Municipal facilities offer great dining opportunities

In order to find a spot at this place, your name must be on the reservation list hours in advance. And if you're lucky, there might actually be a spot for you. On Saturdays and Sundays, this is the case not only at the Florya facilities, but at all the social facilities connected with the İBB. Midweek, too, these places tend to be crowded. One of the reasons for this are the stunning views at these social facilities. And as for the prices, they tend to be around 30 percent cheaper than other restaurants of a similar standard. For example, enjoying a delicious meal of fish with drinks and salads at a facility run by the İBB will run around TL 25 per person. This is so low compared to other restaurants along the Bosporus that it is really not even comparable, which means, in the end, that customers are in no shortage at the many social facilities run by the İBB throughout İstanbul.

There are also social facilities run by the district municipalities and Beltur, a company working with the İBB, throughout İstanbul. There are currently 17 such facilities overseen by the İBB, though efforts are under way to increase this number. In fact, the ultimate goal is to see at least one such social facility in every district of the city. The municipality tends to be flooded by e-mails from city residents requesting that a social facility -- offering quality service for reasonable prices -- be opened in their districts. The İBB-run social facilities in Florya, Çamlıca, Haliç, Fethi Paşa and Arnavutköy in particular are tremendously popular. According to data provided by the İBB, nearly 8 million people visited these facilities in 2008 alone. These İBB-run social facilities achieved the same standards in terms of interior concepts, food prices and architectural style since 2004.

Service quality could be better

The İBB social facilities tend to serve the most popular parts of the city. There are İBB restaurants that look out on the Bosporus and the Golden Horn; almost all of them have views of the waterfront. As for the restaurants run by Beltur, these serve people visiting the historic old "köşks" of İstanbul. But no matter which place you decide to visit, whether it is an İBB restaurant, a Beltur place or somewhere run by a district municipality, you need to be prepared for crowds, a fact reflected in the level of service you can expect. Your food, for example, might arrive a bit late at your table. This stands as a warning for those who think it is as easy as waltzing in, finding a place and being served immediately: act early and head for your local municipality-run restaurant as fast as you can, before the crowds do!

Which social facility is famous for what?

At the Kasımpaşa Social Facilities: Kasımpaşa sarma, At the Haliç Social Facilities: Fish soup, At the Küçükçekmece Social Facilities: Yogurt kebab and Ottoman börek, At the Florya Social Facilities: Smoked Eggplant puree and köşk kebab, At the Arnavutköy Social Facilities: Elbistan kebab and trout cooked in clay and the volcanic dessert, At the İstinye Social Facilities: Haddock with sauce and Istinye börek, At the Dragos Social Facilities: Sirloin in grape leaves At the Çamlıca Social Facilities: Dough kebab and the famous Çamlıca simit, Price list for İBB social facilities: Breakfast platter: TL 10, Olive oil meze: TL 4-6, Grilled meats: TL 7.5-15, Fish: TL 9-15, Salads and desserts: TL 4 Drinks: TL 1-2, Prices at restaurants run by Beltur: Soup of the day: TL 4 , Olive oil mezes: TL 7.5, Salads: TL 5-6.5, Grilled meats: TL 8-16, Fish: TL 9.5-18, Breakfast platter: TL 12, Desserts: TL 5-7, Cold and hot drinks: TL 2-4,  Price lists for restaurants run by district municipalities:  Soup: TL 3.5, Fish: TL 13-15Ş, Olive oil mezes: TL 4-5, Salads: TL 4, Grilled meats: TL 7-12, Breakfast platter: TL 8, Cold and hot drinks: TL 1-2

Social facilities attract great interest throughout Anatolia

360 degree mantı flavor -- eat local specialties with a magnificent view in Turkey's largest revolving restaurant

Beştepe Dönen (Revolving) Restaurant in Kayseri, run by the city municipality, is a great family-friendly eating spot. This eatery is especially popular with Kayseri residents during the summer months. The menu here features not only specialties from Kayseri, but also Bolu and Mediterranean-style dishes. A dish of famed Kayseri mantı here is only TL 6. And of course, customers are treated to the restaurant's hot lavaş bread, tulum cheese, butter and strained honey before their meals, increasing their eating pleasure. And, this being Turkey's largest rotating restaurant, customers also get to enjoy an unforgettable view of Kayseri and Erciyes from every vantage point as they eat.

A visit to the home of Mevlana not complete without a stop at Gülbahçe

The Gülbahçe Restaurant is run by the Konya Municipality and is right next to the famous Mevlana Museum in Konya. This spot offers customers the combined pleasures of a beautiful rose garden and a meal overlooking the Mevlana Museum. Taste the traditional Konya okra soup here for only TL 4, or stuffed grape leaves for only TL 4 as well. A range of other delicious and reasonably priced treats are here for the tasting!

At the municipality facilities in Ankara, you can even get Chinese and Italian dishes

The social facilities in Ankara are actually run completely by the private sector. But, since the prices are controlled by the municipality, they remain reasonable. Customers heading to social facilities in spots like Eryaman Göksu Park, Sincan Harikalar Diyarı and Keçiören Altınpark are greeted with a range of delicious flavors and wonderful experiences. At the Altınpark facilities, customers can get not only traditional Turkish dishes, but also Chinese and Italian delicacies. At the Chinese restaurant here, there are spring rolls, chicken and lamb dishes, Szechuan meat dishes, mushroom vegetable pilav, Guang Dong pilav and a variety of desserts. And the Italian restaurant at these facilities offers up traditional Italian dishes for those interested. If you want Turkish tastes, go to the Harikalar Diyarı Turkuaz Restaurant, where you will find dishes like lamb kebab for only TL 10, grilled chicken for TL 8, Adana kebab for TL 8 and a breakfast platter for only TL 8.

Enjoy Izmir's most beautiful view from Asansör Restaurant

Run by the Izmir Municipality, the historic Asansör Restaurant offers customers an unforgettable view of the gulf from this city, with dishes from traditional Ottoman cuisine making it even more attractive. A main course with salad and drinks included runs TL 31-60 per customer here.

Bursa Municipality prepares to open up its social facilities once again

The Bursa Municipality is preparing to reopen municipality-run social facilities that had fallen into disrepair in Havuzlupark, Dobruca and Hünkar Köşkü. These spots are all undergoing reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts and will be opened for city residents quite soon.