A New Millennium

2000s

This was a decade when people seemed to go out more as if looking for comfort and expecting to get some support against news of a declining economy, terrorism and the Iraq War...This was also the time when Istanbul’s Marmaray Project, one that will connect Asia and Europe from beneath the waters of the Bosphorus started; Istanbul was the host to Formula 1 Races and the city got more bustling and buzzing with shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, art galleries, movie theatres and people.

This decade saw Etiler passing the nightlife throne over to quarters like Ni?anta??, Kuru?e?me, Beyo?lu and Galata. Meanwhile, Galata and Beyo?lu were undergoing a “sanitization” of social structures mobilizing a young and artistically oriented generation to move into the renovated buildings. Just like New York and London, populations of different origins could do well living in the same geographic district and could have fun together. Once again, Beyo?lu became a popular stop for nightlife…

The 2000s marked the increasing efficiency of virtual means of communication, a wider use of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, and thus its cumulative effects were seen not only in reporting news in general but on nightlife as well. Tabloid “journalism” was now practiced thorough social networks, creating a new pop culture and an appetite to follow private lives of top models, stars or socialites. This information, practically oozing into many households, more people desired to be a part of this world. Günay made a comeback to please customers who have missed out the live traditional Turkish music shows of old music halls. Al Jamal for an orientalist night out; Zarifi, encouraging people to join the show; open-air night clubs like Sortie, Reina and Anjelique on the Bosphorus,; Vogue and 360 Istanbul with their exquisite terraces looking over the glittering Waterway; Otto Santral on a university campus, were some of the most popular venues along with Ulus 29 and Keyfhan.   

Meanwhile a new trend emerged in food and beverages industry: the “café/bistro” and “café/brasserie” concept. The enormous success of Ni?anta?? Brasserie, the first of its kind set the trend for many others to follow. On 2003, the volume of the Food & Drink/ Entertainment industry had grown so much that it was organized as a whole new business sector.

In this decade, new shopping malls rose to the sky practically in every neighborhood, like Kanyon, Istinye Park, and Cevahir to name a few… Whereas they could easily follow the fashion blindly, women, whether they wore designer brands or second hand outfits, would mix and match them creating their unique styles. Thus, they brought forward their personalities, sometimes even combining disharmonious colors and patterns rather than following the fashion. Their smart styles would be hidden in high heels, huge handbags, and jewelry. Professional women, independent, open-minded and busy yet finding the time to have fun, materialized the spirit of the 2000s with their style.

During this decade the Turkish film sector was quite active producing realistic films based on true stories. As Turkish and foreign producers joined forces to make more films, directors like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Fatih Ak?n and Ferzan ?zpetek came home from many international film festivals with quite significant awards.

It was in 2003 that Sertab Erener won the Eurovision song contest; her success energizing the pop music industry. However, things did not go uphill after this; a wider use of the Internet making P2P sharing and downloading and sharing music files possible, with no copyright considerations brought the industry to a halt after 2005.By that time, night clubs were going full blast remixing old sounds with new; attracting world famous pop singers and jazz geniuses to perform live at new and spacious party and concert venues such as Istanbul Arena, Kuru?e?me Arena and Parkorman.  

In Istanbul, a city constantly growing amongst diverse cultural and commercial activities, 16th century Ottoman cuisine was being adapted to modern times, organic products were more widely used in the kitchen than ever and most restaurants had started offering choices of special vegetarian meals. Searching for new trends, getting creative about food and pursuing alternative flavors were certainly bearing fruit as our palates were getting familiar with international tastes, During the 2000s, the fact that people got more aware, thus more demanding about healthy eating and lifestyles, did not stop them to pursue new recipes in ever-increasing trendy cookbooks and internet blogs on food. Thus, by the end of the 2000s, the concept of fine dining which meant combining creative presentations with tasty recipes would make headway in quite a few restaurants in town, and is still evolving to date.

