Sip Wine Bar and Kitchen

Very disappointing. I came to Sip with a friend for daytime drinks & a snack. Not only was our server NEVER around, the drinks took forever & the Mediterranean platter we ordered took over 30 minutes to get to us (at 3:30pm on a very slow day) which the server then took off the check because we have a feeling she never put it in. The food was so-​so, drinks were fine, service horrible. My friend and I are both in the service industry and are very understanding but we will not be back.

Went on a warm Wednesday afternoon. We were seated quickly. Took a long time for a waiter to come by and he apologized when he did for the wait. We got red sangria which was not very good. Tasted pretty watered down. Got the small plate goat cheese item which was relatively good. Service times were just really long.
I would like to come back and try some wine while seated inside. I had really high hopes and was disappointed this time.

This place is amazing! I went here with all my girlfriends for my Bachelorette this past weekend, so much fun. I love the concept of sip some wine. I definitely recommend it and the bartenders were amazing.

Aside from the decent outdoor seating, I’m struggling to find any positives from my Sip experience.
My low expectations were set after being handed a slimy menu, and unrolling my napkin to expose poorly washed silverware with pieces of food stuck to my knife. I had no desire to stay, but we did… and the experience never recovered. Especially after we realized we had lunch menus, and the dinner menu that I was handed was even more grimy than the lunch one! Ridiculous. Sip’s employees clearly don’t care about the experience, and the lack of effort at the front of the house can only make you wonder what’s happening in the back of the house.
The servers (we had 3 or 4 in the outdoor area) were generally nice, to be fair, but it took forever to order. It also took 15 minutes (literally) to get our check. I’m used to more efficient service when servers are in teams, so this was just odd. The food came out quickly, but considering the quality, it doesn’t surprise me. Due to the questionable first impressions, my reluctance to stay had me keep our order short and sweet: a grilled pear salad, caesar salad, nigiri platter, and kobe sliders. The Italian-​Asian fusion menu had us all over the place in terms of what to eat. There’s chicken parmesan, arancini… and sushi? Talk about identity issues. A somewhat «diverse» order is almost impossible to avoid.
Anyway, my pear salad was gross. The pears were grilled until they were hard, dried out pieces of fruit. The rest of the ingredients were basic, prepackaged items, with the pear being the ONLY thing that needed some love from the kitchen. If that’s the «highlighted» ingredient, you might not want it to be the worst element in the salad. The caesar salad was pale and disgusting, and I refused to eat the sliders after a single bite. The texture of the beef had me questioning the quality and storage. Perhaps the first time I ever rejected a burger. The nigiri was fine and I didn’t get sick, but you could tell the fish wasn’t the freshest by the texture. No smell meant it was «good enough» to eat, but I wouldn’t recommend ordering raw fish from here. Especially considering the cleanliness of the menus and silverware. I have no idea what I was thinking. Oh, and we never received sushi utensils. No chopsticks (fine for nigiri, I guess), no soy or dishes. I applied my wasabi with my wife’s clean (er) knife.
The cucumber basil margarita, like my burger, was left behind. I wouldn’t recommend due to the lack of actual cucumber or basil flavor. It was just a boring margarita, if that makes any sense. It’s a small beverage, and I still had no interest in finishing.
Overall, I can’t imagine returning to Sip, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re ONLY going for drinks… and in that case, stick to the bottled stuff. Unfortunately, no amount of wine can make up for the lack of cleanliness, slow service, and sub-​par food. One of the worst dining experiences we’ve had in the 7+ months of extensively exploring Boston’s food scene.

Food is good, service is sooo slow. We have been here 2 hours, and are still waiting for the bill, after ordering two drinks and two sushi plates. Kinda out of control. It’s impossible to flag staff down too, so the times I’ve tried to speed things up have failed.

