Varka Antakya Lezzetleri

Loved this place. Started with the stuffed fried eggplant and then had the Antioch special leaf kabob. Very flavorful with peppers tomato onion and eggplant. Attentive waitstaff without looking over us. Would definitely recommend as a reasonably priced authentic restaurant.

Lovely place. Good was amazing. Posting on Unilocal so I will remember to come back and can find it.

Friendly service. Food was solid/​good, but not amazing. We tried the barbiye chicken and a few mezzes and the mulberry tea (whoa sweetness). Service was pleasant.

Nice little place with good middle eastern food. It’s a family owned restaurant with the whole family working together. At least that’s the feeling we got ;-) … We ordered the appetizer plate which consisted of 5 different mezes. It was delicious! For starters we had some kind of bürek I think along with another pastry dish. For mains we got some lamb and minced beef, super! Its perfectly located just a few steps of the main shopping street which is nice after a day’s walking. The tab ended up at 145 TL which in my opinion is a great price for two and that amount of delicious food!

Very nice people, food porn, beautiful location and an excelent service makes this location unique in beyoglu. We really enjoyed havin dinner in this location. Thats why we come by whenever we look up Istanbul/​beyoglu.
Thank you for a good time and your service.

We went here for our first dinner and it ended up being one of the best meals we had in Turkey. It’s not super cheap, but not expensive either for the quality of food you get and the cool ambiance in the little back alley. It’s nice to find a spot that doesn’t come after you to try to pull you in to eat too. They brought several very tasty mezes out for free at the beginning of the meal with some very good bread as well.
We had the pureed eggplant with beef on top as an appetizer and it was amazing — anything with eggplant should be highly recommended. The very thin bread that came with it was also super tasty. Then we had a couple of mains — the barbiye chicken and the antioch special tray kebab. The chicken was very good, but the tray kebab was the highlight for sure. Really tasty and a lot of meat. For three people this was perfect to share.

We ordered Varka’s minced grill on eggplant and large kebab with vegetables. Both were simply unbelievable. The minced grill had a distinctive taste of garlic which fit the dish extremely well. The kebab was out of this world, the texture and taste were remarkable. We’ve been to many excellent restaurants all over the country, but this place in its taste and simplicity beats them all.

Amazing food! Great service. Loved the chicken kebab and the appetizer platter. Would recommend.

OMG! That food was like, so yummy in my tummy! I’m not even kidding.
The Barbiye chicken was delicious and cooked to perfection. Appetizers were amazing and the lentil soup out of this world!
Service is outstanding too. Highly recommended.

Decided to eat a late supper here after seeing the Galata Tower and exploring Taksim. Saw the reviews on Unilocal and checked out the menu. We finally found it with some help from locals. The décor, lightening and wait staff were warm and inviting. We had some of the best service compared to any place I can remember in the U.S. Or throughout Europe. I would say that is what stood out. The menu is Antakyan (Antakya/​historical Antioch) not Anatolian, but largely comparable. We’re vegetarians and found ample delicious options from their appetizers and first plates. We had a wonderful grilled vegetable platter, a plate of different spreads (hummus, baba ganoush, etc) and a salad dish with 3 different salads. Bread was served with oil and we had a typical Antakyan dessert and coffee. The desserts are baked fresh and take a bit so decide to save room or not early! The wine and beer selection looked good but we decided on Turkish tea and sparkling water instead. After all was said and done, we were stuffed and contented all for about 80 TL. The service was so good we felt obliged to tip more than the typical 5−10% that is expected at mid level restaurants. There were also a mix of locals and tourists, which is always a good sign.

Not quite sure why this is so highly rated on Unilocal.Don’t get me wrong: it’s decent food and the waitress was very friendly, but overall it didn’t feel inspired at all and wasn’t particularly cheap either, so I think 3.5 stars would be fair.

