Cafe Istanbul

DECATUR LOCATION...The absolute WORST!!! There are SEVERAL things that contributed to my experience and why I will never return to this venue and I will warn all of my coworkers, friends, and family to stay away as well.





1.EVERYTHING SHOULDN'T BE ABOUT MONEY...

I have never been to a restaurant that charged for "valet" parking and the attendant is only there to collect money, not really valet your car. They lied to me as soon as I got there and said that the business owner next door would tow my car if I parked in her lot. I went next door and asked only to find this was a lie. She said that They did not own the lot and I could use one of "her" spots as she would be closing soon. The car parker then went on to argue with me and explain that "This is just the way it is is if you come to this restaurant, you have to pay to park here.



Hookahs are $22 plus an additional $1.50 for each new coal, and $8 to change flavors....We could not even HAVE a hookah until we bought food/ drinks, at least $10 worth. I asked to add ice because one of the regulars suggested that we do it and I was told that it was an additional $4 for ice, when I clearly watch the regulars get the VIP treatment the ENTIRE time as we were treated like ugly stepchildren. SMH....again, $4 for some ice???



The food is OK, just OK. It is terribly overpriced and overrated. We had three stuffed mushrooms that had feta cheese and dill in them, they were the size of quarters and we were charged $8. We also had a medium sized spinach pizza for an additional damn near $20. WTF?



There were only three of us, please tell me why this was necessary to add on the gratuity to the bill? Restaurant owners don't realize that when they pull this sneaky BS, they only infuriate the customer who intended to tip anyway, and tip WELL. I have worked for tips before myself and I understand the importance of customers tipping. My plans were to give our not-so-helpful server at least $20.00 for his efforts because he seemed pretty overworked, but when they pulled that built in gratuity stunt, I was sure to make sure I had enough change for the EXACT AMOUNT due.







2. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A MUST...

The people working in the lot are the first faces that represent the venue when the customers arrive (us). They shouldn't be rude or make people feel offended or not welcome.



Our server was rude, rude, rude..... This guy, tanned complexion, short haircut, red shirt...walked with a limp, NEVER SMILED THE WHOLE NIGHT. He was an utter jerk to say the least and I hope he takes his minimum tip that he got and buys himself a joint with it. He didn't want to work, he didn't want to answer questions, and he clearly didn't want to be there. It took us forever to get our food, my friend NEVER got her drink...the Turkish customers next to us that knew the people working there had to get up and go request her drink for her after 25 minutes. He asked us if we needed anything else about 20 times and everytime he asked, we ordered something else....OKAY I get it! You want us to continuously spend money while we are here...so we did that. After about 3 hours of us being there and still spending money (guess we didn't spend enough), the server then proceeds to bring us our check...AFTER I told him to give me a second to decide on what I would be adding to the bill..... I told him as I left, "I know you are putting us out, but that's okay...", he said to me aggressively and rude, "There is a limit on the seating!!..." Apparently me and my girlfriends were not high rolling enough and he decided to make our table available to someone else that may be spending more. We ate, we drank, we bough a hookah and several coals to keep our $22 investment going, can we not stay and finish it up since we DID pay for it?? WTH? We were not rude, loud, or obnoxious. We asked a few questions at first because my friends were new there and I had been there only once before, but that's it.





Wow.

Went for my Birthday. The theme is nice and the mood is cool. Sitting on the floor was different however I enjoyed it. Only thing I wasn't pleased with was the service.This place is SO crowded! the servers rarely checked on us unless we called them. Also it's a bit unorganized the manager would not let us leave because of an alleged unpaid tab that someone in my party forgot. Other than the mishap I enjoyed! Highly recommended! Hummus was GREAT!

The place was really sketchy. My camera was stolen a few seconds after I left the table.

I went there for my birthday and it was awesome. This place has laid back & chill atmosphere. The sitting arrangements are set up nicely (You are actually sitted on the padded flooring) The Turkish authentic food was yummy! All the drinks are reasonably priced. The best part of the night was watching the belly dancer do her performance! All my friends and I had a blast! I will definetely go back!



Thanks Mustafa for the friendly service you provided to me and my guests.