When a restaurant is called a "Grill and Bar", you’d be forgiven for thinking that it served huge T-bone steaks, chicken wings and pitchers of beer—if not shots of tequila. In the case of Istanbul’s Sunset Grill and Bar, you couldn’t be further from the truth.
In a city that seems to pride itself on its fickle attitude to clubs, pubs and restaurants, Sunset is something of an anomaly. Almost ten years have passed since it opened next to Ulus Park, and yet it has lost none of its awesome popularity. If anything, it seems to have become more of a hit. We spoke to Baris Tansever, the owner and manager of Sunset, about the secret of his success.

First, a little about the man himself. Baris Tansever is only 35 years old, pretty young, you might say. And yet he opened Sunset at the precocious age of 26. Tansever is a 1994 graduate in Business Administration from Bogazici University. His university life lasted an unusually long 8 years since he spent his student life and holidays gaining priceless experience in the world of business. He was also active in extracurricular activities at Bogazici. In 1991, his prominent position in campus life attracted the attention of the owners of the nascent "Pasha" club, then located in Alkent at the Hillside Club in Etiler. Using his Bogazici network and already honed marketing and promotion skills, he helped turn Pasha into the number one venue in Istanbul, despite the fact that this was the winter of the Gulf War. Later, he worked with Celal capa on Discorium. While still a student, he became the manager of the Bogazici University Alumni Association which has 8,000 members, almost all of who are stellar figures in Turkish society.

In 1994, Tansever finally graduated at the grand old age of 26. The first thing he did was open Sunset. Heeding the call of "location, location, location", he chose a stand-alone building in Ulus that boasted an unrivalled view of the Bosphorus, taking in both bridges. The view was so reminiscent of San Francisco that it inspired Tansever to introduce "California cuisine" to Istanbul, long before any of us had heard of TGI Friday’s, Hard Rock or Kirinti. Sunset Grill and Bar served a café menu of steaks, chicken wings, big salads and potato skins. The casual American concept struck a cord with customers who were feeling the pinch of the 1994 economic crisis. Tansever says that the restaurant was "a hit, a home run". Integral to Sunset’s long success is its adherence to the principle of “Value for Money”. From its casual beginnings, Sunset always guaranteed good food, good service and reasonable prices. Turkish customers began to bring foreign guests to experience Sunset and its famous view.

Then in 1995-6, new American-style restaurants joined the bandwagon, so Tansever decided that the time had come to take Sunset to another level while retaining its integrity. The aim was to be "sleek but not overwhelming". From the beginning, Sunset had been comparatively up-market, with its Villeroy & Boch service and linen tablecloths. Now, the menu and the interior were scaled up from smart-casual to casual-elegant, with an emphasis on the "elegant". Sunset brought in Chef Adam Fishbein of River Café and Bryant Park Grill and an American pastry chef to recreate the menu.
Until then, Sunset’s menu had consisted of 80% meat and 20% fish. Tansever knew that they best way to make the menu more up-market would be to increase the proportion of fish. Tansever believes that "Turkey has the most valuable and delicate fish in the world", surrounded as it is by three seas - the Mediterranean, the Aegean and Black Sea. Also, by then Sunset’s clientele consisted of 80% Turks and 20% foreigners. Tansever knew that foreign customers would prefer to eat Turkish food rather than T-bone steak, which they could easily have at home. So, mezes (appetizers), kebabs and, crucially, Turkish fish dishes were added to the menu.

Sunset serves daily fresh, seasonal fish. All their fish is from the sea - they do not serve heavily marked-up farm fish out of season. (For example, when the price of turbot reached a whopping 40 million TL per kilo, Sunset took it off the menu as they felt a dish that would cost 60 million TL could not possibly provide value for money.) They serve sea bass (levrek), bluefish (lufer), turbot (kalkan), sole (dil baligi), umbra (minekop), grouper (lagos), swordfish (kilicbaligi) and bonito (palamut). Sunset prefers to serve large, whole fish, so they do not offer anchovies (hamsi) or horse mackerel (istavrit). In addition,

Sunset serves tuna (ton), a fish that is native to Turkey but oddly enough does not feature in Turkish cuisine. In fact, the waters of the canakkale Strait yield bluefin tuna, considered the best in the world. American tuna is the much less tasty big-eye tuna. Indeed, Turkey exports bluefin tuna to the USA and Japan. The current menu includes Grilled Grouper with Sautéed Swiss Chard, Mushroom and Citrus Sauce; Grilled Monkfish with Chardonnay Shellfish Sauce, Mashed Potato and Buttered Julienne Vegetables; Grilled Salmon with Crab Mashed Potato, Shiitake Mushroom and Ginger Sauce; Grill of Mixed Fish and Shellfish on Lemon & Arugula with Basmati Rice; and Wok Fried Jumbo Prawns with Fennel and Pak Choi. These fish dishes featuring sauces are more popular with foreigners, while Turks prefer the daily menu of grilled or steamed fresh fish served whole and accompanied by traditional garnishes. In order to provide the best flavor to their fish, Sunset uses herbs grown in their own organic herb garden. Tansever says that his herb garden has the best view in the world! Sunset grows basil, bay leaves, mint, parsley, sage, oregano and rosemary. The most popular wines to accompany these dishes are Sarafin Chardonnay or Australian and Napa Valley Chardonnays.

