Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Calis Beach Forum => Calis Bar and Restaurant Questions and Discussions => Topic started by: wickwilly on January 18, 2013, 20:33:56 PM
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This is a restaurant one should avoid at all costs unless one likes being ripped off big time.
Went there tonight as fancied some nice fresh hamsi balik and prawns in garlic and kalamar. Paid 25 Lira for the fish and prawns and 13 for the kalamar. and it was suggested that this was a good restaurant in which to eat it. Sat down and was immediately given water from sealed bottle and poured into glass without being asked. Was then asked how I wanted the prawns cooked. Explained this. A few mınutes later out came 2 yaprak sarma on a plate and on another plate was 2 lahana sarma . 6 slices of bread were brought to the table and a fresh salad. Asked for a Tuborg and received a 3rd litre bottle. Prawns and hamsi balik arrived at the same time as the kalamar. Food was reasonably well cooked but nothing to write home about. Then came the bill!!! For the 6 slices of bread , 4 sarma, salad, water and one beer. 46 Lira !!!!. Told the waiter I thought he had made a mistake as its only 6 lira per person for salad and bread. He said no, there were three meals and the salad was fresh and was special as it had rocket in it so was twice the price. The 3rd litre of beer was 7 Lira and the 4 sarma were 14 Lira!!. Wasnt even a mouthfull in each one. Water which had been not requested was 3 Lira. Told him that I thought the place was a ripoff and wouldn't be going there again. He couldn't have been less interested.
WW
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I think the fish market has run its course and is now nothing other than a place to rip off people whether they are local ex pats or tourists. We stopped going 3 yrs back because of this.
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I disagree - I think it is a unique and special experience that you simply can't get anywhere outside the market. Fethiye would be a far poorer place without the fish market. I have been going to Receps for years and years and never once had a problem - and I know many who say the same about Receps and about Oztuklu. So maybe it depends where you go.
What I do think is that the days of buying your fish and taking to be cooked should really be over (although I've never turned up with a fish :D ) - and just have a menu with popular fish and maybe a blackboard for what's good and available today - all clearly priced along with drinks, salad, bread, water prices.
Too much is ambiguous and sadly that can be used to make money on the unsuspecting.
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I'm relieved to read this Scunner. I've been looking forward to trying the fish market restaurants so this was disappointing. Receps or Oztuklu it is then.
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I've never been to Oztuklu - only because my Turkish friends introduced me to Receps and we felt no need to try another - but a lot of people who's opinion I value swear by it.
If you do go to Receps, say you were recommended by me or more importantly Calis Beach Forum. I'm not on commission, it's just nice for him to know that we want our members to be looked after :) He's one of the characters of Fethiye, we love him.
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Great. Thanks. ;D
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I went to Receps last week and told him Scunner reccomended this place and he grabbed my baliks and threw me out! ;D
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Lucky you, he normally charges for that.
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Will give Receps a go then.
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Let us know how it goes Eric, hopefully you'll enjoy the Fish Market once more :)
There's nothing like a basket of bread plonked on your table (without being asked for) appearing on your bill to really irritate and take the gloss off an otherwise great night. Even if it's a quid or less, it isn't the money...
But it's not exclusive to Turkey - Stoop warned us about a similar thing in Portugal - if you don't say you don't want a pre-starter course, often comprising of a totally unappetising plate of dry bread-like things and equally dry and unappetising bits of cheese, then it comes. It has a name which I forget. As I recall, you don't get the option to order them, you have to specifically and clearly say you do not want them. And even then you need to check that it isn't on your bill!
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I think the fish market has run its course and is now nothing other than a place to rip off people whether they are local ex pats or tourists. We stopped going 3 yrs back because of this.
Agree with you Eric we have given up on the fish market. We went to Recep's a couple of years ago. Once they had us sat down they lost all interest in our party.
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Well I must say you don't get over attended by Recep :D
But I like that.
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Cin and Can every time for us in the fish market. Fabulous food and great staff. We are always welcomed and Hussain the owner, (Cin &Can are his twin sons) keeps an eye that everything goes well.
