent.
Realize however that this is a see and be seen kind of place in the nicest neighborhood in Istanbul (Bebek), so the prices are sky high. I mean, what do you expect? It also turns into a lounge /​club at night, so if you want a quiet atmosphere, come before 10pm.
It’s a locals place — no tourists.
Lastly — don’t come here expecting traditional Turkish food (except for breakfast). They have instead Mediterranean food, sushi, pasta, etc.

Best Party at Bebek Nice, good-​looking people and hot music. No Teenagers :-) what we enjoyed extremely! Very, very busy but thats ok. Next time I visit Istanbul, I will come back for sure.

The owner, who happened to live in the US for a while, did a very good job! IN 2004!
This place had great breakfast /​brunch options. Then, gradually, it turned into this yucky, pretentious, see-​and-​be-​seen spot. The food is bland, the service and the waitstaff suck, the cocktails are overpriced and not good! The lighting is too bright, it is way too crowded… Shall I say more?

The place for 40 something men in white/​blue shirts and 30 something women in high heels. the rest is not important as this scene.