In 1999, Sunset proved its commitment to fish by introducing Turkey to another new flavor: sushi! In fact, there were 6 Japanese restaurants at the time, but they were all located in hotels. Sunset was the first independent restaurant to incorporate sushi into their menu, thus making it easier and cheaper for Turks to try the dish. Tansever believes that "if 6 Turks eat sushi, than we have a better chance of getting into the EU”! All the seafood used in making sushi is local, including tuna, shrimp, mackerel, eel, sea bass, octopus and salmon. Only the crabsticks are imported. (To clear up a misconception, crab sticks contain no crabmeat. They are just fish meat with added crab flavor.) Since 1999, the same 3-4 Thai chefs that were trained by a Japanese consultant have been working at Sunset, so customers can be sure of consistent quality. Sunset’s sushi menu numbers 106 varieties including all the usual maki, nigiri, sashimi and te maki as well as special Sunset rolls. The Spicy Tuna Roll and Crunchy Shrimp Roll are excellent innovations. The menu has helpful photos to guide the uninitiated and is in Japanese, Turkish and English. There is an indoor sushi bar seating 5. In the summer, there is also an outdoor sushi bar. Tansever is pleased that people come to Sunset specifically to eat sushi, whether as an appetizer or as a full meal. You can also have sushi take-away. Sunset prepares the sushi, you pick it up and you get a 20% discount. Today, sushi makes up 25% of Sunset’s total sales. With the addition of sushi, Sunset’s meat to fish ratio has become 50-50. Sushi may be a passing trend at some venues in Istanbul, but, at Sunset, it is here to stay.

After sushi, Sunset’s latest innovative import is the prix fixe lunch. Tansever wants to attract lunch clientele by offering a set-price menu in addition to the existing 20% discount on lunch prices. The concept of the business lunch has not become mainstream in Istanbul, but Tansever is determined to change that. Tansever believes that Sunset is a "consistent establishment" that also creates trends. Sunset is open to change - indeed, it thrives on it. However, the important things stay the same, including the large majority of the staff. Sunset does not want to be trendy - no media is allowed here - they want their customers to come for the food.

Sunset joined the prestigious Chaines des Rotisseur in 1998-99. Tansever believes that the two main factors behind Sunset’s success are its location and its clients. Thanks to his link with Bogazici University, Tansever has attracted and kept a portfolio of loyal customers who are well educated, open-minded and who have money to spend. Tansever says that it is due to his clients that Sunset has moved from serving "buffalo wings to scallops".
As much as Sunset tries to hold on to its regular customers, the customers also take care of Sunset. With 50,000 covers a year, they must be doing something right!

Sunset’s Prices
All of Sunset’s menus contain prices - no gender bias here. Also, all prices are explicitly stated in the menu. Main courses "From the Sea" average 30 million TL. Sushi prices vary between 6 million and 16.5 million TL , averaging around 11 million TL . Sunset is open daily for lunch from noon to 3:00pm and for dinner from 6:00pm onwards.

A Guide to Fish in Turkey
Fish contains hardly any sugar, carbo-hydrates and is a rich source of protein. 100 grams of fatty fish yields 22 grams of protein. Lean fish yields 10 grams. 93% of fish protein can be used by the human body—much higher than red meat or poultry.
Turkey’s clean waters produce a wealth of fish. "Sea" fish are classified as dark or white meat, local or migrant.
Fish with white meat are easier to digest than fish with dark meat. Since they contain gelatin, they can be stewed. Some examples are: red mullet (barbunya), surmullet (tekir), sea bass (levrek), gray mullet (kefal), bluefish (lufer), turbot (kalkan), red sea bream (mercan), gilt-head bream (cipura), sole (dil baligi), plaice (pisi) and red gurnard (kirlangic). Large bonito (torik), bonito (palamut) mackerel (uskumru), chub mackerel (kolyoz), swordfish (kilicbaligi), anchovies (hamsi) sardines (sardalya) and silver-sides (gumus) are some fish with dark meat. These fish are fattier than those with white meat and contain less gelatin. They are less suited to being stewed and are harder to digest.

When to Eat Which Fish At Sunset
Sea bass (levrek): Available year round but best in winter and early spring.
Bluefish (lufer): Best from September to the end of January.
Turbot (kalkan): Available all year - best from the end of January until the middle of March.
Sole (dil baligi): Best in the winter and in February.
Umbra (minekop): Best in the winter and early spring.
Swordfish (kilicbaligi): Available all year - best from September to February.
Bonito (palamut): Best from the beginning of September until the middle of February.
Tuna (ton): Best from November to February