Restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey
Michelin-noted Bosphorus table, easier to book than rivals.
Sunset Grill & Bar holds two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024–2025) and is one of the easier high-end reservations on Istanbul's Bosphorus waterfront. At ₺₺₺₺, it's priced at the top of the market, but the combination of a genuine bar program, expansive terrace setting, and late-night flexibility makes it the stronger call for groups or occasion dinners over venues with sharper but narrower culinary focus.
Sunset Grill & Bar earns its two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) while remaining one of the more accessible high-end tables in Istanbul's Bosphorus dining corridor. Getting in is not a battle: booking difficulty is rated Easy, which puts it in a different category from the harder-to-secure seats at Turk Fatih Tutak or Mikla. If you're visiting Istanbul and want a confirmed Michelin-acknowledged dinner with a reliable reservation, this is a practical choice. If your priority is the most technically ambitious cooking in the city, you'll need to look further.
The address — Ulus Park, Kuruçeşme, on the European shore of the Bosphorus in Beşiktaş — places this firmly in Istanbul's established waterfront dining belt, the same stretch that has anchored the city's premium dining scene for decades. That positioning is both the venue's clearest selling point and its primary competition: the Bosphorus view is the context every dinner here is measured against, and Sunset Grill & Bar has been making that case long enough to hold a loyal following. For broader orientation on what else is on offer across the city, our full Istanbul restaurants guide is the place to start.
Ulus Park gives Sunset Grill & Bar a setting with scale: the restaurant operates within a park complex above the Bosphorus, which means the spatial logic here is expansive rather than intimate. This is not a room built for a quiet two-person conversation at a corner table. It is a venue that works leading when the full proposition , outdoor terrace, water view, evening light , is in play. For groups or occasions where the setting is part of the event, that scale is an asset. For solo diners or pairs seeking a contained, close-room atmosphere, venues like Neolokal in the historic district offer a tighter, more architecturally considered room.
The late-night dimension of Sunset Grill & Bar is worth factoring into your planning. Istanbul's dining culture runs late by European standards, and this venue's positioning , bar program alongside the restaurant, waterfront setting, established name , makes it a credible option for the hours after a standard dinner slot. Whether you're arriving for a full meal at 9 PM or transitioning from dinner elsewhere into drinks, the bar component gives it staying power in an evening that other high-end Istanbul restaurants, which tend to be primarily dinner-focused without a serious bar program, don't always offer. If you're building a longer evening around Beşiktaş, this is the kind of venue that can anchor the second half of it. Compare this with Vogue Restaurant, another waterfront option in the same general corridor that draws a similar late-evening crowd.
The cuisine is classified as International, which at this price tier (₺₺₺₺) means a broad menu designed to satisfy a range of preferences rather than a single tightly edited culinary point of view. This is a deliberate positioning choice: Sunset Grill & Bar is not making the argument that Turk Fatih Tutak or Neolokal make about the primacy of modern Turkish cuisine. It's positioning itself as a destination where the full evening , the view, the drinks, the food , is the offer, rather than the cooking as a standalone reason to visit. That's not a criticism; it's useful information about what to expect and what to prioritise when you're there.
At ₺₺₺₺, this sits at the leading of Istanbul's price tier. You're paying for location, service infrastructure, and the Michelin-acknowledged consistency of the kitchen. Google Reviews gives it 4.1 from 3,973 ratings, which at that volume suggests reliable but not transcendent performance. For diners coming from elsewhere in Turkey or internationally, it's worth cross-referencing against standout regional options: Maçakızı in Bodrum and Narımor in Izmir offer different takes on what high-end Turkish dining looks like outside Istanbul, while Nahita Cappadocia is the reference point for the interior.
Reservations are direct to secure, and the booking difficulty rating of Easy holds even during peak summer months when Istanbul's waterfront fills up. That said, if you have a specific date or occasion in mind , especially a weekend evening in July or August when Bosphorus-view dining is at its most competitive , booking a week or two ahead is still sensible rather than assuming availability on the day. The address in Ulus Park, Kuruçeşme, is accessible by taxi or rideshare from most central Istanbul hotels; it is not walkable from the main Beşiktaş waterfront without a climb, so factor that into your logistics. For accommodation context, our full Istanbul hotels guide covers the nearest bases.
