Asansor Restaurant opens for dinner at 7:30 pm

When I first visited Asansör in December 2007, it was a half-empty restaurant with a breathtaking view and shockingly average food. For a prime location as this, any gustatory disappointment was unforgivable.

Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who thought so. In February 2009, the Izmir Municipality took charge of the historical Elevator, presently turning it into one of the hottest dining places in the city. The new administration also introduced a new chef, Mr. Mehmet Sirkeci, a choice we cannot but commend.

The restaurant opens for dinner at 7:30 p.m., about an hour before the spectacular sunset over the Izmir Bay. It’s a good idea to arrive a little early to savor the view and have a drink or two in the bar. Reservations, generally recommended, are absolutely a must if you’re visiting on Friday night or over the weekend.

The food at Asansor is no longer a disappointment

Upon my first visit since the restaurant changed hands, the food in Asansör finally matched my expectations. My bonfile with veggies, herbs and mushrooms (Isırgan Otlu Fleto Sarma for 19 TL) was delightful. The T-Bone (25 TL) was slightly overcooked if you like your steak rare, but a bloody steak is so foreign to Turkey that this is hardly a crime. The restaurant also offers a wide selection of the more traditional Turkish kebabs, which, rest assured, are cooked just the way they should be.

Coupled with a nice wine, Asansör cuisine finally offers a treat to your taste. And the restaurant’s unchanging trump card – the excellent view of the Izmir Bay and the city skyline make it worthwhile to celebrate any special occasion in Asansör.

For more background on the historical significance of Asansör or to learn the restaurant’s location and contact info, please revert to our earlier post: Asansor: The Best View of Izmir.

La Cigale, a Hidden Treasure

La Cigale, Entrance

La Cigale is an exceptional place where you should pay a visit when you come to Izmir. Summer or winter, La Cigale is offering some of the best food, atmosphere, ambiance and service in town.

Just located in the city center, namely Alsancak, it is magically providing a hidden garden for it’s visitors. During summer outdoor area, covered with olive and pine trees is a great location to have your breakfast, lunch or dinner. Winter is also great as Izmir never gets too cold you can still enjoy the indoor area which is covered by glasses only.

Eucalyptus trees are providing the same atmosphere inside. La Cigale has a really nice decoration accompanied with a neat service and delicate food. While you enjoy your food you can also listen to the music of their choice which is quite successful.

La Cigale is serving breakfast for a good start to the day. Lunch is the time when businessmen around the restaurant gahter together to hold meeting and to host and feast their customers. You can enjoy a soft Jazz or a chill out music during your lunch.

La Cigale, Inside View

But the real atmosphere hits became alive during the evening. Having a dinner for two is a really romantic choice although you can have larger groups for celebrations or even alone just to enjoy some of the best food in Izmir.

There is two different indoor facilities are available in La Cigale, facing each other with a slight touch of difference in between considering the atmosphere and decoration but the food is the same. One of them is able to host 90 the other one is to serve 110 people at the same time.

But don’t trust the numbers, we strongly recommend you to make reservations in advance. Especially on Fridays and Saturdays if you don’t want to wait in front of the place smelling all the food and the atmosphere.,

You are welcomed with a little appetizer of a small plate which includes creme cheese, paprika sauce and olives all dressed with olive oil and some spicies. You will also served with three different kinds of bread (like German Brötchen).

La Cigale offers two different menus for lunch and dinner. There are nice options of Italian, French and Turkish cuisine. But Eatinizmir recommends Chicken Schnitzel of  the chef. It is really well cooked and the spicies they used in marinating the meat makes it extremely delicious. It is served with apple sliced patatoes and grilled vegetables along with steam cooked brocoli. Schnitzel of La Cigale is by far the best I have ever had in Izmir thus it can seriously compete with the famous Wiener Schnitzel of Einstein Cafe/Wien-Austria.

Schnitzel at La Cigale

There are also other options such as Jokomo (Steak with creamy mushroom sauce) and Relax (400 grams of delicious cutlet) which I can recommend in the category of lamb. The cook is always able to cook exactly as you wished, rare, medium rare and so on…

Each table is equipped with a neat call system which allows you to ring for service or the bill (hesap). The number of your table then appears on a screen so the waiter knows you need him.

Overall Eatinizmir recommends you to pay a visit to La Cigale we strongly believe you won’t be dissappointed. Bon Apetit.

How to Get There:

La Cigale Restaurant

Address: Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No:152 Alsancak Konak / Izmir

Tel : 0232 421 47 80

Fax : 0232 464 79 86

Dario Moreno Street

If you are willing to see Izmir especially at night from one of the best views Asansor -Turkish spelling for elevator or lift- is exactly the right place for your desires. Besides all tastes you can enjoy in Asansor, just the view is enough to use this 101 years old elevator.
Asansor is just placed at one end of the street is the Beth Israel Synagogue, the largest in İzmir. The synagogue is the most venerable historical witness in this area, which was the hub of İzmir’s – now diminished – Jewish community. In the middle ages Jews who migrated to Anatolia from Spain swelled the existing community of Byzantine Jews.

Standing in front of the entance you will see Dario Moreno Street and smell beautiful jasmines and magnolias along with the pleasant view of old Izmir houses lined in the street.The street named after the 1960′s famaous singer Dario Moreno. You can also find his house – now a museum – on the left side of the street. In the wall of his house you can see his last wish and the poem he wrote…

İzmir, my sweet and beloved city
If one day I should die far from you
Let them bring me here
But when carrying me to my grave
Let them not say HE DIED,
but that he SLEEPS in your embrace
My sweet

Then you will see the beautiful Asansor which was built in order to rescue people from climbing 50 meters of 155 stairs. The pair of lifts are contained in a tower-like building 51 metres in height constructed in 1907. The bricks for the tower were shipped from Marseilles.To the left is the building which formerly housed the machine room, but will shortly open as a café and cultural centre. Above the entrance at the base of the tower is a marble plaque bearing the name of the builder Nissim Levy and the construction date.

Asansor at night

After a short journey with today rebuild modern lift you will reach the restaurant, cafe and bar facilities where you can relax and enjoy the view.At the top a broad bridge leads into the part of the tower which now houses a restaurant, where in summer it is possible to eat out on the two linked terraces. The restaurant includes a small mezzanine for VIP guests. A spiral staircase leads down to a bar on the lower floor, where original Genoese suits of armour brought from Italy are on display.

Then you have the options as indoor or outdoor restaurant, cafe and a Genoese Bar. We highly recommend the restaurant outdoor in summer.  You can enjoy some of the best wines from the area and try Turkish, Italian or French cuisine of your taste. They are all promising star flavours for your satisfaction.

Eatinizmir recommend you to try the speciality of Asansor, called “Asansor Kebap”. A traditional Turkish Kebap with crispy hay thick fried patatos, sliced beef and meat balls served with yogurth and a special tomato sauce.

The view of Izmir from Asansor

While enjoying your dinner and wine – or a drink of your choice – don’t forget to dream with the spectacular view of Izmir from your table. You can see half of the Izmir without any difficulty from that point. Even the ferryboats arriving at Konak Quay can be seen in the distance, and the winding shores of Alsancak, Karşıyaka and Konak spread out below you like the hair of a beautiful mermaid blowing in the soft breeze.

How to get there:

To find the place could be a little tricky for a first timer. So you can take a taxi to the restaurant it is not far away from Konak or Alsancak.

Asansor Restaurant

Contact Information:

Address: Dario Moreno Sk. Karatash IZMIR

Telephone:0090 232 2622626 – Reservation is recommended, especially for weekends.

Best regards,

EatinIZMIR.com