For fish lovers
You might already know a dozen good fish restaurants in Istanbul, ranging from the luxury locales along the Bosphorus to the shed-like restaurants with fisherman’s nets hanging from the ceiling to shopping mall eateries that offer only half the ambiance or half the flavor. The newly opened Zouk Balık on Trump Cadde has the type of concept that will defy all of your misconceptions about fish restaurants. The eatery gets its name from the word “tzug,” which means “fish” in Armenian. Owner Roben Sarangil has extensive experience in the tourism industry and has served as a consultant for restaurant and hotel chains for many years. All of the fish are served in fillet form here, so no need to worry about deboning your fish at the dinner table. You can order Norwegian salmon, gilded sea bream or sea bass, each fresher than the next. You can also get your fillet fish as a sandwich with the eatery’s own sauces. We recommend ordering grilled seasonal vegetables or potato stew to go with your fish. Another popular option at Zouk Balık is fish & chips. Depending on the season, you can also order different types of fish.
In addition to fillet fish, Zouk also serves fish soup, hot and cold appetizers and olive oil dishes. The cold starters are homemade topik (a meze of chickpeas, potato, tahini and onion) and steamed Aegean herbs, while the warm dishes include mussels on the half shell with a tarator sauce, crispy grilled shrimp and oven-roasted feta cheese. Zouk Balık also serves up delectable olive oil dishes, like celery with quince and shallots, oven-roasted leeks, and stuffed country peppers with a fresh tomato sauce. You might also want to rethink the traditional arugula-tomato salad to go with your fish, as the restaurant offers a surprising salad menu of sophisticated dishes like arugula salad with cranberries, quinoa salad, and fennel-green apple salad.