MONACO Sporting Club/ 2000

In August 2000, Ajda Pekkan was invited to perform in a concert in Monaco, at Salles des Etoiles of the Sporting Club, an affiliate of Societe des Bain de Mer. This was a time when famous socialites would be visiting Monaco to watch the football match between the Turkish team, Galatasaray, and Spanish Real Madrid. The dining event would be called Nuit de la Turquie and would host nearly one thousand guests. When Club 29 was asked to do the catering, they accepted the offer preparing a lavish menu consisting of traditional Turkish dishes.

Fad?ll?o?lu believes this project was a great honor for them. 

We had set up the kitchen and the Sporting Club covered all expenses including fees for the cook. The whole event was a great success from our point of view. As well as guests flying in from Turkey, we hosted Turkish Monaco frequenters who lived in Cannes and Nice. With DJ Gaydar playing the music and Nuran Sultan performing some oriental dances, it turned out to be a most memorable evening for all. What is more, Galatasaray beat Real Madrid 2-1 on that UEFA Cup final which we got to watch; and that surely made us all feel euphoric. 

KEYFHAN/ 2001-2002

Fad?ll?o?lu tells the story of his comeback to Pera, in a nutshell:

Whilst Ulus 29 was going full blast, Menderes Utku called me to ask what I thought about opening a restaurant in a renovated old building at Tepeba??. He also had intentions to open up a club on the roof terrace and had reinforced the elevator for this purpose. Anyway, he and his team were the innovators who managed to open up a new venue on a roof terrace with a breathtaking view of the Golden Horn. I wish them eternal success!

Actually, after Taxim Night Park we had not shown any real interest in this part of town. Meanwhile, news about the booming demand around the Pera district was no more a secret. To make a long story short, I did have a strong desire to make a move towards Pera.

The building, on the street once known as Petit-Champs, was called the Fresco Arcade back at the beginning of the 20th century. The building would be transformed into a new nightlife venue with restaurants and discos and would be named “Nu-Pera” implying the “new” Pera.

Fad?ll?o?lu started developing a project based on the concept of a medium where people of different life styles would mingle with the Pera crowd, having isolated themselves from their identities.   

We decided to have Füsun Ta?g?n who was already working with us managing Ulus 29, at the head of the new venue. The other important decision we took was to recruit the Branson/Coats team who had built Taxim Nightpark to design the interiors.

The architect, Nigel Coats was the initiator of the New Barok movement and was expected to make a synthesis of Pera esthetics with some kind of “visual extravaganza”. Coates brought this concept to life by repeating the “kaftan” theme on furniture, from chairs to wall panels, using the Ottoman “chintamani” motifs, producing tiles with patterns resembling oriental carpets of old Turkish houses thrown on top of each other. 

Füsun liked the idea of Spanish cuisine. Considering its similarities to  Mediterranean cuisine, people would find it familiar. We asked her to go and work at Santander, a restaurant in the Basque region of Spain, and come back with some novel ideas on foreign yet familiar tastes and to put them into practice at Keyfhan.

This is how sea produce such as monkfish, John Dory, and mussels which were uncommon in restaurant cuisines here came onto the table with newly interpreted cooking styles. With its tapas, paellas, sand mussels and fish “a la plancha”, reminding guests of our “meze” culture, Keyfhan suddenly came alive.

Keyfhan was not just a restaurant. Nor was it just a disco. One could go there just to eat as well as to dance or listen to some disco music at later hours. The restaurant would open its doors to the arcade, turning the whole place into a bar accompanied with DJ music. In this very young and lively environment, a huge crowd would dance and drink inside or out in the arcade as desired. Here were the consequences, straight from Meto:

In spite of many pros, cons with more potential to cause harm started spreading around Keyfhan: Turning into a nightclub after dinner! Crowds, more crowds, huge turnovers, victory of noise, regression of food... Furthermore, although the economic crisis that burst out around the time Keyfhan opened could not stop us, but the closing down of Me?rutiyet Street to traffic at a certain hour due to a claim that the US Consulate around the corner was under terrorist threat, hurt us a lot. By the second year, customers had lost the enthusiasm to come to our venue…and we lost the enthusiasm to run the business.