I was visiting Boston from California and Sip was half a block away from the hotel. I normally don’t visit restaurants that I haven’t checked reviews on, but it was snowing and cold. I am so thankful my friend and I walked into this place. We had a wonderful time. The food was great. The wine selection was superior, and the service was phenomenal. We went on a Monday night. It wasn’t that busy. The manager and the server took advantage of the downtime and spent a lot of time with us. They were so personable and welcoming.
Being a wine drinker from California, I really appreciated the wine list being organized by taste rather than grape. I was able to zero in on buttery whites, rather than muddle my way through a list of chardonnays that I know nothing about. I ordered their flight special, and my friend had cocktails off their specials menu. Both were great choices. We ordered the spicy tuna to start. The presentation was amazing. Then we split one of their gourmet macaroni and cheese dishes. Completely satisfying in flavor and portion size. For dessert we ordered s’mores. They have a unique presentation for their s’mores dish, and it comes with peanut butter sauce. Check out the pix. Yummy!
Everything was great. I could go on and on about our experience here. But what really separates SIP from other wine bars/​restaurant is the hospitality and investment in their customers’ experience. No wine snobs in this place! If you are able to go on a slow night, I would recommend that over a Friday or Saturday night so that you can take your time and really experience all that SIP has to offer.

I liked the concept of Sip. You can essentially try many different kinds of wine with their 2oz pour. It is pricy when drinking this way, but it makes it fun. Overall I actually liked the food, but the portion size is too small for the price.
I got the tuna and my mom got the salmon. Both tasted good, but the entire tuna dish was so salty that I was drinking a lot of water after I left the restaurant.
Just an ok place … But definitely prefer to go to Legals across the street.

I never ordered a cocktail from this place because I was so skeptical of the food judging by what I saw before we sat down.
I’m awarding one star because SIP is trying for a concept that is all over the place, Italian and Asian fusion can lead to some real interesting digestive situations. They use the same gross «magic» sauce/​mayonnaise on everything, drenched in flavors that seemingly taste the same.
The kitchen was backed up, we waited a long time for food that was basically prepared in advance such as edamame: which was the only saving grace, which also was presented with the same magic sauce because why not? right.
We were forced to go here out of hunger and frozen temperatures and I promised myself after paying the bill I would never take a gamble
Like that again. Thanks for the shits SIP

This place is good. It’s a regular spot I swing by with my girlfriends for a quick dinner because of its convenient location in Downtown Crossing. It’s good but not quite great. The cocktails are decent. The grapefruit one is excellent. Service fluctuates. I love the firecracker yellowtail. Delicious. Thinly sliced sashimi. Great things to share: wood grilled oysters, mushroom pizza, kale & quinoa salad, tempura green beans and charred broccoli.
Tip: Great location for pre or post theatre.

We stopped into sip for a post-​shopping cocktail around 3pm on a Saturday. The restaurant was pretty empty but it still took 10 – 15 mins to get the bartenders attention. The drinks were good, but pretty plainly garnished. Took another 10 – 15 mins to get our check. Overall, an ok experience but I won’t be back.

My experience here was underwhelming. A friend and I came here to grab a light bite to eat before seeing a show at the opera house next door. The restaurant itself seemed large and it had a nice lively atmosphere. It was busy, given it was a Saturday night, but luckily we were seated right away.
Their menu is a little strange as in they have an array of sushi options on one side and then Italian inspired options on the other. I started off with the grapefruit basil martini. It was made with real grapefruit which was nice, but I think I was just looking for a hint of sweetness which I didn’t taste (just my personal preference). Since we weren’t starving we decided to split a few of the smaller plates. We went for the mini arancini and the prosciutto flatbread, both of which were somewhat disappointing. The arancini themselves were decent however, the tomato sauce was reminiscent of Chef Boyardee (yuck). The flatbread wasn’t anything special or memorable.
Overall, everything was a little overpriced for my liking especially for an experience that was only average. Their sushi options, however, did look fantastic, so that is the only reason I would be tempted to go back.