For those planning a wider Istanbul evening, our Istanbul bars guide covers the pre- and post-dinner options across the city, and the Istanbul experiences guide is useful for building context around a meal of this kind. If you're interested in Turkish wine to accompany a dinner here, the Istanbul wineries guide provides background on what's worth ordering.
For international context on how Sunset Grill & Bar fits within the global Michelin Plate category, venues like TRB Temple Restaurant Beijing and Marcel von Winckelmann in Passau sit in a comparable recognised-but-not-starred tier in their respective cities, offering a useful frame for calibrating expectations. Similarly, The GALLIARD Vadistanbul represents another ₺₺₺₺ Istanbul option worth comparing on value, and Poyraz Sahil Balık Restaurant in Beykoz offers a contrasting approach to Bosphorus-view dining on the Asian side. Closer to home geographically, Aravan Evi in Ürgüp and Kokorecci Asim Usta in Bornova represent the value end of the Turkish dining spectrum for travellers moving across the country.
Book Sunset Grill & Bar if you want a Michelin-acknowledged waterfront dinner in Istanbul with a genuine bar program for a late evening, and you don't want to fight for a reservation. It's the right call for groups with mixed food priorities, for occasions where the setting carries as much weight as the plate, and for travellers who want the credibility of a Michelin-recognised table without the logistical effort that Turk Fatih Tutak or Neolokal requires. Skip it if your primary goal is the most technically precise modern Turkish cooking in the city , for that, the competition is sharper and more singularly focused.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Grill & Bar | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
| Turk Fatih Tutak | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
| Neolokal | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
| Mikla | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
| Nicole | Michelin 1 Star | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
| Arkestra | Michelin 1 Star | ₺₺₺₺ | — |
Comparing your options in Istanbul for this tier.
A week ahead is enough for most dates, including weekends. The booking difficulty is rated Easy, which holds even through peak Istanbul summer. That said, if you want a specific Bosphorus-facing table for a weekend dinner at the ₺₺₺₺ price point, give yourself 10–14 days to be safe — waterfront seating fills before interior tables do.
At ₺₺₺₺ with two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025), Sunset Grill & Bar delivers a credible high-end dinner with a setting that Neolokal and Turk Fatih Tutak cannot match for sheer Bosphorus scale. The value case is strongest if you want that waterfront atmosphere alongside the Michelin signal — less so if you're prioritising a single-cuisine tasting experience, where Turk Fatih Tutak justifies its price more precisely.
The restaurant sits within Ulus Park in Beşiktaş, above the Bosphorus — the location requires some navigation within the park complex, so allow extra time if you're arriving by taxi or rideshare for the first time. The cuisine is International, meaning a broad menu rather than a focused tasting format, which works in your favour if your group has mixed preferences. Two consecutive Michelin Plate awards confirm the kitchen clears a minimum quality bar.
An International menu at ₺₺₺₺ typically means enough range to accommodate common dietary restrictions, and broad menus at this tier generally include non-meat and non-seafood options as a matter of course. That said, specific dietary accommodation details are not in Pearl's records for this venue, so check the venue's official channels before booking if restrictions are non-negotiable for your party.
Sunset Grill & Bar runs a dedicated bar program, and bar dining is part of the venue's appeal for later evening visits. If you're coming specifically for drinks and lighter eating rather than a full dinner, the bar format works well here — more so than at Neolokal or Nicole, which are primarily dining-room destinations.
Yes, more so than most Istanbul ₺₺₺₺ options. The bar seating gives solo diners a natural anchor without the awkwardness of a table-for-one in a formal dining room, and the International menu means you can eat as lightly or as fully as you want. For solo fine dining in Istanbul with a Michelin signal and a bar to retreat to, this is a practical pick.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
