Reviews Stanbuli

This is my favourite restaurant in the area, hands down one of Enmore/Newtown’s best. The chef menu is excellent and highly recommended though for 2 it is a lot of food. Salads, dips, fish, meat all excellent. Skip the bread and leave room for the dishes.

Stanbuli is hidden behind the 1950’s Marie-Louise Salon facade but once you step inside, the vibe is contemporary and buzzing. The waiting staff are helpful and know the menu inside out and we loved their suggestions. The food is modern Turkish and tasty although the portions are by no means big (which can be a good thing!). The go to dish is the ‘Midye Dolma’ which are mussels stuffed with peppery rice (pictured). I am looking forward to going back. #stanbuli #turkishfood

Headed to Stanbuli for a farewell dinner and absolutely loved it. It was highly recommended by my colleague so I thought I’d organized the dinner there and it didn’t disappoint. Delicious meal, all the dishes were very tasty and full of flavor.

We had the following:
*Scallop Kizartma, sumac marinated scallop, crushed fried eggplant, Avruga caviar
*Karnibahar, cauliflower in saffron onion vinaigrette *Gavurdagi Salata, green olives, pistachios, walnuts, herbs, spices, pomegranate
*Patlican Salata, smoky eggplant, roasted sweet potato, garlic, herbs, lemon, olive oil
*Ekmek, Turkish Cypriot style village bread with smoked butter
*Ahtapot, slow cook octopus over wood fire, tarama, black olive salt
*Kuzu Izgara, Cowra lamb forequarter chops grilled over charcoal with Anatolian spices
*Baklava with cinnamon ice cream

Service was quite good except at the end when they asked us to leave stating there is another booking for the table but there were other empty tables around so not sure whether it was true or they just want us out of there

I have seen negative reviews on Zomato and not sure where those comments have come from... we came here as a group of 6 for my husbands birthday.

So. Delicious.

We ordered the banquet ($65pp). Two of us are vegetarian and the staff/kitchen were accommodating for this, mixing the dishes up so there was more to share so we didn't miss out.

All dishes came with their own sauces or accompaniments with left them full of flavour and well balanced, with your traditional garlicky, lemony, sumac accents.

- Cold meze with house made bread, light flavourful and crunchy crust. About 7 different dishes (e.g pickled roasted beetroot with olive oil and parsley; smoky eggplant with garlic and lemon; olives; whipped butter; stuffed mussels)... see the menu!

- hot meze: cauliflower with tahini sauce; zucchini fritters with soft curd; Haloumi with fried egg.

- Charcoal: market fish was swordfish with stewed minted peas; paprika and garlic marinated chicken on rice pilaf; lamb (not sure how it was cooked).

To be honest we had too much food, a bold statement when at a table with 3 grown men who put away a lot! We opted not to have dessert due to this, but it looked good on he menu.

I would definitely go back, however it is a tad pricey. I think if you stick to water and shared amongst 4, you could try a lot without it costing too much.

The staff were professional, friendly and helpful.

They helped to make a great birthday night out with family, thanks Stanbuli.

I really enjoyed my time here. We were sat at the bar and even though they were busy the service was very friendly and attentive.

I love the interior and the ambiance of this place and the food is delicious. Their house made bread and smoked butter is to die for but also really enjoyed the zucchini flowers.

We went with a group of 10 adults and had the banquet. It was delicious. The cured trout, Lamb, Octopus, Artichokes, yum, yum, yum!! The best part was the never ending bread made fresh in house. All 10 of us left full and happy.
The decor is nice modern Turkish, the waiters are informative and give u an explanation of what your eating.
When we were there the place was booked out so make sure to book ahead.

Enmore Road is chock-a-block with new bars and cool restaurants these days. I will be back to try some of the new ones I spotted, but was very glad to catch up with my excellent friend Mary to go to Stanbuli, which perhaps was one of the heralds of the new, hip Enmore. Brought to us by the folks behind Porteño, I knew this was going to be good, and we weren’t disappointed. Turkish street food. What fun. Sat downstairs (walking in at 6:30pm on a Friday night, didn’t have any problems getting seated) and had an expensive but tasty bottle of a pinot-like Turkish wine and… ah, the food…

My partner and I enjoyed the chefs banquet last night.
To say it was a great meal is an understatement. It was quite possibly the best meal I have ever had.
Definitely the best meal we’ve ever had in Sydney.
Alys was an exceptional host, friendly, warm and knowledgeable.
There is nothing I can fault about our experience at Stanbuli last night.
It was our first time there and will not be the last.
Thank you for such an excellent night, everything was spot on perfect.