CHINTAMANI, LONDON/ 2002-2004

You know how everything is at a standstill, and then all of a sudden things start moving simultaneously, that is what happened with Chintamani. Twenty years later, the idea of opening a place in London revisited my mind. During a trip to Egypt, when some of our countries’ Americanized businessmen supported my vision, I immediately set up a company in the UK. With many people investing as shareholders, we started looking for a place in London.

And when England based Turkish bankers holding small shares wanted to start up at once, we gave up looking for a more suitable address and decided on a building at the intersection of Lower Regent Street and Jermyn Street where the legendary Tramp Club is located.

The shop had two fa?ades on both streets and it turned out that because of this double fa?ade, we had to pay a “rate” almost as much as our rent to London Municipality; moreover, our attorney had “forgotten” to tell us about this! A while later, after our basement was flooded when the piping broke down at Picadilly Circus, the same attorney pointed out that there was no clause on our lease we had signed with Crowne Estate granting us the right to make a claim. You can imagine how baffled I was!

From the very beginning, I believed it was essential to have a British partner or at least someone who knew this country inside out. I had met Marc Birley, the owner of Annabel’s, a long time ago and had even been to his house. What’s more, I had recruited DJ’s for him, from Turkey a couple of times. When he came to Istanbul, he had seen Taxim Nightpark while its construction was in progress.

Birley suggested we work at Chintamani with Fabi, a professional with whom he worked when he opened George, a private club. After we signed a contract, Fabi brought in a PR expert to us.

It took only five months for Zeynep to do the interiors of Chintamani, a restaurant with eleven partners, introducing the concept of a “cooperative restaurant”. With its cast iron curtains in the Seljukian fashion, Ottoman divans, cushions and an enormous chandelier hanging from the middle of the room, it was simply mesmerizing for the guests. Tayfun Erdo?mu? crafted leather and canvas embroideries and the drawings on the tables. All the elements of decoration had come from Turkey, felt being the most significant textile used. Zeynep received the ‘Andrew Martin International Designer of the Year! Award with her Chintamani project in 2002.

When we looked back with Zeynep to compare the huge press coverage of the Nigel Coats’ project in Istanbul with the nearly non-existent coverage of Zeynep’s award winning project in Britain, we recognized the absence of a very significant support in this foreign land and agreed on its cause: Not having an Englishman as our designer.

I was adamant on serving freshly baked Turkish style pita bread at Chintamani, however as a measure against pollution, it was illegal to feed any oven with wood and any grills with coal. After some serious investigation I found an oven that could filter the gases coming out from a wood fire in Australia. Once I imported that, I was able to serve our delicious lahmacuns, pitas and puffy breads just like in Istanbul. My bakers were Turks who worked in restaurants around London. We also had Selim Usta, our chief cook at Ulus, running the kitchen and working very hard to do his best. The k?ftes, Karsky, kebabs with yogurt were not one bit different from those he made in Turkey. Furthermore, we sent our English cook to Istanbul for a six-month training at Ulus 29. Our intention was to serve the exact Ulus 29 menu in London, however had a hard time convincing him. He wanted to exhibit his talents, while we were in search of someone who knew our cuisine, would do exactly what we wanted yet was familiar with the ways of this land and spoke the language. The same discussion went on almost until we sold the place.

Carrying the mission of being the first Ottoman style restaurant at the heart of London, Chintamani opened on November 2002. Among those who attended the opening were Rod Stewart’s wife Rachel Hunter, the ex-Mayor of Westminster Harvey Marshall and his wife Heizel Marshall, the Lalvanis, the niece of the King of Spain, Princess Tamara Czatoryski de Bourbon, Victor Donenza, an American businessman known for his closeness to President Clinton…The famous Turkish designer R?fat ?zbek, our friends ?zzet ?apa and Vedat Yelkenci were also there with us. The opening ceremony was somehow weird. Having removed all chairs and tables, we had surrendered to our PR person. Not really meaning much to me, the opening party was over, following a lot of commotion.

