ISTANBUL RESTAURANTS: My personal "pet peeves"...

Dear readers,

I have been basically "homebound" for the last few days for a couple of reasons. First, I am a bit under the weather. I'm not really sick, but it's like I'm getting sick, but not quite there. Also, the weather! It has been snowing on and off in Istanbul for the last few days and more on/off snow is expected during the next few days too! So, it's not fun going out in this weather when you live in a city built on 7 hills! The housing complex I live in is off the main street - both hilly and in bad weather cars slip and slide all over the place! But, I am still "out" everyday because of my little pup Luka... he's a 15 month old Maltese and he doesn't care what the weather is like and wants to go out for his routine morning and evening walks! (If you want to meet Luka, visit his blog at http://lollifeofluka.blogspot.com - you won't be disappointed!)

I do like living in a city with 4 seasons, but I think I've had enough of winter and can't wait until the Spring!

The weather has definitely affected my social life and I haven't gone out to a restaurant, cafe, etc. for about a couple of weeks now, but don't fret, this will change very shortly! I've started to develop cabin fever and I will be throwing myself out there!

In the meantime, I wanted to prepare a post on some of my personal pet peeves at Istanbul restaurants.

Now, before this post turns into a major problem for me I want to make it very clear that I'm NOT picking on Istanbul restaurants! But, because I live in Istanbul I can only talk about restaurants in my hometown because of the frequency I visit them. Sure, I do travel to Europe several times a year and did live in NYC for 30 years so I do have a fairly good knowledge of restaurants there too. AND... very importantly, the "pet peeves" I'm listing here can happen at any eatery in ANY city around the world!

When I review my stats I notice that I have readers from all continents and most of the major cities  - THANK YOU!!! I'm sure that some of the pet peeves I list here are also yours or maybe not! Also, you might have some that I don't have...

Let's have some fun with this post - I will definitely NOT mention any particular eatery and point them out because that's against my nature and my style of writing! I love going out and I know that the majority of the restauranteurs are very very serious and do want to make sure you enjoy a day/night out at their establishments. But, let's admit it, problems do occur from time to time and this has to be discussed and addressed too!

So, here goes and please feel free to share some of your personal pet peeves with me so that we can make this an interactive post!

This list is not prepared in any particular order of importance...

1. Paying for coat check...

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When we go to restaurants in the winter of course we are wearing a coat, jacket, etc. Since it doesn't look cool to hang our coat behind our seat at a restaurant or cafe, we check our coats at the eatery's cloak room . Why do I have to pay a tip to the coat check attendant? Most eateries will tell you that they personally do not manage the coat check - why? Personally, I don't think this is my problem! I think this is should be a complementary service offered to diners. Also, most coat check attendants expect a tip of at LEAST 5 TL/coat! I frequently travel to Paris and don't ever remember paying the cloak room attendant at any restaurant - including a Michelin star one!

2. Dirty ashtray or one that doesn't come back...

(istock photos)

When you dine outdoors at eateries in Istanbul, you are allowed to smoke... Although I'm not very proud to say I'm a smoker - I am! But, what bothers me is that at some establishments, the ashtray could be overflowing with butts and a waiter will pass by your table many times without changing the ashtray! On the other hand, at other places, they take your ashtray almost after every butt, but forget to bring it back and you have to ask them for another one!

3. Unfinished beverages...

Some waiters at restaurants are a bit over zealous and take your soda, wine, drink, etc. before you're finished drinking it! There might be a few sips left in your glass and wham... turn your head away for a second or be in deep conversation and before you know it... you reach for your glass and it's not there! Dear waiter/waitress friend... please don't take my glass before I'm done - or at least ask me before you do it to see if its okay! Thank you! 

4. Plates not being cleared away...

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While some waiters are over zealous (see comment 3), others can be inattentive! When I'm finished eating, I want my plate cleared away even if the others I'm dining with aren't done eating. I hate having to stare at a dirty plate for more than 10 minutes after I'm finished eating...

5. Table not being wiped properly...

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This is a very common occurrence that I run across at cafes versus restaurants. During busy times, after a customer gets up from a table, another one is sitting down. During this "exchange", a waiter or busboy will come and clean the table with a wet cloth - or at least should be doing this! One time, a waiter "cleaned" my table with the menu he was holding. Other times, a dry cloth was used to clean a table with crumbs and wet spots (that can smeared over the entire table) and on other occassions, a wet cloth was used, but the table partially cleaned!

6) Unsuitably garbed and/or "smelly" wait staff...

(istock photos)

Although the majority of eateries in town have a "set" dress code (whether they supply the waiters with them or the waiters have to purchase the attire themselves), I don't like to see waiters with wrinkled shirts, pants that are too long and bangy and inappropriate or old and scuffed shoes! It just an eye sore!

Ok, I can stand this problem to a point, but what I can't put up with is a waiter/waitress that has body odor! He/she might have a perspiration problem, but I personally think that the more "basic" problem is that they don't wash their uniform (or shower) frequently and also don't use deodorant! A little remainer to our waiter/waitress friends... you can't coverup bad odor with perfume or cologne - it makes the problem even worse!