Wow wow wow! Loved everything about this place. We visited on a Friday night before seeing a show at the theatre. We were added to a 30 min wait list for a dinner. This wasn't a problem whatsoever as it gave us an excuse to have a cocktail next door. They rang us 25 mins later as our table was ready early. Service was fantastic. Very attentive and efficient. The staff were incredibly knowledgable and passionate about their products. Wonderful classic Martinis. Wonderful flavoursome food that hits you big time. And a great atmosphere. There were 2 of us, and we shared 5 or 6 smalley eats which left us stuffed to the brim! Highly highly recommend this place. Order the zucchini flower, cauliflower or calamari.

Great for a cocktail and nibbles. Staff were fantastic. Cocktails were very good. Beautiful classy decor. Great shopfront and super busy.

You know? I have had the pleasure of being a travel guide all over Europe. Mainly in Spain, Portugal and at one point I was based in Istanbul. It has
Captured the magic of everything you want in an excellent suburban restaurant! Feels sorta classic but so much fun.

Firstly, great energy! Great detailed spaced. Nice historical references to a play on the Istanbul name! From sultans to the modern day king, father and founder of turkey, Ataturk. Beautifully crafted timber finishes and marble tops with tiles.
Tasteful, confident and eye for detail. Beautiful Turkish wallpapers and nice wooden chairs and tables.

It echoes all the way through. I sat upstairs the first time I came with my kids and wife. Acoustics were a tiny bit bouncy, but it's a fun place. The staff are slick and the music made it fun and comfortable. It reminds me of the backstreet secret eats. I came again with some old School buddies and sat downstairs. The young wait staff were informed and super pro. Atmosphere on this night was electric. Drinks flowing, food humming and music cranking. Super chilled though, super fun. Efes! Raki! Turkish inspired cocktails!

Food wise- it's good! Very very good. Oily, salty, acidic. But balanced! Subtle and gutsy where it needs to be. Stuffed mussels? Never seen it in Turkish restaurants outside of turkey. Bravo. Nailed them. As good as if not
Better than the street. I want to come and eat 100 of them with efes beer! Like the old days! Excellent bread I was told they bake in house. I had this fine chop salad called esmay- walnuts, chillies and parsley. Tasted like turkey to me. Fresh, Sharp and perfect for the fluffy fragrant bread they told me was regional to Cyprus. Interesting! I've had the fried eggplant and whole eggplant. Both classic Turkish dishes. So comforting and seasoned superbly. Served chilled. Punchy. Very Turkish. Done very well! All for mopping with the bread. Salads in Turkish are like textural dips. They are
Super fine and clearly labour intensive. You can tell there is some artisan stuff
Going on here.

I adore offal and on this one night they had fried livers!! Man, it was good!! Spiced up and worked really well with rocket and onions. Where else can you get such a clever interpretation of Turkish food? This was like better versions of what I had over there! Tried the Brains with the kids on the first visit. We all liked it! It was simply poached and served cold. My kids even liked them! Spread it on the bread like butter. It was a delicious concoction of some succulent with yoghurt, really charred olive salt and fresh popping tarragon! As I said, this is a local, suburban restaurant, doing Turkish food unlike I reckon you would ever know, unless you spend some time there. Cold
Served, braised beans are flavour heaven and recently had the beetroot with a goats cheese?

The meats are outstanding. Iskanad. Madness!!! Best version ever seen. Lamb neck tenderly slow cooked over
Coals! Smokey and smothered the traditional way with sauce and yoghurt. So moorish! I used to polish off plates of the stuff in the old quarters of Istanbul. Over there they use doner meat. This is superior though. Cutlets... Monster whole rib cutlets seasoned with salt and lemon juice! And a good shepherds salad! Like beautiful, tomato and cucumber with onions and well dressed. Just delicious. You can't get a good salad like that just anywhere? Simple? Yes. Done right? Worth it. Perfect. I've had the quail over
The coals with a spinach yoghurt and octopus? Is that even for real? That was as good as I have had in Portugal, Spain and Greece combined. Must be the Aussie produce? Fiery charred chillies with yoghurt and sharp(maybe maybe too sharp... But splitting hairs) pickled red cabbage salad. It's the concept and near perfect execution that has me in love.