Since the opening night, we were operating full house. The Christmas party thrown by EMI and the Pink Floyd party took place in our venue. Among the frequenters, starting with Adnan Kashoggi, the prominent Saudi Arabians who came to London would not miss visiting us.

The biggest challenge facing Fad?ll?o?lu was the restricted permissions of club/restaurant licenses granted in the UK. Last drinks had to be served by 00.30 a.m. and closing time was 1.00 a.m. whereas some DJ’s started playing their music at 11.00 p.m.

When many loyal customers unwillingly gave up on their loyalty due to these time restrictions, serving just wine and food hardly generated enough turn-over, which in effect turned the whole operation into a big challenge.

Moreover, with an enforced price policy, they had fallen out of range with the trends of London. They had been categorized into a system where they were supposed to charge customers 20 Pounds a dish excluding drinks, whereas the price of a single dish would cost way over this figure at Chintamani.

With such a bumpy head start, food journalist of this dog-eat-dog world, first praised Chintamani, yet afterwards it was subject to some harsh criticism. While London Timeout praised Chintamani’s interiors and cuisine saying,

“Traditional Turkish flavors are enhanced in this enchanting and beautiful West End restaurant. Tented ceilings and Ottoman furnishings provide the perfect interior for the mouth-watering food”; AA Gill of Sunday Times practically jumped at their throat criticizing the food and the service. It was as if his column had a purpose of keeping any prospective customer away! Harpers & Queen listed them as one of London’s100 restaurants of the year, while Marina O’Loughlin was pointing out that they were at the wrong address. Metin Fad?ll?o?lu summarizes the final point as follows:  

We had invested a total of 1.8 million Pounds in Chintemani. Only a year before, Hakkasan’s partners had invested 5 million while the year we opened, Sketch’s shareholders, had invested 25 million Pounds to their establishment…George, which was a private club paid 1.2 million Pounds only as key money.  Our request to increase capital was blocked when small shareholders were unable to take action. Had we managed to hang on just a little more, we might have gotten the permit to keep the place running until later hours. Yet I was really all-alone and had put in a huge amount of effort all by myself. Plus, I had made no contacts with neither the press nor with interested parties, but had just focused on how to get good food on the table with some good service. I had all this time imagined I was still on my own amicable territory. Last but not the least, as I had done in the past, I had not burned my bridges. Mourad Mazous, owner of Momo’s and Sketch had told me that he was really curious why I was struggling in this “strange land, with eccentric people ” while I owned such a beautiful place in my own country.

The day we closed down Chintamani, we had full house. Füsun Ta?g?n who was running the operation, still to this day, blames me for having given up so soon.

N??ANTA?I BRASSERIE/2003-

When Cem Boyner offered me the top floor at the new Beymen building in Ni?anta??, I lacked the courage to say yes. Top floors had never been my cup of tea. Sometime later, following a change of mind, he offered me almost 2/3rds of the front fa?ade of the ground floor, the “prime” location in the building. On top of this, I had this very convincing feeling of success coming my way, softly swathing all my being with ease (and I let it) when I found out about the mayor of ?i?li, Mr. Mustafa Sar?gül, issuing a permit that allows restaurants to use the sidewalks around Abdi ?pek?i Street. Ok, but how would we develop the concept? What kind of an image would best suit this location? 

While French style Brasseries abounded in big cities worldwide, Istanbul had none. With its French onion soup, entrecote, escargot, its bar, with chairs and tables spreading out on the pavement, what a lovely place it would be! And so it was. If people in Europe take on the idea of sitting on the streets, why wouldn’t we? As ours was the first of its kind at the time, our customers internalized the idea and it turned out to be a success in no time. 