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Forgot to say that Hussain was the first ever proprietor at the fish market.
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Same for us Lotty - we love it at Cem and Can and I think the fish market is great.
Obviously with the hours we work we only get to go on a Sunday during the day and even then the atmosphere is still quite buzzy.
We usually go for one fish dish between us and have a selection of mezes which come with a large mixed salad, a plate of rocket and home baked bread as opposed to the günlük ekmek - sliced that many places serve! We find that is more than enough and with a raki and a wine or g&t usually comes to about 70TL for two of us, plus the price of our fish pre bought by us.
I agree though with Scunner that the pricing is ambiguous especially where the service charge is concerned. As with anywhere always ask the price for mezes if choosing from the fridge without a priced menu and always get confirmation of how the customer service charge is applied.
I have had a good look at the boards since the discussion we had last year about the service charge being applied to each fish dish cooked (3 fish dishes equals 3 service charges) and none of them state it is anything other than 5/6TL per customer only!!!
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We ate in Oztoklu last October and couldn't fault it. Although we have not tried the inner restaurants at the fish market they seemed a bit to hustle & bustle for me. Oztoklu can only cater for about 18 so its a bit less commercialised. We really enjoyed it.
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5 of us went to oztoklu last year. very good service & very good biill 90lira what a bargin.
:)
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We have used Canciger (sp?) many times. It is good enough for us. Well cooked and friendly service.
So far, we have been charged per customer whether with one big fish shared or 2 smaller fish. This includes a hamsi or prawn starter.
Once, we tried another place which has been highly spoken of here.
Service was noticeably poorer, charged per course, little interest taken in us between getting us seated and questioning the bill.
Sometimes, it is better just to stick withe same old same old.
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I posted some time ago about our experience at Hilmi,if I had been in England I would have really kicked off but when I started in Hilmis there were alsorts of threats,Ive seen Midnight Express so had to walk away with my person in tact !We still like the unique experience of the fish market often for a light lunch and less for the full monty on an evening.When we go we use Mercans which we enjoy.Tried Receps which was good but we like sitting in the main market,must say the loos in Receps are an experience !
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Couvert
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Oztuklu every time for me .... truly family run and they care about their customers and reputation. So many of my friends go there, genuinely good reviews on Tripadviser too 8)
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Oztuklu for me too, would not eat anywhere else in the Fish Market. Family run, food superbly cooked and never ripped off with the prices for the orders from the menu or the fresh fish orders O0
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Oztuklu for me too, their calamari in sauce is just delicious. Lovely family too.
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Nicola how did you settle on Cem and Can? We did because from the first visit we were blown away by the delicious food and the fact that they were all so friendly. Our drinks are on the table before we even sit down! Over time we really feel it's like one of our favourite places and have a sort of loyalty to them. I wonder though have you tried any others there? Everyone raves about the one in the fruit and veg market, Ozuklu (spell?) it's quite tempting yet we'd hate to be spotted !!
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Lotty I have eaten at many of the restaurants in the fish market some of them quite recently and found all bar one to be very good. When Doğan and I go together we always go to Cem Can which we discovered years ago partly from loyalty like you but I like the fact they serve the extra plate of rocket (my favourite) as well as the salad and they serve fresh home made bread unlike most of the others who serve the daily bread.
I also like their mezes in particular their smoked aubergine and seaweed mezes and the octopus and olive meze is simply delicious. The service is good and of course we know the staff there quite well now.
When I go with friends I get the chance to try other places although always a bit conscious about being spotted!!!
Recep's and the one on the left hand corner just before you enter the vegetable market are both good.
There is just one place I'm not keen on as I found the mezes selection limited and not available to view being made only to order and what we had was tasteless and I didn't like my main fish meal and I was served tap water which is a sin of the highest order in my book instead of bottled water which I noticed immediately upon drinking it.
But I do love the atmosphere of the fish market and considering it is a bit pricey there are always lots of Turkish people eating there.