Dessert was granita and mastic milk pudding. So fresh. Clever and perfect after finishing hard on meats. Tahini parfait was buttery cold and flavour punchy! So good. So excited and worth it.

So DO yourself a BIG favour! We
Spent around 60 a head without drinks on both occasions. Not walking out hungry. But then again, I eat way to excitedly! Till next time! Afet allsun!!

Our plans for the night fell through and we were walking to find a place to eat dinner. We almost walked right past this place, and did a double take when we saw the sharply dressed waiters and classy decor, in contrast to the big pink hairdressers sign outside.

For two people we ordered a couple of stuffed mussels, two salads (like dips, best eaten with the bread), bread, and the quail. The food was excellent, the quail especially was very moist and perfectly cooked. All dishes are made to share. This was just enough for us, and we left with pants that felt a bit too tight for us. Expect about $40-50pp, excluding alcohol. Well worth it!

The service is outstanding; from the attentiveness of the waiter, to the flow of food from the kitchen.

We will definitely be back, I'm particularly looking forward to trying the scallops and the lamb, as well as some of the other salads.

Stanbuli is Sydney's newest Turkish eatery but don't expect the usual kebab and chips. The menu, by head chef Ibrahim Kasif (ex-Porteno), is all about offering mezze-style dishes - little plates of food you can snack on with a drink - culminating in more substantial dishes like marinated quails, giant lamb cutlets and smoky duck cooked over charcoal.

The icli kofte arrive within minutes, deep fried footballs hot from the fryer encased in bulgur, the same cracked wheat you find in tabouli. Kofte fillings can sometimes be dry but these are terrific, a tumble of seasoned beef mince, crushed walnuts and chilli that is juicy and well-seasoned. I'm not normally a fan of kofte but this probably my favourite dish of the night.

The refurbished hairdressing salon is both chic and retro-chic. The bar downstairs is super sleek - love the original tiled floor. We were seated upstairs and it was very inviting. As the evening continued, the crowd warmed or was it the charcoal grill? 

The food is good, especially the stuffed mussels, fish sandwich & lamb neck. The portions are surprisingly small for the listed price, perhaps this will be amended in the coming months. Service was good when we got it, otherwise it was a little staggered (bread arrived only after asking for it 5 times) - again hopefully these will be ironed out soon. 

The dessert menu may look standard, however don't miss any of them as each stood out in their own way: choc/cinnamon sorbet mixed with baklava, mastic milk pudding with watermelon granita, orange blossom bread with clotted cream, helva parfait with rosewater pastry.

The service is quite good here. Totally booked out but managed to snag some seats in the bar area downstairs. Wasn't too bad as set up to face the walls but the same food anyway. I tried the Kisir, Karnibahar, Kalamar, Seftali, Iskender, and Patates Yumurta. Food was delicious but portions were smaller than I thought. Prices were slightly pricier for Turkish food.

Stanbuli is almost fine dining but without the hefty price or elitism. What you do get though is great service and delicious food. Unfortunately not everything is great but I found the iskender and ezme was fantastic! Probably not somewhere you can go often but worth your time on a special occasion.

Order the banquet and you won't be disappointed. Often when we go to a restaurant we'll try and "beat the banquet" ordering al a carte to get more value or swap and change things that might be on the menu that aren't in the banquet. This isn't one of those restaurants. We honestly thought we were towards the end with our mezze plates, and were so content we were surprised when the charcoal dishes came out! Hence the lack of photos. The wait staff were excellent. They spoke us through each dish and had great drinks recommendations all night. Will definitely be back, will remember not to eat lunch next time though to make sure we can fit it all in!

So... I suggested this as a place to go with my Turkish girlfriend and her family. Definitely a gamble for me. The good news is that they loved it. I loved it. It was loved all around. The meal was reasonably priced and we were incredibly full at the end. Would highly recommend if you were in the mood for a Turkish feast.

Blown away!! The intensity and flavour in each of the meze dishes was incredible; from the freshly baked bread to the simple freshness and yummyness of a beautifully dressed salad, our experience was complete Turkish food heaven! And this was before our mains even arrived! The offerings transport you, not only to honest authentic turkish cooking but also an appreciation of the depth of flavour the chef is able to extract from the produce! So much punch in each morsel! Loved loved the food and the staff were incredibly welcoming and friendly. Oh and the Raki refresher was the perfect start for this amazing culinary experience.