Being unable to cook is something, but if your customers get food poisoned with your yogurt mezzes -one of us who had the mezze-, that is another thing… no need to tell about the rude waiters eating while working and talking mouthful, same as the ones in the kitchen serving the mezze, snobbish chef sitting by ocakbaşı, mr. knows it all, dirty food displays, you name it, they have it, tasteless kebab, chewy ribs… Will not return, do not- will not recommend.
Category Archives: Sorry, but no…
Sorry, but no: Dönerci Sadık Usta – Istanbul
For a decent portion of döner, you need decent meat. You need high quality meat. Because döner is made from meat and animal fat, to be precise, tail fat. But… The smell of the meat was very unappetizing, the meat used was fron various low quality cuts, nerves and all were present, not to mention the inedible, tough and greasy at the same time meat, leaving your mouth greasy and tummy sour. Will not return…
Sorry, but no: Cerciş Murat Konağı – Mardin
First we were hit by the bad service, meaning no server around. Then surprisingly our starters appeared, looking dull, tasteless, then our main courses, which I wish they disappeared! The food was like a leftover plate hit by stale bread and a microscopic piece of meat on it. It was a joke! Then the service got ruder so we asked for the bill, then we saw that we were charged extra with the things we did dot order… I will not tell the rest, cause it got more uglier… Will not return!
Sorry, but no: Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi – Istanbul
Very sorry to say, but Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi’s coffees are stale, not fresh, flat, odorless. Why not buy the high quality beans and process it? I would definitely pay more for decent Turkish coffee. I realized I stopped buying and recommending their coffee long time ago. The oldest establishment of an industry, the one who did the firsts in Turkey, should not end like this. Turkish coffee is one of a many things we should protect by doing, producing the very best of it.
This is a first on Istanbul Food. I wrote this article before in non-sorry-but-no section. So I am changing the category to sorry but no. Will not buy again, not buying any, anyway.
Sorry, but no: Kanaat Lokantası – Istanbul
I held myself so long for this entry. It makes me sad as I write because, Kanaat Lokantası is one of the oldest esnaf lokantası, tradesman restaurants in Istanbul. But the other day, again and again the same thing happened. Within the last years the quality of the ingredients, the service and the taste of the food, quality dropped insanely.
The rice dishes are undercooked and greasy at the same time, no taste, the meat dishes has a little meat inside and sorry but no taste again, with the chewy meat, the stews are oily and full of tomato paste. You feel like you are full with oil at the end of the meal. Plus, the price per quality ratio is high. No need to return again…
Sorry, but no: Nihat Usta – Akçaabat, Trabzon
The köfte is very famous in Akçaabat, actually Akçaabat is known for its köfte-meatballs-. Nihat Usta was another bad experience on the road. We had to stop there thinking all those reputation was worth a bite. Surprise surprise! Köfte was tasteless, greasy and cold, the beans of the piyaz were mixed variety with undercooked ones, they were actually almost raw. I tried to change the piyaz, the server did not believe it was undercooked… Will not return.
Sorry, but no: Wienerwald – Istanbul
Some days you want to eat junk food or you care for a good grilled chicken that you did not cook. So you order in. That is when we ordered Wienerwald. The chicken was like boiled rather then grilled, tastes like paper even though it is marinated with their 55 years old recipe… Which is their signature dish. What a signature! The potatoes mentioned to be served with were soggy and there were 4 pieces of them, no more. The potato salad had a stale, old potato taste, mayo and water to thin it, you feel chewing something like that. Very unappetizing meal. Never again.
Sorry, but no: Çardak Pide – Trabzon
Trabzon is very well known for its pide. We had only one lunch and one dinner in the city, we chose the “very very best pideci” for lunch, result : a huge disappointment simmered in a lot of sadness! Çardak Pide has nothing to offer! The pide is their specialty. The cheese has no taste or smell, the kıymalı pide we had was like eating paper. The kuşbaşılı pide… the only think I remember is the burnish of butter, not the taste, forget about the meat and the rest!
A place with a name, that is all they have. Will not return!