We visited this place on December 11th. The restaurant was dimly lit, and a bunch of staff members were sitting about, chatting. The service was friendly, but distracted... too many friends hanging out. \r
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The food was lousy. As the husband of a Turkish person, I know Turkish cuisine, and this was terrible-- the meat was greasy and chewy, the tea lipton and obviously not Turkish, and the eggplant - ground beef dish was totally unremarkable. The ayran, according to my wife, was nasty. We ate as quickly as we could and left, pursued by the worst kind of Turkish folk/pop music that inevitably rings in the ear long after it has ended. \r
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All of this would have been slightly more tolerable if the atmosphere wasn't so uninviting. The only thing worse would be to light it with bare fluorescent bulbs-- in our side of the restaurant the only significant source of illumination was a single bare incandescent lightbulb. We simply could not see our food. \r
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Its a shame that this restaurant is so highly rated. It suggests that Atlantans don't really know good Turkish cuisine. Cafe Istanbul leaves a lot to be desired!
Pros: quick service
Cons: lousy food, nightmarish atmosphere
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