We have also visited Girida (the fisherman's cooperative on the opposite side of the road just up from Shaka) twice now and just have a selection of fish and other mezes - no fish main meal because as has been reported on another topic is expensive at 70TL per kilo for sea bream for example and have really enjoyed our meals there.
We did ask the price of all the mezes which range from about 5-18TL the first time we went in fear of being taken advantage of but they seemed fairly reasonable.
The service at Girida is excellent too so it may be worth considering trying there if you fancy a change without being spotted ;)
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I sometimes fancy a Pizza (not) but daren't go in case Nichola sees us ! ;)
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Thank you Nicola your sentiments are ours exactly. I forgot to mention that I love their acili esme so much, it's really hot and fiery. I told them that at home I try to replicate it and before I knew it Sonay (head waiter) had arranged for me to have a lesson in the kitchen the following morning! I think we will stick with what we know is great and let curiosity kill the cat! Thanks for recommending Girida we have fancied trying there too it has been recommended a few times on here too. Wish you were open in Feb,
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I think it's one of the rules of a number of places in Calis/Fethiye - we tend to choose one place from the range available and stick with it. In doing that we get better service over time perhaps - like I would get better service at Receps than you but you would get better service at Cem & Can than I would. The worry of being spotted too - I think Recep would break my arms if he saw me in one of the others ;)
The Calis Sunday market is similar too - I go to without doubt the best chicken doner place out of all of them. I've never been to any of the others even once, I don't need to - "ours" is quite obviously the best, why else would we always go there :D
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We LOVE the gozleme place at both the Sunday and Tuesday markets, the one with the very bright flowery chair covers! They do come to know you and there's always that loyalty thing on both sides. This guy has a cafe too, it's on the bend on the right hand side up the road opposite the tax office. We've not tried it, I love people watching in the markets far too much!
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We normally eat in Oztuklu in the warmer months but at the moment its a bit chilly so hence trying Hilmi. You live and learn. Just have to wait until it gets comfortable to eat outside!!
WW
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Cem and Can are having a huge refurb, Can showed us around it last night. Both the restaurant and kitchen will be fabulous and very different. Instead of one toilet there will be 3 including a separate one for staff. I liked it as it was but I suppose it was overdue for up dating being the first of the restaurants there. (Himli and Receps belong to Hussains family too.) It has though, given us a chance to try Receps without feeling guilty! In fact they've been eating there themselves while doing the work. I have to agree with fans of Receps, it really is good, we had a delicious meal with great service. I think Cem and Can are hoping to reopen later this week.
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is Receps the one just inside the fruit and veg part??
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No that is Oztoklu. receps is in the main part, blue and white chairs maybe??
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good excuse to try both then :) thank you
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Oztuklu for us everytime.Great food,excellent service & a lovely family. Always a friendly, laid back atmsophere & you don't get ripped off.
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From previous experience I think you are more likely to get ripped off when you buy the fish than at the restaurant.
I don't remember ever seeing the prices displayed (or has that changed ?) :(
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Some fishmongers do display prices. Had a fab meal and evening at Cem and Can's on saturday.
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Which one is Cem and Can please? I feel like a change from Oztoklu and Receps
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Cem and Can is the one directly opposite Hilmis and Receps, past the 2 butchers. So if you are facing the butchers, with your back to the fishmongers, this restaurant is to your left. Signs up above it.There is a veg and fruit outlet next to it, probably only fruit and veg one in this area, as all others in part next door.
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This will be of no use to anyone as I can't remember where we purchased our seafood/fish or which restaurant cooked it for us our our visit to the fish market last summer :)
I thought we were over charged for the fish and for the cooking of it :) But the food was very good and even after being over charged it still was reasonable vs back home and a unique experience.
It was certainly the most expensive meal we had during our 2 1/2 weeks and we ate out every night in both Calis and Fethiye. Is that normal and par for the course?
If so perhaps I am being unkind and in fact it's just a more expensive place to eat out than everywhere else we went to.