Not Recommended

Rating - Overall: 2  Food: 2  Service: 1  Ambience: 2

Edwina25
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Feb 11
Rating: 0

3 Feb 2011

The staff here seemed disinterested in our custom, making little effort when serving. The food was mediocre and the servings were small. I'm afraid I wouldn't go back and wouldn't advise anyone else to.

Visited: February 2, 2011
What I ate: Mezze Selection

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Very Tasty Meals

Rating - Overall: 5  Food: 5  Service: 5  Ambience: 3

Rachel123
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Dec 10
Rating: 0

15 Dec 2010

Have been there a few times, very nice food and service is prompt and personal. Looks like things were different in the past, sorry, previous posters. Unlike you, I had a very positive experience both of the times I visited the place. It's not posh but the meals really tickle your taste buds. Will definitely come back. Booked a Christmas meal with them. At last I found a a place that doesn't serve boring "Traditional Christas meal" only but gives you quite a few options with exotic twist (plus "Traditional" for people who won't eat anything else).

A lovely place for all those who appreciate traditional Turkish and Greek food. Portions are generous and I never left disappointed. Will review it after I've had my Christmas meal.

Visited: October 21, 2010
What I ate: Mixed grill

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Not as good this time

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 3  Service: 4  Ambience: 1

davidmorford
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Sep 10
Rating: 0

7 Oct 2010

Visited the place again last night with a few colleagues. Not only has it changed its name to the Bristol Bridge Restaurant its also changed its menu but is still under the same ownership. On this second visit I find that the decor is overdone which was a little bit like their chicken and the lamb kebabs my colleagues had. I had the mousakka and found that it wasnt made to a traditional Greek receipe.

From the change in the menu I dont think this place can make up its mind if its an Italian, Greek or Turksih restaurant. It professes that its "mediterrainian"......I suggest that they stick to one country. Other than the fact that it is good value for money on the food side I probably wouldnt rush back although my food was good my colleagues were disappointed.

Beers are very expensive and the wine is not much better in value either

Visited: October 6, 2010
What I ate: Mixed Mezze, Mousakka

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Pleasant Enough Place

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 3  Service: 4  Ambience: 1

davidmorford
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Sep 10
Rating: 0

2 Sep 2010

Based on the mixture of reviews I decided to give the place a try anyway.

I arrived early in the evening and for 15 minutes or so was the only patron. The decor does leave something to be desired and is a little bit overdone. The waiter informed me that they will be redecorating in the near future

The waiter was attentive and helpful and even though the turkish usually take time over meals mine was delivered within a very respectiful time. The food was not the best presented but was very flavourful and tasty.

I stuck to the local brew (Effes) which is a pleasant beer but at 3.55 a bottle is a bit on the steep side of pricing I think but overall good value for money.

However, generally I found the place OK and will give it another try soon.

Visited: September 1, 2010
What I ate: Tarama Salad, Monkfish

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Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Rating - Overall: 1  Food: 3  Service: 1  Ambience: 2

drewski
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Feb 10
Rating: 0

28 Feb 2010

Bosphorus stands as the only restaurant that I've been to that I've simply had to leave as my patience wore out. It's not that the customer service is bad, it's that there is NO customer service. At all. We left after almost two hours and had spent only twenty minutes of that time eating, the rest of the time was spent waiting or trying to get the waiter's attention. Even in the most mediocre of Turkish restaurants, they will give you some bread and olives during the wait - not this one. This is made worse by the fact that the waiting is what you'll spend most of your time doing. Looking at an empty table and empty glasses.

This restaurant is very fortunate due to its location which guarantees new business (repeat customers are very unlikely) but this also means that they care little about looking after you once you're in there. If they're in the business of wiping over tables and disappearing for long periods of time, they are doing very well. As a decent restaurant, however, it is appalling. I wondered to myself that if I'd died at the table, they'd probably only notice after they'd run out of tables to clean. The fact their location means that business is almost guaranteed means that you are likely to feel utterly, utterly dispensable in there.

I was more than happy to spend money in there on sweets, coffees, more drinks and little extras to go with my main meal but the fact that we were completely ignored the entire time meant that eventually gave up after the main meal because of the time and constant pestering it would take. Even asking for a second round of drinks took thirty minutes and needed to be asked twice. Perhaps I needed to have a neon sign on my back that said "I have money to spend and food I want to order" to get some attention, but alas, I did not. The reactions from couples at the tables on either side of me also indicated that they were frustrated by the same level of neglect. I wonder how much money they lose on an average night just because people decided to leave early...

