Turquoise Cafe and Bar

We found a watering hole in Istanbul, in Sultanahmet on a colorful and vibrant little street a walk away from Aya Sophia. Turquoise Cafe and Bar is a a very nice restaurant with very tasty Turkish dishes, as well as pastas. The house wine is a step up from most restaurants and prices for everything on the menu were moderate to low. The restaurant offers an eclectic interior with two-tiered seating, photos of old Istanbul, and a hundred or so Turkish art lamps randomly hanging from the ceiling. It is interesting just to look at the decorations. But, the clientele also add to the appeal; mostly tourist, mostly middle class and probably well educated, it is a nice place to hear a dozen languages at once, see tour groups from Norway, young couples from Italy, a pair of Germans, a few Americans, some striking Spaniards, local Turks making business and Englanders, Aussies, Osterreicher, and all the rest.

Like most of the restaurants on the street, the Turkuoise has appropriated all of the sidewalk and encroaches on the street, Akbiyik Caddesi. But, it is far the most inviting of the terraces of the restaurants. A very nice young man hustles nearly every passing person to try their fare. He, I found out, had been on the job for eight, tough years. He hardly looks old enough to have that much seniority. Say thank you no thank you to him as you pass, if you must pass, but be polite. The staff are from around the world, a lovely Mongolian woman was our regular server, but two fellows and a most fragrant young lady also attended to us during our six or seven visits during the two weeks of our stay nearby.

They were all uniformly polite, professional and open to conversation. Meals were leisurely, pleasant and the staff was never intrusive. In fact, we came to know the manager and the owner, as well. They aptly protrayed modern versions of "Rick" from Casablanca. They came to our table, enlightened us about the community, the business, the economy and whatever else we thought to discuss. They gave us many shopping tips, to boot. As I mentioned, the food was fine, the wine was good, the beer, EFES, was cool, not cold, but the best aspect was the kindness and friendship that each member of the staff offered. A traveler can become cautious that each seller in Istanbul is trying to score a win at your expense, but that is not the case at Turkuoise. You can feel secure that you are being well and fairly treated.