This glassed-in semicircular space offers a wide-angle view of the two Bosphorus bridges. Ulus is buzzing with first dates, company banquets, diplomatic dinners- and that’s on a weeknight. But then, the proprietor, Metin Fadillioglu, is the grand vizier of Istanbul high life.

The setting, designed by his wife, Zeynep Fadillioglu had designed both Cubuklu and Ulus 29. She deftly reprises this Eurasian city: lush, mismatched upholstery and crisp white linens; nooks and crannies garnished with Orientalist Neoclassical objets; mosque lanterns cheek by jowl with trendy lamps from London. Zeynep Fadillioglu’s eye for details runs in the family: her cousin is London-based fashion designer Rifat Ozbek.

The best of offerings come from the traditional Turkish firin(oven) that dominates the space: lahmacun, a thin crackle of dough with a spicy meat topping, and puffy sesame bread. The classic cigar-shaped boerek is reinvented with an airy shrimp filling. Purslane salad in thick yoghurt dressing is a prescription for long life. And for cosmopolitan palates, the Continental portion of the menu offers a very Californian scallop-and-green-bean salad, a delicious quail cake on mashed potatoes with an olive sauce, and rare lamb loin with a potato gratin.