This is a quaint, «traditional-​hip» looking restaurant a little tucked away from the busy main street in the area. As soon as I walked up to the door and put my hand on the handle to try to open the door, I saw a young waiter rushing to the door to open it for us as he greeted us with a smile and welcomed us in. When we walked in, the warm European feel of this place started instantly diffused my cold, tired feet.
After asking for recommendations off the menu and considering what others have written on Unilocal,we settled on the kaytaz böregi (pastry) and the barbiye chicken. I also had the mulberry tea (which iMHO, should have waited to have it as a desert after dinner since it was quite sweet – but delicious nonetheless).
Each bite took me back to my childhood, triggering fond memories of my mom’s cooking. It’s so weird. I’ve NEVER had legitimate Turkish food growing up, but something about the food here has the flavor of nostalgia in every molecular element that prances over your taste buds. Maybe it’s the simple cooking or the attention to detail like peeling the skin off of a pepper after roasting it until it turns black over red-​hot charcoal (good quality wood coals, btw, not the cheap ones we Americans get for BBQ on July 4^th)…I don’t know what it is, but something about each mouthful rocked me to my core tonight.
So for the price, ambiance, cozy interior, the décor, and most importantly, tasting experience, we give this place two thumbs up. :)

This was the first restaurant I visited in Istanbul after reading reviews on Unilocal.Throughout my stay, this was the best restaurant that I had the pleasure to eat in. Excellent food and even superior customer service. Cansu was our server throughout the dinner time and had the most friendliest and professional attitude. Her friendly attitude was a delight and made the dinner experience even more valuable! This restaurant is a must go!

Tout juste arrivés la veille, nous recherchions un restaurant turc typique, en dehors de la restauration rapide ou des kebabs présents dans toute la ville. Petit tour sur Unilocal,et nous tombons sur ce restaurant, situé dans le quartier touristique d’Istiklal mais dans une rue perpendiculaire peu fréquentée.
Dès notre arrivée, nous sommes charmés par le cadre, plafond bas, décoration authentique et pierres apparentes. Nous nous laissons guidés jusqu’à l’étage où nous nous installons, dans un cadre très intime.
La communication est assez difficile car le staff n’est pas très anglophone, mais ils ont le mérite d’essayer et de tout faire pour que l’on comprenne, quitte à utiliser Google Images sur leur smartphone. Nous commandons ainsi un premier plat à partager, des mezzes délicieux à base de yaourt, de concombres, d’houmous ou encore de courge légèrement relevée. Bien entendu avant cela, nous avions déjà eu du pain, de l’huile d’olives et quelques piments comme le veut la tradition, pour nous mettre en appétit.
En plat, je choisis un viande marinée, accompagnée de boulghour, d’aubergine fumée et de tomates légèrement confites. Le tout se marie à la perfection, la viande est d’une tendresse incroyable, et les saveurs, malgré mon gros rhume, envahissent mes papilles.
En dessert, nous nous partageons une Kunefe, un dessert à base de cheveux d’ange, de pistache, de fromage et de miel, qui nous marquera tout le long de notre séjour. Le tout pour un prix très raisonnables, 30 € à deux, sans vin.

Had a fantastical meal here on our last night in Turkey. The service is fantastic. Starters and main course were all delicious. They have Turkish wine that is also great with the meal. Our waiter, Onur (hope I didn’t misspell…) was one of the best I’ve had. Super attentive. Good English. Great recommendations. Even helped us find a bar after the meal.

What a fantastic meal! I came here with friends to celebrate a special occasion, and we were treated to amazing and refined food, attentive and polished service, prices that are super-​affordable by American standards, and a lovely atmosphere. All of the food I ate in Turkey was wonderful, but this was a touch above — there was an elegance to this food. There’s an English menu, and our server spoke English, as well.
We shared a bottle of wine and a variety of items, including an appetizer sampler with a nice array of dips and spreads, and a mixed meat sampler. I suspect that anything you ate here would be delicious! If I recall correctly, we spent only about $ 75 — $ 80 USD for four people, including a bottle of wine.
The restaurant is quite easy to get to, as it’s on a little side street off Istikal Caddessi (the big pedestrian walkway.) There’s a sign marking the way.
They’re open all day during Ramadan.

Spiced chicken is no joke. It’s really great. Service was very friendly and they have no trouble with English.

Accueil chaleureux et serveuse très sympathique. La viande était bonne mais l’accompagnement assez décevant: sec et peu savoureux.

Bisher das beste Restaurant in Istanbul. Super essen, sehr freundliches Personal. Wir sind rund um zufrieden. Die Preise sind etwas über dem Standard hier, aber zahlbar und jeden Rappen wert. :-)
Hier gehe ich auf jeden Fall wieder hin!

