Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Calis Beach Forum => Calis Bar and Restaurant Questions and Discussions => Topic started by: kenkay on July 18, 2014, 13:21:39 PM
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The great thing about the Sundial is the free transport on offer. The worst thing is when it doesn't turn up and they don't even care enough to let you know. We booked for 6 adults, a child + the baby for today. We booked a 14:00 hrs pick up to have a light snack, an afternoon of leisure in the pool and Jacuzzi and a quality dinner tonight. They agreed to pick us up at the Gunlukbasi Citroen garage as they could not understand where Violet is even after picking up here dozens of time before. I went to wait at Citroen and nothing arrived by 14:15 hrs. I rang them but they just took my mobile number and said they'd call me back later. I objected and said we were supposed to be on the way and that people were ready and waiting. They repeated that they'd call. Back at Violet I gave Sue my mobile to have ago as she had made the booking. It finished with them telling Sue that they would not come for us but would help us with transport home. Considering having the pushchair and loads of other stuff Sue told them that we're not coming and rang off.
We had invited two other regular Violet guests who had been looking forward to going so we also feel guilty about that
In short due to the fact that they have wasted a day of 7 people's holidays I will not be going again (maybe biting my nose off to spite my face) but I will also discourage any other Violet visitors from going >:(
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What on earth is happening to Fethiye/Calis? in the past month members are reading about poor service, extortionate prices. Saat restaurant, vojos, mancero, sundial. Bela mamas still serving a scoop of rice with a topiary shaped tomato and piece of cucumber, about 6 to 10 chips and a small bit of steak ,(this is my complaint by the way), are they really trying to drive people away for good?. :( :(
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Can see what you mean Des - we seem to have got into a bit of a negative mode.
Can honestly say, apart from the disappointing Village breakfast, I had no complaints about Calis at all. Yes the road sides are scruffy. Yes the canal looks a bugger with all the rubbish but actually, it was "quirky" the last 9 times we visited too (another word for scruffy?) and I convince myself it is just part of Turkey! We found the cost of dining out and drinking our G&T to still be very good value and had great service in most places - especially Kerim and Bambu so we will still be back in September and will still think about having our own place in the not too distant future.
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We are the same, we came over for 3 weeks May/June and enjoyed our meals out at night. Only one disappointment for lunch.
We decided not to return to the Sundial after our last experience and think we have missed nothing. If we want a panoramic view of Fethiye and Calis while eating...Lovely view at the Kings Garden, great food, friendly staff, a night out we would never miss.
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And they turn up :D
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At the risk of suffering the wrath of the anti smoking brigade….do they have tables outside too so I can have a fag with my G&T?
No "bad for you" or "can't you manage without" comments please ;)
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No tables outside, but only a few steps to the outside of the place where the smokers congregated between courses. :)
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Just like home then………. ;D
Thanks for the info Echogirl1.
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maybe tin hat time. imo after reading so many threads do many people who stay here think that quite a few bars with one or two exceptions are taking too much for granted. they will come back. im sorry they wont.
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Went over to Ada restaurant on Sovalye Island Tuesday nıght . Pıcked up by ferry and returned when we wanted to leave. Food excellant prıces on a par wıth Mancero and Sundial. Lovely settıng and no mossıes. Beer 12tl and G&T 15tl. They wıll pıck up couples and groups.
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Aww thats so frustrating for you,we haven,t visited sundial.We have however had some great evenings with transport provided at kings garden,adanali hasan kolcieulu(spelt wrong),muzzys place in kya all making the journey to the back roads of Ovacik. Like I have said previously, with so many restaurants about willing and able to offer an excellent service, there,s no need to waste your time or money on the others that can,t be bothered.
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That is really appalling customer service...I had also read I think on Facebook that the sundial is charging to use the jacuzzi this year regardless as to whether you have spent money on food and drinks there!
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We were hoping to take our family to the Sundial. Wanted to go around 2pm, so we could swim, enjoy the sunset and have an evening meal there. We were informed that they do not to day time pick ups anymore. This is fair enough if this is stated, not to mess folk around and say that they will be picked up, then not bother. Its a faff in this heat, to wait around for 2 buses and walk up the hill, so we didn't bother. He has been charging to use the Jacuzzi for the last 3yrs.
