Sip Sak
“This is an authentic Turkish dining experience, and the owner/chef Orhan Yegen is a true perfectionist of his art.”
“Had ali nazik, manti, and chicken soup all were great!”
“I had the manti which were the beef dumplings with the creamy garlic yogurt sauce it was soo savory and I kind of want some now!”
Sip Sak
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Went here on a Tuesday night and based on the reviews wasn't expecting much. It was recommended by a friend who lived in Turkey. Both of us have been to Turkey a few times so we've have very authentic Turkish cuisine. This restaurant exceeded our expectations. We had the stuffed mussels, house made stuffed dumplings and the ground lamb over eggplant. Everything got eaten! Dessert was baklava and it was some of the best I've eaten. They even had Efes beer!
Servers were very attentive and I can't wait to go back!
This is a pretty good Turkish restaurant and I'm glad it is so close to my apartment!
My wife and I walked in on a Fri night and were seated immediately upon our arrival. The hostess was pleasant and welcoming. Our waiter, however, was a serious dude. I wanted to tell him a joke to see if he would smile!
We shared a beet salad as our appetizer and we both felt it was pretty decent as far as salads go. For my pain course, I got the Spicy Hand Cut Lamb Kebab and my wife got some kind of chicken kebab (can't remember the name). My dish was EXCELLENT. I thought it was exceptionally well prepared and wished the dish would replenish itself so I could have unlimited spicy lamb.
My wife said the chicken was good too. I had some of her leftovers (as usual) – I thought it was very bland and didn't really have much flavour.. but maybe that is because I was subconsciously comparing it to my lamb dish – not sure.
Either way, the food is pretty good. I am a little annoyed that the salad we had was $13 or $14. That's a bit of highway (2nd avenue) robbery!
The entrees were also a bit pricey for what was actually served, but given the location, I am OK with it.
Overall, I wanted to give it 4 stars, but the absence of happy (-looking) waitstaff and the expensive salad resulted in just 3 stars. I will return to reunite with my spicy lamb kebab! You should try it!
Sip Sak is a finely crafted establishment that pushes the bar in Mediterranean cuisine and dining to new levels in NY. Between the food , the decor and the service Sip Sak holds down the throne in NYC. The restaurant's ambience is very simple yet extremely complex well thought out to fit the contemporary fine dining standards. The menu is carefully crafted with mezes and tapas that gets complimented with an excellent wine and liquor menu. For starters the hummus and the muhammara are must try's with the well toasted pita bread thats brought to the table as soon as you're seated. The hot appetizers to have here are the grilled octopus thats grilled to perfection and kokorec thats carefully seasoned and tossed with sautéed onions. The entrées, we had was the oven braised lamb and basmati rice thats was to die for and manti (little dumplings with minced lamb in them). When in Rome don't forget to try their almond pudding and halvah with pine nuts and ice cream. There are many contenders that try offer the same food in NYC, but what separates Sip Sak from its its competitors is that this is a type of establishment that sets its own standards and raises the bar to whole different levels and cooks what they know religiously. If you're driving there make sure you get there after 7pm to park on the street.
Caveat- I pretty much got the royal treatment as this place because we went with a guy who knows the owners well and is Turkish himself, so it was hard to find any fault with this place! I didn't order anything– food just started coming out in platters. But I can tell you- I eat A LOT of Turkish food and this place is phenomenal. The dolma were fantastic- stuffed generously with rice. I tried a lot on the menu– lamb, meat dishes. So much food! Everything was flavored incredibly well and definitely makes me want to come back for more! We had Turkish wine throughout the meal that was also outstanding — I wish I had recorded the labels, but we had two types and both complemented the flavors very well, though our second (round of) bottles was noticeably higher end. The service was also spectacular and the atmosphere was friendly, warm and inviting: a fantastic place to bring a big group- to talk loudly without feeling conspicuous.
Again, the VIP treatment certainly helped earn the 5 star review, but the people who own this establishment are really amazing and their commitment to quality and good service certainly comes out in the way they run their restaurant.
Best Turkish food I've ever had, wait the only Turkish food I've ever had.
Had hummus and pita to start, which was hummus-y and good. Someone ordered a cold tongue dish, I didn't like it at all. I would try tongue again, but a warmer more seasoned version. My main course was Eggplant Moussaka which was the hit of all the dishes for me, it was really rich and flavorful. Didn't get to try dessert, 'cause I was too full.