An unserem ersten Tag durch die Metropole am Bosporus hat es uns in das Varka Antakya Lezzetleri verschlagen. Der überaus freundliche und höfliche Service hat direkt für eine nette Atmosphäre gesorgt. Das Essen sieht nicht nur gut aus, sondern ist für den westeuropäischen Gaumen ein Geschmackserlebnis. Die frisch zubereiteten Speisen sind wirklich sehr lecker und nur zu empfehlen.

Als Personen dessen Wurzeln in Antakya liegen wollten wir mal dieses Restaurant ausprobieren.
Und es ist sehr sehr lecker, der Kellner der uns bedient hat war sehr höflich und sympathisch. Bei den Preisen braucht man nicht zu meckern wenn man bedenkt das das Restaurant in Beyoğlu liegt.
Die Einrichtung ist sehr freundlich und einladend.

Sympathique restaurant turc à deux pas de la rue commerçante Istiklal. Le cadre est agréable, le service attentionné, on y a passé un agréable moment.
Le mezze en entrée était un peu fade globalement, servi avec du pain très moyen. En plat principal nous avons choisi un kebab de veau, très parfumé mais accompagné de légumes sans intérêt et d’un blé cassé trop cuit. Bref, une impression mitigée au final, dommage pour un restaurant que tout le monde semble présenter comme un des meilleurs du quartier.

Wow! I’m not really sure what I expected when I entered this place — but I was more than satisfied when I left…
The atmosphere is raw and casual, a really nice place to hang with friends or family.
I shared a plate of grilled vegetables and a starter plate with a friend — so delicious and perfect for sharing! The rest of the menu card likewise looked amazing, so I guess I have to go back there again (YAY) :-)
The service was really good, our waiter was really sweet, carrying and helpful.

I agree with the other reviewers — the waitress was friendly and helped us order, and every dish was lovely. We had a selection of starters and appetizers, some of their homemade lemonade and the bill was 60lira (for 2 people). We left full and very thankful for all the Unilocalers that recommended this place!
(Note that the menu is translated into English, in case you are wondering.)

I chose this place because of the flawless reviews of my fellow Unilocalers. 5 out of 5 stars after 10 reviews seemed pretty impressive. I’m rating this cute little restaurant 4 out of 5 stars, because I thought it was good, but not amazing.
For food, I give it 3.5 out of 5.
For value, I give it 4 out of 5.
For ambiance and service, I give it the full 5 out of 5.
So overall, 4 stars should do it.
The food was good, but it just wasn’t mind-​blowing as all of those 5-​star reviews would lead me to believe. There were three of us, so we tried several dishes, all recommended to us by the waiter. The mezze sampler was tasty, with unique versions of hummus, babaganoush, and other cold salads. The bread was good as well. Even before our mezzes arrived, they brought out some olive oil, olives, and pickled peppers to munch on.
The main dishes were good but not spectacular. The thin breads that came with the meat, with some tomato paste spread inside, were actually pretty bland.
The service there, however, was out of this world. Our young waiter, Alp, was incredible attentive and friendly. Despite his struggling English, he kept going back to the kitchen to get translations of all of the interesting dishes on the menu. There was a great attention to detail in placing dishes and silverware on the table and you can tell the management values good service.
I still enjoyed my dinner there, but it just want able to live up to the 5-​star hype I had read about.

I got a recommendation for this place from a Unilocaler and so I was keen to try it out during my last visit to Istanbul.
I went during lunch time and at first I was a little bit surprised to see that I was the only guest, but then I noticed that in a typical German fashion I had gone at noon and I guess Turkish people (in the Méditerranéen fashion) don’t have lunch until much later ;-)
Anyways, despite this, I tremendously enjoyed my lunch here: said Unilocaler recommended this place to me as I expressed that I really like the cold Turkish mezze… and indeed this is what I had here. I had a quick chat with the waiter/​proprietor and we decided that a mixed platter of cold mezze would be the best option for me. And it was indeed fantastic! I was especially impressed by the presentation of the mezze… such a colorful assortment — check out the picture I uploaded!

Please do come here and try out the various kinds of cold mezzes… you won’t regret it!