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What on earth is happening to Fethiye/Calis? in the past month members are reading about poor service, extortionate prices. Saat restaurant, vojos, mancero, sundial. Bela mamas still serving a scoop of rice with a topiary shaped tomato and piece of cucumber, about 6 to 10 chips and a small bit of steak ,(this is my complaint by the way), are they really trying to drive people away for good?. :( :(
I think service in most places are just about same but what changing is peoples expectations.I wanted something different this year and thats why changed the chef we had last year. New chef was the head of a very posh boutique hotel in fethiye and worked in many ala carte restaurants. On our meetings I told him what i wanted ( no chips rice salad) great presentation of the food etc so Early in January to promote him we done a 3 course lunch dinner for only 15 TL. We served either french onion soup or italian minestrone soup followed by stuffed chicken breast on a bed of sauted vegetables with chefs amazing lemon sauce and finished it off with dessert. People who came all loved what we offered but quite afew said why was there no chips . That was it for me then.. I told the chef scrap all the plans and the new menu and just work on our old menu with most plates coming with chips rice and vegs. I think most just wants to see these three on the plate whether they eat them all or not. So my plans of bringing fine dining to Calış is gone before even it started :(
p.s I dont know what others do but we serve %100 Local fillet steak and our portions are never less than 210gr per fillet. With the prices is getting as high as 65 lira a kilo and believe me you lucky if you get 3 good size steak out of every 1 and half kilo we feel we are lucky. If it was up to me ı wouldnt sell steaks because profit margin is not worth doing it
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]Quote from VoJos
p.s I dont know what others do but we serve %100 Local fillet steak and our portions are never less than 210gr per fillet. With the prices is getting as high as 65 lira a kilo and believe me you lucky if you get 3 good size steak out of every 1 and half kilo we feel we are lucky. If it was up to me ı wouldnt sell steaks because profit margin is not worth doing it
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In the U.K. fillet steak prices range from £32.99-£42.99 per kilo (depending on the supermarkets/butchers) so it's a lot cheaper in Turkey..I also buy a piece that weighs 1.5KG. I cut it into good size pieces and the 'leftovers'are used to make a beef bourginon which goes into portions in the freezer.....so no waste. I don't think that you would waste good steak, so what do you do with the off cuts?
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I would use it for beef stroganoff . ;)
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]Quote from VoJos
p.s I dont know what others do but we serve %100 Local fillet steak and our portions are never less than 210gr per fillet. With the prices is getting as high as 65 lira a kilo and believe me you lucky if you get 3 good size steak out of every 1 and half kilo we feel we are lucky. If it was up to me ı wouldnt sell steaks because profit margin is not worth doing it
In the U.K. fillet steak prices range from £32.99-£42.99 per kilo (depending on the supermarkets/butchers) so it's a lot cheaper in Turkey..I also buy a piece that weighs 1.5KG. I cut it into good size pieces and the 'leftovers'are used to make a beef bourginon which goes into portions in the freezer.....so no waste. I don't think that you would waste good steak, so what do you do with the off cuts?
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Of course we dont bin the left overs but you cant sell them steak prices thou, we use them on other dishes which cost half as much as steak dishes.
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I always thought the seafront restaurants all had exactly the same menu as each other because none was brave enough to break away and risk a new range. Reading VOJOs reply above, I wonder if I was completely wrong - maybe it is the clientele that don't like change?
It's a real shame to read that new menus are met with comments like "where are the chips". Back to serving them, with the Calis staple partners, rice and salad. :(
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I don't see why there can't be a choice - fresh veg for me most days, occasionally some proper chips would be nice or decent rice. They are an accompaniment not the main dish so why stop doing the more adventurous main courses just because some people asked for chips - and why trial it out of season only?
The food is fine in Calis generally - ok maybe pretty basic in a lot of places but that has to be an opportunity to offer better and different not throw up your hands in despair because someone asked for chips.
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I want to know where the "local steak" comes from?? I have never seen any herds of cattle in the area. I read on the net that 75% of all beef is imported into Turkey from Germany and Poland and the next percentage comes from China(cannot remember what that was). As for the Turkish beef, lots of which seems to be raised in sheds, there is still foot and mouth disease in Turkey and also Lumpy Skin disease is now a problem. 80,000 Turkish Cattle have been vaccinated and the movement of cattle has been restricted.
We enjoy the evening food in Vojo's but last year we had lunchtime salads that where full of chicken or tuna and served with long straw bread sticks. We really loved them. This year we ordered lunchtime salad and got a lot of lettuce and very little tuna for me and chicken for Phil. We said at the time, there must be a new Chef. Last year we had many lunches in Vojo's this year we had one. Still love the evening menu as I said. So please Volcan, go back to last years salad please.
Re the pick ups from Restaurants. I was discussing this with my daughter this evening and she asked me do the places that pick up have baby/child seats?? As in the U.K. people would not take their children anywhere in a vehicle without one.
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They will be a little limp now Jacqui.
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I have said for a long time, if the menus had written on them ''Please state at time of ordering if you require chips''. If anyone asks ''Where are the chips'', all the waiter has to do is point at the menu.
