Anyone remember the 4TL Efes??

[mikrik]

£40.00 no problem:D

[marina]

Have just returned from Calis on Saturday , and would say that we found restaurant prices have gone up a bit on last year, but as Scunner has said, don't stick to prom, make sure you try the others down the main street.  As a must, go to Sardunya.  We only found it this year and will definitely be back when we're in calis next.  It's much more traditional Turkish than a lot of the others, and the staff so friendly.  

If we must get on the subject of Efes then I can only remember paying 5Tl for a large beer at the Sat club, and we were more than happy to do that in those surroundings.  In most places we went to it was 4 or 3.5. But having said that it wasn't something we checked everytime we bought one. We wanted a beer, we bought, we paid.  

The changes to Calis over the last few years we have been going are a big improvement but, as someone else has said, these will only happen gradually.  The new roads, tidying up of the prom etc all cost money and won't happen overnight.

The water taxi has gone up this year from 4 to 5Tl but even at 5Tl it's still only about £2.20/£2.25 for a half hour boat trip.  I can't get a bus from home into the local town (4 miles) for that, it's now £3.50!  And there's always the dolmus at 1.5Tl (about 65p!) if you want a cheaper option.  

I have found one or two of the comments on here slightly patronising referring to 'holidaymakers with their two weeks in the sun' or maybe it's just me.  

Yes, we've had our two weeks in Calis, but we also have two other holidays this year, neither of them in calis, but in other parts of Europe, both in the eurozone  .

We're not sure what to expect with either of them but we are going out of choice, because we want to visit these places, certainly not because we think they'll be cheap, but if there are clean beaches, nice restaurants etc. then we'll pay the prices.  

Calis is one of my favourite places to holiday, and even with rising prices (inevitable wherever you go) you can still have a wonderful time and not have to spend too much money.  Get out and about, visit different places, explore Calis away from the prom and you'll be surprised what you might find.

[Phil]

Just got back from ten days in Calis - yep, prices are on the way up - no new news there.

I do feel the established restaurant owners are going to need to think about this very quick - take a place like the Orient Express - same menu for last five or six years (or longer) just different prices.

People will know what they used to get for 15L and human nature says they will be reluctant to pay 25L for exactly the same thing in exactly the same place. People will be drawn elsewhere - they will still end up paying 25L but they will look for newer smarter establishments which offer new menu options in new surroundings.

Everyone knows and accepts that prices have to go up but I believe the restaurants should up their game as well. The days of chip rice and salad are over (an old gripe of mine). Complacency at this time would not be good.

A few suggestions from me - "All you can eat buffets" on some nights. Simple entertainment (Piano bar type), Themed menus on some nights - and find a way to fill the place for longer than a few hours at night - Afternoon tea and cakes ?, Afternoon Beach parties, Early Bird Offers and try to persuade some of the travel companies to incorporate a stop over at Calis Beach on some of the day trips.

Any one else got any suggestions ?

[starman™]

Dont come to Istanbul. 2 of us had a 3 course dinner at the Sunset restaurant and with a bottle of wine (decent one) and a couple of cocktails each the bill was over 800 lira.

[marina]

Phil I do agree about the chips, rice and salad bit but several of the restaurants we visited did offer alternatives this time, i.e mashed or roast (ok not earth shattering but a nice change from the usual).

[Colwyn]

On the subject of whatever you order - lamb, chicken, fish, etc - it will come with rice, chips and salad. The first few times we went to Calis we were disappointed with this. We supposed it was what Turks thought that Germans and Brits would want to eat. However, in travelling around a bit outside the main tourist areas I noticed Turkish restaurants that seemed aimed at Turkish people also featured rice, chips & salad as standard.

I have talked to a few Turkish people about this. I pointed out that the markets are full of the marvellous vegetables of a wide range - cauliflower, cabbage, beetroot, a variety of beans in pods or  shellrd, and many, many more. So why don't these things get onto restaurant menus? Two frequent answers are:
(i) they go into meze;
(ii) we eat them at home but when you go to a restaurant we want something different.
For example, one Turk told me that his favourite meal cooked by his wife was cauilflower and chickpea casserole (it took quite a long while to translate the Turkish for chickpea!). Have you ever seen this on arestaurant menu?

I wonder if any of the CBF Turkish memebers or expats who know the country better than me would like to comment on this.

[Bluwise]

quote:Originally posted by Phil



A few suggestions from me - "All you can eat buffets" on some nights. Simple entertainment (Piano bar type), Themed menus on some nights - and find a way to fill the place for longer than a few hours at night - Afternoon tea and cakes ?, Afternoon Beach parties, Early Bird Offers and try to persuade some of the travel companies to incorporate a stop over at Calis Beach on some of the day trips.

Any one else got any suggestions ?

They could try Raclettes on the tables - cook your own jobbie!

[Toky]

Oh Bluwise.....I cannot stop laughing. In Scotland when your bowels move it is known as a jobbie!!! I could not imagine cooking one of those on a raclette!!!!!!! PMSL
 
P.S
sent from a Turkish computer hence time differnce on posting

[stuart]

i picked up on that too..glad am not the only one ..lol

[starman™]

chips rice and salad is something you find over the whole country everywhere and not just the tourist resorts.