Orfoz is clearly not going to receive a Michelin for several reasons: lack-luster recipes and cooking, low quality service, shady practices, and it is just all around “decent” but not memorable or great.
I have been to many Michelin and Michelin-recommended restaurants all over the world and not a single one has offered us items without telling us there is an extra charge. I have had tasting menus at many of them and it is common that the restaurant will give a complimentary dish, especially for special occasions. Orfoz will charge you! DO NOT ACCEPT THE EXTRAS! As of May 2025, prefix menu price is 3,000 TRY per person, so we expected to pay 6,000 TRY + a little for one water bottle. The primary waiter/manager will come to you middle of the meal and vaguely say “we have an off-menu items, want to try?” Context: We came here on our honeymoon. Every single other restaurant and our hotel have all given us a token (some small as a complimentary dessert or beverage, some large like the MGallery Hotel went extremely generous in several ways) to congratulate us. So, the way he phrased it, we thought he was bringing us complimentary plates for our special dinner. Nope! When the final bill came, it was OVER 10,300 TRY. No itemized receipt or explanation, just a total. Zero transparency and such a scam. The table next to us made similar remarks when they received their bill. Ridiculous for the quality of the food! I am not complaining about the size. I understand tasting menus are small portions- I love small portion tasting menus. But the quality of the recipes and cooking leaves something missing. Of the 12 dishes we had, I would order 2 again if they were on an a la carte menu.
Primary server/waiter is the biggest problem since he is the person who brings food without pricing transparency and since he refused to acknowledge our special occasion. This restaurant did not mention a mere congratulations to us a single time, even though we mentioned it in the booking and we reminded them of it at dinner in Turkish. Still, no response when we reminded them. Advice: you don’t have to give a complimentary dish or beverage, although your competitors do and the other Michelins you want to be do. But at a minimum, have some class and say congratulations to the newly married couple. The lack of class is a reflection of the entire restaurant.
The staff are not trained properly. Several times our glasses were empty. As the restaurant is going to add a substantial service fee, why am I filling my own glass and cleaning food off of the table? All of the tables around us had empty glasses the majority of the meal. The primary waiter/server even had to tell the other waitress just standing there to do better. We were one of seven tables over a 3-hour span, and they have several staff, but some of them are just standing there not busy.
TLDR: this restaurant feeds off first time guests and charges ridiculous prices knowing most are visitors who will not return, so they might as well make extra money with shady practices. It did not meet expectations. We regret going here and wish we had gone to Dinç instead. Or, go to Zuma for the same price and have a high quality experience all around.