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Well I'm back and as we say in Lancashire "Cap in hand" ;D. I'd promised 7 year old grandson, Harry, a go in the Jacuzzi at Sundial and he was so disappointed that I relented and we went today. We were picked up by a yellow cab promptly at 14:30 and returned, a bit later than planned, at 22:30 by an Olu Deniz dolmus on a Calis shuttle run.
We had a great day but it cost us the wrong side of 500ytl. The restaurant was fullish for dinner but up to 18:15 we were the only ones there.
(http://s2.postimg.org/pnxub7yh1/142.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/pnxub7yh1/)
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What a fabulous photo! Wow! You've made Harry a very happy boy! That's what it's all about. So glad you had a wonderful day Kenkay. ;D
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Thanks Lotty and as an aside, this is my first photo upload after nearly 2,500 posts :D That's thanks to Highlander :) I don't need to send them to Scunner any more 8)
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Do the yellow cabs have child seats or booster seats? My daughter is going over soon and I suggested a cab, but she asked me do they have child seats.
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Afraid not Jacqui. Not ideal but Paul sat in the front seat, belted up and hung on to William.
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Thanks Ken, that will be a no no for my daughter she will not travel anywhere in a car with my Granddaughter without a car seat. They have a hire car with a seat, but I thought if her husband fancied a pint a taxi may be good.
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Are child/booster seats expensive ? Might be worth having one for those kind of trips.
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Do any taxis keep child seats on board? Can not remember seeing them available in the UK either.
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Private Hire Taxis in the U.K. do have them, not sure about black cabs. The car my daughter is hiring from Fethiye Lovers does have a car seat as does F.L's car that will pick them up at the airport.
It is illegal in the U.K to take a child in a car without a car seat. If we go out in my car in the U.K. my daughter transfers her car seat to my car.
After watching a video of what can happen to a child in a car without a seat it made me shudder. Go online and watch these videos of the damage done to child dummies. It's horrific and knowing the standard of driving in Turkey we would not take any chances.
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We permanently have a baby/toddler and a child seat in situ in one of our cars (comes from having a large number of grandchildren who we look after on a regular basis). There was an awareness week recently regarding the installation of car seats and Halfords were checking the installations free, even if the seats were not purchased from them. We passed with flying colours, thank God, but were horrified to hear that huge numbers of seats were fitted incorrectly and most of these were in cars where the seats were frequently moved.
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No problem with my daughter's car seat. It fits into any car with a couple of clicks It is amazing and very safe. She just changed it as my Granddaughter is now bigger. This will be her third car seat.
However, a car seat will never work if it is not fitted corectly that is a given.
My daughter always inspects all seats on hire cars before she puts my Granddaughter into them. A couple of years ago she refused to get into transfer vehicle at the airport because they had put in a seat that did not fit properly. She waited until a new one was brought out.
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Ehrm.. Why not start a new topic called "Child Car Seats"?
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correct philrose thought was a thread re sundial!!
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Lets carry on from Kenkays Post:-
''Well I'm back and as we say in Lancashire "Cap in hand" ;D. I'd promised 7 year old grandson, Harry, a go in the Jacuzzi at Sundial and he was so disappointed that I relented and we went today. We were picked up by a yellow cab promptly at 14:30 and returned, a bit later than planned, at 22:30 by an Olu Deniz dolmus on a Calis shuttle run.
We had a great day but it cost us the wrong side of 500ytl. The restaurant was fullish for dinner but up to 18:15 we were the only ones there.''
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Sounds a bit expensive to me, how many were you? Not many places let 7year olds in the Jacuzzi, they tend to say adults only, so long as you enjoyed it money is immaterial. :)
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Sounds a bit expensive to me, how many were you? Not many places let 7year olds in the Jacuzzi, they tend to say adults only, so long as you enjoy.ed it money is immaterial. :)
There were 4 adults, 7 year old Harry & baby William. The price included snack lunch, afternoon drinks, restaurant dinner and drinks and Gaelic Coffees to finish. Both kids ate off the kids menu at lunch & dinner. Harry was never in the Jacuzzi without us.
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Seems cheap to me taking into account the number of people and the food and drink you had.
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Sounds a really good day out to me! Kenkay, you described how you got there and returned, can I ask whether you made your own way, or was the transport supplied by Sundial?(not wishing to reignite a huge debate about transpor etc. etct) :) :o
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The 7 seater yellow cab was despatched and paid for by the Sundial. The return minibus was a "round-robin" trip with other customers from Calis area. I am actually now feeling a bit guilty about my initial post :( well maybe not :)
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I took friends to the Dundial this year and was disappointed. They wouldn't pick the 3 of us up, although did pay for a return shared taxi to Calis. Our table was not in a good position, but, to be fair, they were prepared to move it. Food was very average with John's steak though, being very tough. Not feeling like rushing to return!