I'd come back again and try one of their other beef, lamb or seafood dishes plus dessert, if I have room.
Food – 3
Cost – 3
Service – 4
Atmosphere – 4
Pretty yummy Turkish food, and plenty of seating (without needing reservations) during the busy Christmas season.
I tried the hot yogurt soup, hummus, manti (homemade dumpling in garlic yogurt), hand chopped spicy lamb (which my bf loved) and almond pudding and all were pretty tasty. The bread for dipping was yummy. Nothing really sticks out in my head about this place, maybe I'd go again (but so much to explore in NYC!)
My grandma and her spouse (I can't really call him her "boyfriend" because A) it's weird and B) they've been together for 20+ years) came into the city to take me out to dinner. He is a vegetarian so it was up to me to find a restaurant to accommodate different dietary needs. Sip Sak had a rather large menu with a lot of variety, I had passed it several times in the area and it looked cute, prices were good, so this was my pick.
We ordered…
Hummus- Decent. I think being Jewish has spoiled me with a lot of the hummus dishes out there (both at restaurants and homemade by my father), so this one didn't stand out.
Smoked Eggplant Salad- This is baba ganoush. Also decent, see above for explanation.
Grape Leaves- I didn't try these but grandma said they were good she just wishes they would come with yogurt sauce for dipping.
Lentil Soup- Grandma's spouse raved about this, but he loves his lentils.
Eggplant Moussaka (Vegetarian)- Great. I'm a huge fan of moussaka and this one took me by surprise. The dish is often very creamy with béchamel sauce or cheese or both but this one wasn't creamy. It was on the lighter side and more tomato-based but it was very strong in flavor. The bulgur it came with was also delicious.
Almond Pudding- So…they don't have a dessert menu but they do tell you what the desserts are and this was my pick. Star of the meal for sure. Not too sweet and enough to share between the three of us. Delicious and even a little chunky with pieces of almond in it. Win!
Side note: The service was VERY slow and the restaurant was practically empty when we arrived but I'm attributing this to the moussaka which probably took a while to come out of the oven.
Holy [villanous] mother of Flotsam and Jetsam! OCTOPUS (another octopus review, another Ursula pun – it just needs to happen, people).
I came to Sip Sak on a Tuesday night around 8:30 and it was EMPTY. Not sure why this place doesn't get more traffic – Midtown East corporate types are never itching for some good Turkish food? Not that I know anything about Turkish food, but I know I liked this.
Ambiance was very pleasant. Classy yet quaint. I've seen some complaints on here about the service, but I had no problems with it. Friendly and efficient, which is all I can ask for. It would be downright embarrassing for the service to be bad with so few parties there, anyway.
So down to the meat (literally) of my review. My date had raved about the octopus at Sip Sak since I first met him. He's a huge foodie/cook, so I assume he knows what he's talking about. Before we ordered, he said (as he has said numerous times before): "this is the best meal I've ever had in New York". That would be a bold statement for anyone, but when uttered by someone who's well-versed in New York's culinary options, I had to take note. The octopus only appears as an appetizer on the menu ($19 dollars, yeesh), but our waiter said we could get an entree portion as well. I got a bit too excited, immediately forgot about the thing I try to do called "eat on a budget" and fervently opted for the larger plate.
First off: You are very very aware that you are eating an octopus. There's no hiding that these are full TENTACLES. So if that freaks you out, you've been warned. The octopus is prepared in a plum vinaigrette and served with tomatos and onions (blistered? roasted? something like that?). The plum vinaigrette caught me off guard, but I'm all for interesting flavor combinations, so I had no qualms there. It really does pair beautifully with the octopus. Something about the subtly sweet plum with a hint of vinegar and the meaty consistency of the octopus just worked. The octopus is grilled and had a very slight crispiness to it, which when combined with the blistered/grilled onions and tomatos, makes for a really satisfying texture profile. Yelpers, the fact that I can remember this in such detail is a testament to how incredible this dish was. So, as the kids say, mad props to my date – and madder props to the chef!!
One note:My only con here (mostly outweighed by the quality of the food) is how pricey this place is. It's $19 for the octopus appetizer, but we got the entree portion – the price for which is not on the menu (obviously we could have asked…oversight there). Over $30, folks. I mean the food was absolutely incredible, but that's quite steep. Thank god we didn't order wine. It's dive bars for me this weekend.