Pandeli

A century old restaurant, Pandeli sits right at the end of the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul. Audrey Hepburn was among the visitors to Pandeli. Their Yaprak sarma is shaped like a ball, which is pretty cool and different. The Burak, though, was a letdown - it was kind of empty and lacked cheese, and it felt like it wasn’t freshly made. None of the dishes that I ordered were something to rave about. I noticed something about the seating too. The rooms with windows and nice views seemed to be for the local crowd, while tourists got the darker, windowless room. An American family wanted a window seat, but got a ‘sorry, it’s full’ even though there was a clear empty table. They were told it was ‘reserved. That table stayed empty the whole time I was there, until I finished my lunch around 4 pm. Honestly, I’d say the place is just #average