Topaz İstanbul

I just want to warn everyone that This is an absolute SCAM! The restaurant staff is really deceitful. We had New Year’s Eve dinner here; biggest red flag was that they never showed us the breakdown of the prices. They charged 300+ EUR per pax for dinner and they had no transparency on the breakdown of the prices. We went on 31-Dec early afternoon to make the booking and they asked us to pay a deposit in cash, we told them we didn’t have any cash so they told us to make the entire payment upfront. They even promised us they have seats with good view of the bridge reserved for us. When we reached, they had changed the table next to a pillar which blocked our view to the bridge. Food was just really blend and average. Their serving method was very chaotic and when we asked for olive oil for the bread, despite reminding them twice they never brought it to us till the end. They had a staff member at the entrance gathering our coats and when we left the restaurant he asked for 200 Lira and his mouth smelled really and of alcohol. When we were on deserts, me and my friend stepped out for a smoke and without asking us they had cleared our plates. When we asked for itemized bill they purposely pretended to not understand our request and kept saying that we have to pay 10% service charge extra in cash due to accounting reasons. Huge red flag! When they brought the itemized bill, they categorised 400+ eur just for “New year’s drink”, I don’t even drink and initially when paying for dinner I had asked this question but they just deflected my question. Huge huge SCAM! And worse of all they have used Michelin stickers everywhere to deceive everyone. Please save your hard earned money and don’t go here!!!

Rana by Topaz serves Mediterranean cuisine. Cozy decor and ambiance and beautiful views over the Bosphorus. Food was good but nothing to rave about. I am not sure why it is on the Michelin guide. This is my third disappointment with the Michelin guide in Istanbul. Desserts lacked creativity. It seemed they have just bought them ready made.

The ambience is fantastic. The general atmosphere is cozy and warm, friendly and welcoming staff. The view is fabulous - you look over the Bosphorus river, over the other side and as the sun sets the lights and is reflection is just terrific - your eyes can capture the best view not your cell 😀 Nice washrooms. The prices are high, it’s an awesome experience at a price. Food was delicious, presentation - super, wines were good - as they normally are 😊 & very well served and overall an awesome 😎 experience at a cost!

The food was very good except the lamb shoulder which I found to be bland. The atmosphere and the scenery were the best part. Biggest problem with the restaurant was the service. Despite getting a reservation well in advance we were not saved a seat and had to sit at a table that was way higher than the chair. And it felt like there were too many servers around and they were too disorganized.

This was a terrible dining experience - total scam from the beginning to the end. They call themselves Michelin but no where close to- fake stickers everywhere. We were recommended to go here for New Year Eves dinner by our hotel and were asked to pay an upfront deposit . When we went to pay the deposit the restaurant insisted on the entire amount in cash - after we told them we had no cash they accepted card but didn’t provide any breakdown of the charges etc. They showed us our seating and table but did not provide that when we went there for dinner. They gave us a table by the pillar with no view at all after promising us a view of the Bosphorus so we could see the fireworks. The food lacked taste and quality- very insipid and totally not worth the 300 plus euro per head. Supposedly drinks were supposed to be included but they did not even replenish our glasses and we had to ask for the drinks to be served to us. We were served plain bread and requested for olive oil but was never provided even after repeatedly asking them. Service was lack lustre and totally chaotic. Desserts were removed from our table when we stepped outside and to the restroom. They charged us service fees in cash and on asking for the final bill breakdown they were so hesitant to provide and we had to wait a while and ask multiple times to get that- no transparency at all!! Also we had given our coats and were forced to tip the guy to get them back else he wouldn’t open the door for us. All in all a very poor experience and would definitely not recommend this place to anyone Total waste of money leaving behind a horrible “taste”!!! PLEASE AVOID GOING THERE EVEN IF THIS IS THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH!!