So we had the first French Brasserie in ?stanbul, symbolizing the French soul, decorated by Zeynep and her team… The opening was magnificent and so was the year that followed. 

Our cook, Jean Pierre Jung, imported from France, turned out to be a big disappointment before long. He had left his new Romanian bride in France to get residence and work permits, however, when the police came to check on the authenticity of their marriage, and could find no husband in sight, they had declared the marriage fake and null denying her all sorts of permits. Losing his marbles upon the unfortunate news, our cook had soon abandoned all thoughts and efforts towards food and cooking. Although finally we did manage to replace him, I really went through hell restoring order in the kitchen.  

?zlem ?ahin recruited Ay?em Sara?o?lu to execute the Brasserie operation. In spite of her high quality education, command of languages and good family background, working with her was quite a challenge. Putting her on the verge of tears and actually making her cry, I managed to make her run the place profitably for seven years, until the indoors smoking ban. With her beauty and simplicity, young Ay?egül Perksoy, joining us from Zeynep’s office, was a significant component of our success. 

Following the first seven years when things seemed to be monotonously constant, I began to put pressure on Ay?em to transform the whole shop. Yet, Ay?em no longer had neither the courage nor the strength to start a new endeavor. Even some minute changes her assistant Esra Dani?ment put into effect began upsetting her, so we parted our ways after eight years.  Quite a few of the kitchen and service staff that could not cope with change had to say goodbye to us along with Ay?em.

The Brasserie has started a new life of its own now… With a fresh understanding of service and cuisine, without betraying the French Brasserie style, it is still fully alive. Our chef Mert ?eran is responsible for the food, and Esra, who had worked with us at ?ubuklu 29 is our manager.     

 Artists, students, shoppers, housewives and residents of Ni?anta?? add color and diversity to our customer profile. They all feel as free to drop in during the day to read a book over a cup of coffee just as they do when they show up all dressed up, enjoying a special dinner with friends. In our kitchen, traditional European brasserie dishes have been altered to please the palate of today’s customers, and French style onion soup, pate de foie gras, and steak tartar are our staple dishes. For anyone wishing to start the day with a delicious breakfast, I suggest our French style breakfast plate.  

In the evenings, after 6.00 p.m. Ay?egül Perksoy and DJ Erol create this “DJ” atmosphere, which I strongly opposed in the beginning, based on the adage “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. In the Brasserie, a sushi guy makes sushi while the pizza guy makes pizzas, and it all works out swell! Come and see for yourselves in case you have any doubts.  

The Beymen Brasserie, located right on the corner of Abdi ?pek?i Street, the most strategic spot at Ni?anta?? where one can see people walking by, has since long created its own “café-brasserie” style. Today, it is still the trendiest meeting point and finding a table on the sidewalk is next to impossible.  

LES OTTOMANS HOTEL/ 2005-2006

During the restoration of Muhsinzade Mehmet Pa?a Yal?s?, which had burned down on 1935, Ahu Aysal, following her attempts at (not) working with many architects like Cavit Sar?o?lu and Erdal Tusavul, knocked on Zeynep’s door for its interior design. After her request, Les Ottomans was designed as a modern adaptation of Ottoman style decoration. I believe it to be one of the most successful works of Zeynep and her office. 

Thus begins Metin Fad?ll?o?lu’s story of Les Ottomans’ cooperation with the 29 Group. 

Working with different artists, Zeynep Fad?ll?o?lu had in fact recreated a modern and functional interpretation of various motifs and marks which make up the amalgam of Ottoman and Anatolian civilizations plus, what we call the “Bosphorus Culture”. Meanwhile, Ahu Aysal invited a famous Feng Shui master called Yap Cheng Hai who cooperated with Zeynep Fad?ll?o?lu to bring in the life energy, chi, to come alive in the building. Thus, Les Ottomans was recognized as one of the few Feng Shui hotels in the world. The tasks that remained were the coordination and planning of different functions, each requiring expert staff; from front desk services to food and beverages to accounting.

