Çok Çok Thai

51 Meşrutiyet Caddesi
Tepebaşı / Beyoğlu
(0212) 292 64 96
http://www.cokcok.com.tr/
View Map

Istanbul’s newest Thai restaurant—Çok Çok Thai—left much to be desired. Despite the restaurant’s polished appearance and high-end location, the food was less than mediocre, and the wait staff was still wet behind the ears. If this eatery wishes to survive Istanbul’s competitive restaurant scene, it must amp up its game.

Don’t be fooled by the menu which promises exotic ingredients found no where else in Istanbul like limes and lychees, the chefs at this restaurant clearly do not know how to use them. Our waiter claimed all the ingredients are specially imported just for the restaurant from Thailand and Singapore, but the one thing they failed to import was a chef.

Our visit on October 24th began with an amuse bouche of fried potato-filled somosas that forecasted very well the meal for the evening: bland with a high chance of dissatisfaction. The drinks too proved to be underwhelming. The 14 YTL Rachel’s Fire with its lychees, pineapples, and limes was bland and ugly in appearance. The 20 YTL Honolulu Confusion overwhelmed the palate with bitter pineapple. Unfortunately any alcohol it promised was completely undetectable.

The appetizer we tried was Pa-pia-thot (fried chicken and veggie spring rolls served with sweet chili sauce—12 YTL), as it came recommended by the waiter as a house specialty. This was clearly the only semi-acceptable dish of the evening. The fried spring rolls were fairly bland, but the chili sauce helped rescue them.

For main dishes, the waiter also recommended Phad Thai Kung Sod (fried noodles with prawns, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, dried chilies and tofu). Sub-par does not even begin to describe this dish. The plate arrived with a lukewarm serving of mushy, sticky noodles that had absolutely no flavor. Dousing them in all the peanuts and chili sauce that came on the side could not rescue this dish from its inedible state. We have tasted better Phad Thai out of a box (no lie). The 22 YTL price tag of this dish is obviously completely out of line.

We also tried one of the curry dishes—Pha-naeno neua (grilled curried beef steak with sweet peanut sauce, lime leaves, and red chilies—25 YTL). The beef steak, although cooked to a pleasant medium, suffered the same fate of every other dish of the evening—blandness. The curry sauce seemed to be an afterthought that was splashed across the beef, and the pickled vegetables served on the side seemed to be a strange compliment to the dish.

Overall, our experience at Çok Çok Thai was not a pleasant one. If you are looking for a way to throw your money away and still feel hungry, this is the place to visit!