There is one word I can use for Akın Balık and that is ‘interesting’. It is many things at the same time. It looks like a humble and even ordinary place but its cuisine is very special and very delicious. It looks like a local place but packed with tourists. It looks like a cosy and intimate place but how you will be treated depends on how much the staff likes you. The staff might be too cool for my taste if they do not like a guest. It looks like a reasonable place in terms of prices but it is rather pricy.
But in spite of it all, it is worth it. It is in Karaköy by the seaside but one could never find its location if one does not know where it is by heart as you have no chance of seeing it on your way to somewhere. Make sure to make a reservation before you go. Don’t be picky about where you will be seated or how comfortable the whole setting is. Just focus on the cuisine and how delicious it is. Note that this is a restaurant specialised in fish and mezes (Turkish tapas) and most visitors prefer to drink rakı (a traditional Turkish drink) along with it.
Akın Balık is in a secret corner by the seaside in Karaköy
Prefer Akın Balık in spring time for an evening and you will be amazed being by the seaside, drinking rakı and eating one of most delicious mezes and fish in İstanbul. A great place to spend an evening with a group of intimate friends.
