X Restaurant

Photo WOW Turkey

by Canan Negüs, May 2010

We decided to celebrate our friend’s ....th birthday (we have already reached the age of forgetting about the numbers) with a lunch at X Restaurant.

X is located on the top floor of IKSV’s (Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts) new building in Deniz Palas in Şişhane and became the trendiest restaurant in Istanbul as soon as it was opened in late January.

X is run by the Borsa group of restaurants belonging to Rasim Özkanca, and chef Murat Karaduman is the creator of really delicious food. It has the best service team I have seen recently. The waiters work with high energy and geniality. 

The menu arrived instantly and was composed of Turkish and Mediterranean fusion cuisine offering creative flavors.  Although the name of the food may seem familiar, surprises at the end of the descriptions make it difficult to decide. For example pumpkin soup with pumpkin seeds and mini Akçaabat meatballs, or homemade smoked salmon slices accompanied with beet puree and  quail egg. We preferred to choose something simple and ordered prosciutto pizza, done in the oven decorated with  tiles specially designed for IKSV by the Iznik Tiles Foundation. While waiting for our pizzas we enjoyed artichokes in olive oil and shrimp and a good white wine.

The plates were colored with the designs of Güngör Taner.  We also had difficulty in choosing what to eat for dessert and finally we ordered  “bitter chocolate mascarpone mousse with mango passion fruit sorbet” and “bitter chocolate crunchy crème Anglais with vanilla ice cream”. We were full up by this time and therefore promised to taste  “soufflé with caramel”  next time. We did not regret our choices; they were all beyond delicious.

X Restaurant is an excellent choice for a special evening; whether it be a romantic dinner or a business dinner to impress your foreign guests. It has a stunning view of The Golden Horn and the historical peninsula and I believe the panorama is also magnificent at night. There is also a terrace on the upper floor; however, the weather did not permit us to eat there.

Canan Dağdelen's installation titled “Nonplace Dot”  located by the stairway leading to the terrace attracts everyone’s attention..

The decoration and tables actually disappointed us.  We feel the decoration has been neglected despite this adorable historic building and panorama. The tables bothered us the most: they are made of a kind of kitchen counter material and there is no cloth or American service type cover. Nevertheless, these disappointments did not change our opinions on the gastronomic quality of the restaurant and we still recommend it to our friends as “the best restaurant recently opened in Istanbul”.

It is open every day between 11:30 and 02:00.

X Restaurant & Bar
IKSV Deniz Palas
Sadi Konuralp Caddesi 5, Sishane
Tel: (212) 334 08 45

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