7. Un-informed wait staff...

A fairly large number of restaurants and cafes have a "soup of the day" and/or special(s) of the day... It bothers me when I ask what they are and the waiter says, "let me find out and let you know!" He/she should already know what they are!

8. Menus that don't tell the "whole story" and bad translations...

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You can run into these problems even at the best fine dining restaurants in town. What I mean by the "whole story" is that the menu might not include whether the dish is "grilled, pan-fried, etc."; what dressing is used for a salad... or how the "sides" are prepared (in butter, sauteed, grilled, etc.).

Bad translations and misspelled words drive me crazy even more! Some of my favorite "bad" translations include calling Filet of Sole "Language" fish because in Turkish it is called "dil balığı" which means "language" and "tongue" in English. Or Monk fish is called "Lantern" fish because it is called "fener balığı" in Turkish and fener means lantern in English. The list can go on... but my last favorite is "lamb's ear salad" or "Kuzu kulağı" in Turkish which is a leafy lettuce called sorrel in English!

9. Sending back food... or not finishing your plate...

I think this is a culture thing... Turks are not really very good with controversy! Although not very common, you could have gotten a dish that just doesn't taste right - it just tastes off! You have two options here: 1) don't say anything and just not eat it; 2) tell the waiter and have him take it back.

In either example, 9 times out of 10 - 1) the waiter won't even ask you why left almost your entire meal on your plate; 2) you won't get an apology or even an "I'm sorry, you're right - there was a problem with your meal". Forget about getting an apology or compensation (i.e. a complementary drink, beverage, etc.) you're lucky if they remove the meal from your bill!

10.Limited wine list/by the glass/prices...

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I love wine! And... when I go to a restaurant or cafe, usually the first thing I ask for is the wine list! I want to see what they are offering by the bottle or by the glass. Most of the time, I'm disappointed! The selections are sooooo limited. Sometimes, you will find wines by only one local distributor with a few international brands. Sure, taxes on alcoholic beverages are high in Turkey, but I still think restauranteurs bump up their prices a little too much. I don't want to pay over 100 TL for a "basic" wine that I can get at the supermarket for 25-30 TL!

Wines by the glass are also limited - sometimes to just a choice of 2 to 3 white and red wines... again on the lower end of the spectrum - but the prices at the high end! Some establishments can charge as high as 25 TL for a "mid-priced" wine! I prefer to go to ones that charge between 15-17 TL! I can live with this amount!

11. Handwritten bills...

Yup, there are still establishments out there that still don't have computerized bills! This is fairly common at fish restaurants. The waiter will bring you a bill that is folded with the total price written on the folded side. Most Turks won't even open the bill! I guess they know better. Because... when you do, all you see is a bunch of chicken scratch in the detail column (similar to a physician's prescription order that only the pharmacist can understand!), a bunch of xxx's to indicate the quantity ordered ... illegible amounts written next to the xxx's... IF you complain and ask the waiter for details, he too is at a loss to try to explain it to you!!


12. Specials not listed on menu...

This is possible... I don't have a major problem with this because they can change daily and the establishment can decide to have the waiter just tell you what they are because it's only a few items.

Don't make the mistake I did a couple of times when I ordered the "special of the day" in this type of situation if you don't want a major shock when the bill comes... ASK the waiter to tell you the price of the specials!

Turks are usually embarrassed to ask the prices (especially a man and he's out on a date or with a bunch of women friends), so I think the "right" thing would be for the waiter to tell you the prices without being asked - just like they do in restaurants in NYC!

13. Ridiculous prices for a bottle of water...

If you think I'm kidding when I say "ridiculous" prices for a bottle of water, I'm not! One time I went to a mid-priced restaurant and we were charged 8 TL for a 1,5 litre of water!!! Normally, the same bottle of water is sold at supermarkets for under 1 TL retail price (so then imagine how much the restaurant pays for it!). So, before you order that bottle of water, make sure you find out the price!

14. Crazy bathroom signs...

(istock photos)

This is another one that drives me nuts! There have been many many times I have gone to the bathroom at a restaurant or cafe and stood in front of the doors totally puzzled as to which one is the ladies room!!! I don't understand why establishments feel that they have to test our IQ to perform a humanly function! Do you see the sign above? This tells the story perfectly and all I need!

One of my next projects is going to be taking pictures of these "interesting" bathroom signs for another post...


15. Potpourri...

These pet peeves don't deserve a heading of their own, but I wanted to include them too...

a) asking for a particular brand of wine by the glass and being served something different... AND having the waiter tell you that you're wrong, but once you insist that a mistake has been made, you turn out to be right. It's not right to assume that the customer doesn't know the difference...

b) If I'm a steady customer at a cafe or restaurant, I get really upset when they remove my favorite dish(es) from the menu - especially when it's not because of a "seasonal" issue!

c) some menus are HUGE! I'm not talking about the number of selections... just the size itself! The menu weighs about 1 kilo and is full of pictures to "jazz" up the menu! I don't need to look at a whole bunch of "designer" and "photoshopped" photos!

c) not being served what the menu says. For example, if the dish includes "jumbo shrimp", don't serve me baby shrimp! The waiter's "excuse" was that they ran out of jumbo shrimp to include in the salad! That's possible, BUT either tell the customer and let him decide if he still wants to order the dish OR don't serve the dish at all!

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Dani