Since Ahu had undertaken the function of project manager as well as hotel owner, many issues (especially food and drinking) were just wandering around out there, in search of solutions, not finding any.

When I was caught in the premises helping out Zeynep, I was being subject to so many questions of this kind that after a while I had to point out that I would only be able to answer all the inquiries on a professional basis.

My request was well received. I worked on a professional basis and got the hotel all set for the opening. About one month prior to the opening, I asked Ahu to bring in her food and drinks manager and staff so that we could turn the operation over to them. That was how I found out this function was also expected of me! Against a certain sum received as a guarantee, we organized all parties around the pool, as well as managing the restaurant and nightclub at Les Ottomans. Yet it was misfortunate that that very summer some restrictions regarding sound levels of open venues and turning the sound down at 23.59 were brought into practice. Moreover, we had problems regarding complaints from neighbors who could not tolerate the noise. Füsun Ta?g?n, responsible for food and drinks, was working in cooperation with our Australian cook Robin Cooper organizing parties for the Ferrari team who came to for the Formula races as well as the Red Bull team. All in all, we had a successful, “full-house” summer. At the end of the season we left Ahu Aysal and the premises, totally amicably.

SINBIN AKMERKEZ/ 2006-2009

I can almost hear you say “Hey, where did this name come from?” Cem Boyner had always wanted me to run a place at Akmerkez, and since I gave it zero chance of success, each time I rejected. Meanwhile, he was under the impression that I was playing ‘hard to get’. Finally, just for the sake of being tactful, I accepted to make something next to the Beymen shop, resembling a bistro.

In this tiny area reachable only by a tiny elevator, with a room called ‘kitchen’ without being one, it was impossible to make a proper menu. On top of that, it was not supposed to be connected to the interior of Akmerkez.

Sinbin was the name of the box where ice hockey players given a penalty had to wait till they were allowed back into the game. At the entrance of Akmerkez Beymen, designed by Zeynep’s office ZF Design, with its limited yet delicious dishes, sakeprinha and ginger lemonade, pastry made by its French cook, Sinbin unfortunately had a hard time finding enough customers to be sustainable and had to return to its origins, i.e. the retail area of Beymen stores at Akmerkez. I was sincerely sorry about this…

Who knows, perhaps one day Sinbin might make a comeback to join us!

Monaco, Café de Paris /2007

It was July 2007. When I was asked to organize a Turkish week offering  the dishes of our Ulus 29 cuisine at Place du Casino, right next to the Casino in Monte Carlo, I flew to Nice with Selim Usta. After going around visiting and checking all grocery stores and local markets owned by Armenian citizens, I agreed to go ahead with the project.

They say, ‘No visit to Monte Carlo would be complete unless you have had at least one drink outside, at Café de Paris, and watched the world go by in diamonds and Ferraris’.

Selin Fad?ll?o?lu was the food and drinks manager of the 29 Group at the time. She flew to Monte Carlo heading her team of 6 people to organize the Turkish Week to take place on 7-14 July at Café de Paris. Distinguished guests were offered a unique menu of Ulus 29 consisting of that very special Turkish tastes. Beach Hotel on July 10th and the top floor of Café de Paris on July 11th rocked with people dancing to DJ Gaydar’s music. 

Monte Carlo beaches as well as our hotel were magnificent. Hayim Fresko, our good friend from Istanbul who happens to be the son-in-law of Societe des Bain de Mer’s manager, was a great host to us,” recalls Metin Fad?ll?o?lu.  

