Best Doner & Cafe Restaurant
This restaurant is located near the famous Blue Mosque in Turkey 🇹🇷. After checking Google reviews, I found that the ratings were quite low, but after actually comparing and experiencing it, I feel that the ratings are not quite that low.
But if I come to Turkey again, would I eat here again? I think probably not. 🙂↔️
I think this time's review is influenced by many aspects, not just the food, price, and atmosphere, but also some cultural and local sentiment factors (according to my own judgment).
🌟 First, regarding the value of the food:
At the time of consumption, the exchange rate was about 1:1 between the Turkish lira and the Taiwanese dollar, so I thought it would be easy to calculate and estimate the prices directly.
Due to time constraints, we ordered food that was easy to take away and to eat on the go, so we bought 3 wraps and 1 pita 🥙, along with a cup of Turkish black tea, orange juice, and a mango milkshake.
💰 The price for the wraps and pita was around 300–330 lira.
🍵 Black tea was 75 lira.
🍊 Orange juice was 280 lira.
🥭 Mango milkshake was 385 lira (turns out this was the most expensive item).
If I could visualize it:
The pita was about the size of a meat sandwich;
The wrap was approximately 1.5 times the length of a convenience store salad wrap.
Eating it alone might not fill you up, but pairing it with a drink or getting an extra small item would make it just about right, similar to the concept of a main course in a fast food combo.
🌟 Regarding the taste of the food:
The main dishes (wraps, pita 🥙) were filled with grilled meat and lettuce, combined with sauces that were actually quite flavorful—neither too salty, oily, nor sweet. I think it's a type of foreign food that can be adapted to. The pita was a bit dry and harder, requiring some time to chew, while the wrap was softer but still somewhat dry; if you're used to eating moist food, this main dish might be a bit dry for you.
For the drinks (black tea, orange juice, mango milkshake):
- Turkish black tea is unsweetened; you add sugar as per your taste.
For those who usually drink unsweetened tea, the tea was a bit bitter, but it wasn't too bad. - Orange juice was sweet and tangy, served in a large cup, but the price wasn't as friendly as expected.
- Mango milkshake, the most "deceptive" item, appeared without whipped cream in the picture, but when served, it came with a huge dollop of whipped cream! It was very thick—enough to fill you up! I had to strategically leave some whipped cream behind... (it was just too much).
🌟 Next, regarding the environment:
The overall setup is an open space, not very spacious inside, although there were many small tables, they were placed very close to each other! The outdoor seating was somewhat similar; there were many tables and chairs, but the crowding felt excessive.
I've heard that electricity costs in Turkey are high, so even though there appeared to be standing air conditioning units inside, the restaurant didn't turn them on (luckily, it wasn't too hot that day); and outdoors, you often encountered smokers, which meant dining amid smoke.
In terms of environment, I personally didn’t enjoy it, and even dining in felt uneasy.
🌟 Lastly, I’d like to mention the part that received poor reviews on Google! This restaurant charges a 12.5% tip! However, this tipping information was not written on the menu!
I found this part a bit awkward because upon closely reviewing the feedback, those who expressed opinions on tipping were mostly customers who left comments in Chinese, while foreign language commenters tended to give high scores and positive remarks.
So I think this issue may involve cultural differences—tipping might be common in some countries, while not tipping could be the norm in others. The restaurant perhaps made its own judgment and added the tip to the bill without prior notice (the bill does show it).
In summary—overall—
the prices are relatively high! But it is indeed a tourist area with geographical location issues, so the overall prices are on the higher end.
However, at least the food is somewhat acceptable, and it might only be reconsidered if there’s really nothing else to eat (though that might be quite unlikely).
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