Istanbul Hawaii

Review summary

1. B

   Brad VIP

   Pittsburgh23 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   The food itself was well prepared, unique, and delicious. The server was very knowledgeable, friendly, and accommodating to different dietary needs. The atmosphere was a bit frantic, although to be fair, it was a Friday night. The hostess seemed a bit overwhelmed. It took over 30 minutes to get a drink, and in general, even though the service was good it was very slow. The menu is extensive, and we appreciated the many vegan options. But to be honest, the menu is quite overwhelming. It could benefit from some simplification — even if just from a visual standpoint. There are a lot of headers, subheaders, asterisks for optional substitutions, groupings of food into sub-themes, and several different fonts. But taken as a whole, we would eat here again.
   

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2. J

   Jon VIP

   Hawaii13 reviews

   4.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We hadn't been to Istanbul for over a year and they've upgraded their menu quite a bit. The biggest hit for us was the Pide bread. OMG, best bread we've ever had. Soft, slightly chewy and perfect for the Mezze platter we ordered. We also got the lentil soup which was ok, could've used more spice though. I also had the Jidori chicken which was a little bland and would've been better if they brined it before cooking then braised it a bit to make it more fall off the bone tender. Rice was good and flavorful. Overall a good experience and we'd go back but probably would order a different entree next time but will definitely get the Pide bread!
   

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3. M

   Molly

   Philadelphia1 review

   5.0

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   A fun and unique dining experience. A great menu for sharing and creative elaborate cocktails. Service was a little on the slower side but still good and no one was sad about being in the cool ambiance.
   

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4. A

   Annette

   Hawaii3 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Came here for dinner at 645 and was promptly seated. We chose outdoor seating because the inside can get noisy with the open kitchen concept. Started off with appetizers of their delicious pita and babaganush. As well as a spicy tequila drink called Gobekli Tepe, yummy! Our entrees were the wagyu shish and the pirzola. Both were seasoned very well and cooked to a beautiful medium rare. We couldn’t finish it because we needed to save room for dessert. We got some Turkish coffee, which is yummy and the hasty kunefe. This was the best taking dessert I’ve had in a while. Our server was so helpful and made our experience so great. Will definitely be back because there are so many things to try. 10 out of 10 recommend!
   

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5. J

   Jeni VIP

   San Francisco27 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Still one of my very favorite restaurants. Our waiter was great, I think his name was Tyson. He had to deal with a nightmare table outdoor next to us and handled it calmly and with class. I can’t believe the customer treated his so poorly over something he had no control over. Also I love the new fresh naan that comes with the meze platter
   

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6. J

   Joseph

   Hawaii5 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   Our reservation was for 7:30; we were seated at 8:15pm. Explanation was that there were two large parties (our was 12, the other was 10) and tables were not opening up to make room.. Once seated, we had to wait about 10 minutes for our waitress to attend to us. Instanbul has a rather large menu and a few (5?) items were not available. The food was very good but overpriced. Despite the above difficulties were were still charged the automatic 20% gratuity for parties over 8.
   

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7. J

   Jenny

   Hawaii5 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 30, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We had our Sunday lunch at here and loved it. Food was good as always. This time even my toddler liked their soup. Just one thing that I did not like was menu. It was too many words on the menu so hard to read and catch.
   

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8. A

   Andrea

   Orange County1 review

   2.0

   Dined on March 30, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Our group of 4 dined here 2nights ago. We had wagyu kebab, lamb chops, lamb shank and appetizer platter. We paid $400 for food that were mediocre at best. I was expecting salad but it was not part of entree. The serving size for the beef kebab was underwhelming- meat was cubed 1x1inch, so it was easily overcooked, was very tough and chewy. Had high hopes for Lamb chops but they were not that good either and very overpriced. The only item on the menu that was great was the turkish coffee that is served with turkish delight. Paid $400 for an appetizer platter, 4 entrees and 2 coffee. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere. I cant believe people waiting hours to dine here.
   

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9. C

   Christine

   Hawaii4 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on March 29, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always consistently good! Wagyu Shish (first husband ordered, usually goes for the lamb) was excellent! Also, first time trying the labne with dukkah. SO good!
   

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10. M

    Me VIP

    Hawaii16 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 29, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4

    Istanbul is an amazing restaurant food is great it’s always one of our favorites for special occasions
    

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