LES OTTOMANS CLUB29 & FUNFATALE/ 2008-2010

One evening, while we assumed our work with Ahu Aysal was done, the phone rang. It was Selin calling to tell us that the food and drinks department of Les Ottomans was out on the market for rent- according to what Ahu’s daughter Ceyla told her. If we accepted to rent the place, she was planning to open an Italian restaurant with Ceyla, which she believed would be a success for the summer. We had done it once in 2007; we could do it again! And since Ulus Club 29 was closed during summer, we would have a venue where we could blow our horn at Les Ottomans. Furthermore, there was a good chance that the Doors group who had also made an offer for the same location, might turn out to be a competitor in the event that they run this next-door place throughout winter. This time, it was us giving Ahu Aysal a guarantee: The rent! By the time we realized what a huge mistake it was, and by the time we managed to move out, we had lost one and a half years, most of our nerve, and a lot of money. Yet we did finally pull through!

Selin Fad?ll?o?lu, already experienced in the field, set up a private wine chamber for twelve, called it the Kav Mahal and took over the whole food and drinks operations including the restaurant and room service. They also opened a Club 29, just for the summer, where the QJazz Bar once was. ZF Design refurbished the area to the right of the entrance and Les Ottomans 29 Restaurant opened its doors on January 16th featuring chef Giovanni Teracciano’s cuisine.

Architect Zaha Hadid, whom I had met through Nigel Coats had asked me to make a reservation at Les Ottomans for her, and after paying a fortune for her accommodation, had given me this feedback: “In the morning, I woke up pretty early to the noise of some tent constructors trying to build a tent close to the pool, right in front of my room. The construction went on all day, with workers banging away their tools, then the wedding party starting in the evening went on till the wee hours of the day, keeping me sleepless all night. Just as I managed to fall asleep towards dawn, the tent constructors came back, this time for its deconstruction and carried on with the same noise till noon!”

In short we had figured out that running a hotel during summer and expecting to make money by organizing parties in its garden and open air nightclub presented a serious contradiction. 

Yet, good things also did happen …

In this operation, the most positive fruit bearing activity was our seaside bistro called FunFatale Les Ottomans. The mastermind behind it was Didem ?zgen and I really think she created a very pleasant seaside bistro. Our chef Mert ?eran prepared an incredibly tasty menu for FunFatale, creating wonders. Even the famous chef Michel Roux, owner of La Gavroche, the London restaurant with three Michelin stars, wrote a series of compliments on Mert’s jacket and added his signature after eating at the venue. 

FunFatale was located inside Les Ottomans hotel, while having a totally separate entrance. The name was made up of the English word “fun” and the French word “fatale” meaning “deadly”, which when combined implied “deadly fun” or “have fun till you drop”.  Its interior decorator, Sami Savatl? had managed to create a joyous bistro with colorful seating groups, a square shaped bar right in the middle, and a staircase that went nowhere. While the blackboard at the entrance was inviting everyone to scribble on it, one could also buy one of the works of the gallery Casa dell’Arte artists which were on display. The interior design theme demonstrating the Rough Luxe trend was just as attractive as the name “FunFatale”.  

Didem ?zgen who ran the place started the action before dark, with afternoon parties thrown by DJ performances, as was the trend in New York.

In spite of all this, just as its “monkey” was on its way to becoming the most famous mascot in town, the place closed down in 2010…

Jimmy’z, Monte Carlo / 2009

Monaco’s famous nightclub within the Monte Carlo complex, Jimmy’z, has always been a favorite among world’s most renowned artists, top models, and businessmen. 

In 2009, there was this rising trend of organizing collective PR evenings at one another’s venues among nightclub owners with all their staff, DJ’s and regulars.  Its counterpart in another country would host one famous club and thus the exchange would go on. Monaco’s invitation to Ulus 29 came only after Ulus 29 hosted Prince Albert II of Monaco in Istanbul. The Jimmy’z staff and managers came to Istanbul to plan organizing the party.

Thus, Metin and Zeynep and regulars and friends of Club 29 met at Jimmy’z on October 30th 2009 in a sort of “warming-up” get together.

Similarly, on January 9th 2011, the Fad?ll?o?lu family hosted the Jimmy’z group at Club 29. For that single night, Ulus 29 was transformed into Monte Carlo Jimmy’z complete with its DJ, local and foreign customers and whole managerial staff.