Delicious Lebanese food served in a lively setting. The overall experience was fantastic and every plate was perfectly executed. I do wish the portions were slightly larger just to have an even more satisfying meal, but the quality of ingredients and execution and presentation of each dish makes it hard for me to complain too much about that
We had a delicious dinner here and I want to especially commend the muhamarra with its kick of spice that arrived as a delayed reaction as well as the tabbouleh. Perfect balance with excellent sourness level. And the pitas were divine puffs of hot bread perfect for dipping. Order extra. Servers were very good too and I look forward to a return visit.
Nice place. Food is over-rated to be honest. Grilled meats with stuff -- nothing super special, they need to up their game. Difficult to get a reservation
I am very very disappointed. The manager here needs more training in customer service. She was a middle aged caucasian lady with glasses who usually has her hair (black hair) in a bun. She messed up my reservation time and had me waiting for an hour yesterday night. We watched multiple people come and go in the restaurant. We were totally sidelined and overlooked. I felt so bad because my partner heard really good things about this place and she really wanted to eat here but I was not going to spend my money here where we were being treated in such a way. The least the manager could do is take accountability, understand that she was wrong and move forward. But she was very combative and had a horrible attitude towards us. I hope this is not the brand that you promote for your customers. With 10 years of customer service experience there were other ways that this situation could have been handled. Maybe I was treated this way because I had a hoodie on and I was a black man so I probably fell into a certain stereotype, but you should never judge a book by its cover because I am very intellectual and I thoroughly understand how to properly run a business. You guys should be ashamed for the way you left a bad taste in my mouth. I 100% do not recommend this restaurant to anyone if this is how you will continue to do business.
I’m really disappointed with my recent experience at this restaurant. I called to make a reservation for 6:45 pm, and when we got in we were told that they had it set for 7pm which was extremely strange.
We arrived about an hour early, and during that time we noticed we were the only Black guests in the restaurant. Everyone else who came in or was waiting appeared to be white. Sitting there for so long while watching several groups walk out because of delays already felt uncomfortable, but being the only Black couple in the room made the situation feel even more isolating. Instead of the host checking in and showing sympathy to us waiting as we saw people walked out, she did not acknowledge us at all.
As it got close to 7 pm, I approached the host, who had curly hair and glasses, to express my frustration that our 6:45 reservation had been pushed to 7:00, despite us being there the whole time. I later spoke with a woman who seemed to be the manager, she appeared Caucasian, had black hair and glasses, and was around average height. She was actually who i spoke to on the phone.
Instead of acknowledging the issue, or offering any kind of accommodation, both interactions felt dismissive. There was no genuine accountability for the change in reservation time and no effort to improve our experience. Combined with the uncomfortable atmosphere and how out of place we already felt, the whole visit was extremely disappointing which is sad because i really was looking forward to it.
Bookmarked this spot for a while and finally paid a visit. I completely agree with the other reviews about the dreamy pitas — soft, fluffy, and freshly baked to perfection. The aroma alone was incredibly inviting.
Our favorite dish of the night was the special: the smoked cabbage. Such unique, layered flavors from the combination of sauces. The lamb ribs were just okay for me, a bit too sweet and saucy. The whole dorade was unfortunately disappointing; despite the heavy spices and sauces, the fish tasted quite fishy and didn’t seem very fresh.
There are still many items on the menu we didn’t get to try, like the lamb baked pita pie, so would love to be back again.
Wonderful place for dinner and delicious drinks. The bartender was lovely and talked through the cocktail menu with such an impressive knowledge of the components and the food was so fresh and delicious. Highly recommend!
It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a new restaurant and enjoyed EVERY dish, drink, and the service. Truly, I would change nothing about any dish I ordered. My husband and I left so full and soooo happy. What a joy it was to experience Sawa. We will absolutely be back.
The food was just all right. It would’ve been delicious in any other city, but there’s too much excellent food in New York. The pita was a highlight in the fish was delicious. All other things were just all right. Our waitress is very attentive and even helped us when one of the dishes was quite unsavory. This is good for casual, moderate food, but I wouldn’t expect anything out of this world.
Unsafe seating, beware of the four top by the entrance in the window. They crammed a bookshelf in the narrow space between the table and wall leaving very little space to sit as an average sized person. Worse, things on the bookshelf have sharp edges so watch your head! Food is good.
Overall rating: 4.5
Price: $52 pp (total 2x w/ tax & tip)
Leans more fusion than I was expecting. I didn’t like my drink and my waitress was able to swap it out easily. She was so sweet! Items my friend and I ordered:
- Green with Envy cocktail: 5/5 delicious
- Muhammara/ Rstd swt ppr dip: 3/5 not worth it
- Little Gem: 6/5 obsessed
- Lamb Ribs Shawarma: 3/5 too small for price
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Verified Company
