Head-to-Head · Istanbul
Mikla vs Türk Fatih Tutak
Mikla is Gürs’s one-star rooftop over the Golden Horn; Türk Fatih Tutak a two-star Bomonti tasting. Book Tutak for food, Mikla for view.
The Verdict
Mikla is the view and the record. Mehmet Gürs has cooked on the eighteenth floor of the Marmara Pera hotel in Beyoğlu since 2005, and his New Anatolian Kitchen, a Nordic-trained reading of Turkish produce, holds one Michelin star in the 2026 Türkiye guide along with a 360-degree panorama over the Golden Horn and the old city. It scores 9 for food, 9 for the room and 8 for value, and no rooftop in the city competes with it.
Türk Fatih Tutak is the ambition. Chef Fatih Tutak cooks a modern Turkish tasting menu in Bomonti, in the Şişli district, and carries two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide, one of the highest ratings in the country. The menu reworks Anatolian dishes course by course at a level of technique Mikla does not chase. It scores 9 for food, 8 for the room and 7 for value, the price of a two-star tasting.
The split is panorama versus precision. Mikla wins the room, the sunset and the easier price; Türk Fatih Tutak wins the kitchen at full stretch. One is the city laid out beneath you, the other is the most decorated Turkish table in Istanbul.
Scores, Side by Side
| Score | Mikla | Türk Fatih Tutak |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 9 / 10 | 9 / 10 |
| Atmosphere | 9 / 10 | 8 / 10 |
| Value | 8 / 10 | 7 / 10 |
The Cooking
Mikla reads Turkey through a Scandinavian lens, the legacy of Gürs’s Stockholm training. Lamb cooked over coals, sea bass from the Aegean, sourdough and house-cultured dairy, and a tasting menu that names the small producers it buys from. It is restrained, regional and ingredient-led rather than tricky, which is why a one-star kitchen can feel as serious as the room around it.
Türk Fatih Tutak pushes harder. Tutak takes a street dish or a village preparation and rebuilds it as a composed plate, the kind of work that earned the second star and a place near the top of Turkey’s dining map. The tasting is longer, the technique denser and the price higher, and the room is a quieter, more formal Bomonti space built to hold the attention the food demands.
The Rooms
Mikla is glass and sky, an eighteenth-floor room and an open terrace with the Golden Horn, the Galata Tower and the mosques of the old city in the window. Türk Fatih Tutak is the opposite mood: a contained, low-lit Bomonti dining room with no view to compete with the plates. Mikla is where you bring someone to impress them with the city; Tutak is where you go for the food alone.
Which One for Which Occasion
| Occasion | Editorial Pick |
|---|---|
| A first night in Istanbul | MiklaAn eighteenth-floor terrace over the Golden Horn and the old city is the single best room to introduce the city. |
| The most serious meal in town | Türk Fatih TutakTwo Michelin stars and a technique-driven Anatolian tasting make it the city’s benchmark kitchen. |
| A romantic dinner with a view | MiklaThe rooftop, the sunset and Gürs’s produce-led cooking make it the date room with the better backdrop. |
| Best value at the top end | MiklaA one-star tasting with that panorama costs less than a two-star menu, so Mikla returns more for the spend. |
| Impressing a client | Türk Fatih TutakThe two-star rating and formal Bomonti room carry the weight when the meal has to say something. |
Price and How to Book
Mikla runs a set-price tasting at the one-star tier and books directly through the restaurant; the full picture is in the Mikla review. Türk Fatih Tutak sits at the higher two-star price and releases its tables ahead by reservation, with weekends going first; the booking detail sits in the Türk Fatih Tutak review. Both anchor our Istanbul dining guide.
For cuisine context, weigh both against the best Turkish restaurants worldwide, and compare Mikla’s rooftop tasting with the modern French and Mediterranean rooms on our French fine-dining guide. For occasion fit, see our picks for an anniversary dinner and for impressing clients. More Istanbul match-ups, including Araf against Neolokal, sit on the compare index, and the city’s toughest seats are in the hardest Istanbul reservations guide.