The sad thing about this is that the food was actually quite nice when it did arrive. It was nothing mind-blowing but certainly worthy of three/four stars. However, the fact that it takes a Herculean effort just to get to that point completely ruins the experience.

In short, it's a restaurant that has two contrasting sides: on one hand, you have the lovely decór, but then you have those horrendous Fablon tables. Likewise, on one hand you have perfectly reasonable food, but you have to fight absolutely tooth-and-claw to get it. I absolutely cannot recommend Bosphorus for this very reason. Extraordinarily disappointing.

Visited: February 27, 2010

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Brilliant!

Rating - Overall: 4  Food: 5  Service: 3  Ambience: 3

caroline1
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Oct 09
Rating: 1

2 Oct 2009

Had great meal, each course delicioius, waiter very friendly - great value too, will definitely go back

Visited: October 1, 2009
What I ate: Kisir, musakka, apricots

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Appalling!!!!!

Rating - Overall: 1  Food: 2  Service: 2  Ambience: 2

leonien
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Sep 09
Rating: 0

1 Sep 2009

I was VERY disappointed on Sunday evening. Having been to this restaurant before I arrive on Sunday and note that it is now under new management! The menu has many misrepresentations in it, you order something thinking it is one thing and when it arrives it is completely different and quite the opposite - for example a Casserole in most countries are a wet moist dish, however here the 'Istanbul Special' has no sauce at all and its what you would call beef and chips with a bit of may on the side - VERY VERY disappointed. Like most Turkish a nice cup of cay (tea) is always wanted after dinner even more so during the month of Ramadan as no alcohol is drunk but they do not even serve Turkish Tea. When the Baklava was ordered for dessert it came out hot!! Yes HOT since when is Baklava hot - when this was questioned with the waiter we were told it was because it was stale and had been in the fridge for a week WHAT I could not believe my ears, the waiter actually told me this. When all these problems were raised with the Owner/Manager he was very rude, did not want to listen to what we had to say and basically called us all (there were 7 of us) liars!!!!! I will never ever go there again and if I have my way I will make sure no one does!! It was my Father’s birthday and due to the rudeness of the Manager the whole evening was ruined. What a complete waste of money!

Visited: August 30, 2009
What I ate: Rubbish!!!

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Turkish delight?

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 4  Service: 3  Ambience: 3

Obtuse
Rookie Reviewer
Member since Sep 08
Rating: 0

3 Oct 2008

Turkish food is definitely one of my favourites and Bosphorus rarely disappoints. Whilst the food lacks a bit of finesse it makes up for it with great flavours and often ones I've only had in Turkish and Greek restaurants. Some fresh bread on the table was handy for mopping up the variety of sauces. I've had better service that we had tonight, questions about ingredients and even what teas they served, were met with some confusion. However one chap seemed to be waiting on all the tables and doing a very reasonable job in the circumstance. Whilst the interior of the restaurant (mock stone) isn't really to my taste, it is certainly quirky and a great talking point! Personally I think I prefer the interior of Sands in Clifton but Bosphorus is far better value for money.

Visited: October 2, 2008
What I ate: Baked aubergine followed by moussaka

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Reasonable but nothing special

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 3  Service: 4  Ambience: 2

iainpb
Gastronome
Member since Sep 08
Rating: 3

21 Sep 2008

AT 8:30 on a Friday evening you would expect any restaurant to be reasonably full, Bosphorus was empty except for 2 or 3 tables which didn't help the atmosphere very much at all. The staff were friendly and welcoming and led us to our table, as you enter the main dining area you notice the plastic wall decorations of ancient figures, buildings and mock stone effect, this is beyond tacky and would be more at home in a cheap theme diner or a amusement park. We ordered the cold mixed mezze starter and the house white, and while we probably wouldn't normally order the house wine it should be of a quality the restauant are happy to represent - this was virtually undrinkable. The cold mixed starter was nice enough and served with great warm bread. The adana (lamb kebab and rice) was served cooler than it should been and the lamb was slightly underseaoned, but overall it was a nice dish and the rice was excellent. The prices are reasonable verging on cheap, 1 starter, 2 mains and the house white cost around £30 and the service was excellent.

Visited: September 19, 2008
What I ate: Cold Mezze, Adana (lamb kebab, rice)

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Not too bad

Rating - Overall: 3  Food: 2  Service: 4  Ambience: 2

Sparky
Connoisseur
Member since Sep 08
Rating: 35

26 Jun 2008

I have been here twice for lunch and would recommend you try this place to see if you like it. The Hot and Cold Mezze's are quite nice; not to keen on the meat in the main course though. Price is reasonable and so is the service.

Visited: May 15, 2007

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