I came with a girlfriend prior to a show at the Boston Opera House. We were lucky enough to snag a couple seats at the bar. We observed that the space is laid out in a kind of unusual way (with some sort of communal table abutting the bar on the left side and confusing us as to whether or not there were two seats available, not one… we moved on and remained confused). It’s a tight squeeze trying to pass through the space.
At the bar, we were greeted and quickly asked about our drinks. The wine list is extensive and had we had more time, I would have enjoyed trying a bunch of the 2 oz. pours. I ended up going with their listed albarino, which was phenomenal.
After we got our drinks, we wanted to order food, but none of the bartenders swung back ’round. Eventually, knowing we had to get an order in to make our show on time, we had to flag down a bartender from the other side of the bar. We weren’t offered water either, again flagged down the bartender to ask. These are nit-​picky things, but it slowed down our meal and it’s always awkward to be waving your hand around trying to get someone’s attention. Our bartender was incredibly nice otherwise and we didn’t experience any ‘tudes as other Unilocalers have described.
For a quick bite, my pal got the spicy girl roll (tuna, salmon, jalapeño, chili sauce, cucumber and tempura flakes) and I went with the ahi tuna tacos. The presentation of the sushi here is gorgeous. We kept commenting on how pretty the plate was. My taco presentation wasn’t as pretty, but they tasted great. My only complaint in this regard was that the tuna was advertised as «blackened rare» and while I got a couple larger pieces as advertised, there were some smaller cut bites that were cooked through to an unappetizing gray color. I have to assume those pieces came from the ends of a larger piece of tuna and those probably should have been discarded.
I’d come back on a quieter night to try more of the menu and enjoy some wine tasting for sure!

Sip is a fun place. The atmosphere is hip and the décor is modern. The windows big and bright; it really draws you in for visit. I came here with a group of friends for an early dinner before a show. We made a reservation and were seated right away. We were happy with our server. She was helpful with recommendations and visited our table plenty of times.
Their drink selection is huge and the concept of having a sip, half or full is brilliant. It’s perfect for tasting different wines. For food, we ordered a bit of everything. Flatbreads, an array of sushi, calamari and desserts. The flatbreads were light and flavorful. Calamari was crispy and I like the mix of tomatoes and peppers. Our server recommended the bread pudding for dessert but I thought it was ok. I should of know better since soggy bread is meh to me. I was most impressed by their sushi; presentation and taste is exquisite. It’s quite funny to me though because the restaurant doesn’t look like a place to serve Asian food.
So my review is more of a 4 ½. I’m taking a half-​star off because it was pricy and the portions could of been bigger. My friends and I had a great time nonetheless. I’ll be sure to swing by again.

The presentation of each dish is wonderful. The taste is even better. I highly recommend the ahi tuna flatbread ($ 15), and ask them to add truffle oil dressing. It is not spicy because it has a great balance of seaweed salad. The sashimi platter ($ 18), while a little pricey, comes out with 2 – 3 large pieces each of tuna, salmon, and yellow tail. I think the dish is worth it because the quality of fish is amazing. Lastly, I recommend the Blush cocktail. The tequila makes it a strong drink, but the citrus flavors stand out as well.

Had a pre-​movie dinner here. Me and 2 friends were able to walk in on a Saturday at 6:15 without a reservation and we got seats at the bar.
I ordered the sangria and it was terrible. It tasted like watered down white wine with cinnamon sprinkled in. My friends tried it and agreed. The server thankfully comped the drink and I got The Blush instead which was delicious and strong.
The food on the other hand was on par. I had a caesar salad and a mushroom flatbread. The flatbread was huge and I brought half home for lunch tomorrow.
Our server was very friendly and I appreciated that she comped the terrible sangria. My only complaint was when we got our appetizers we had no silverware and we had to ask multiple times to get some. She also happily divided the bill for us to which I always appreciate. We made it to our movie in plenty of time so the food came out in a reasonable amount of time.
I would definitely go back :)

My hat is off to the chef, you made 6 people very happy with you’re excellent recipes, execution and presentation. Personally, I had the pork tenderloin. If I had room, I would have ordered seconds. For dessert– I had the butterscotch pudding in a martini glass. We all sampled each other’s dinner and I know I’ll be back to try other options. The server was great too. I was impressed with the outdoor heaters for diners. I am a big fan!

It clearly was the summer of the GiltCity-​Groupon.
This is what you get when you work at home.
It’s 3:00pm; you’re hungry and cruising the internet…
In keeping with the spirit, I decided to get the online coupon and give it a try.
The food was totally awesome.
We did the special-​tasting menu.
Every course was awesome. The tableside wait staff was engaging and informative; they were great.
I walked away with 3 new favs:
Cocktail: Grapefuit Martini
My new signature cocktail (goodbye Appletini)
App: Tuna taco.
Perfectly seasoned seared tuna with an awesomely
spicey saucc (chipotle?)
Dessert: Butterscotch pudding.
Everyone’s always saying that this or that is «the best.»
Well, move over.
This is «THE BEST.»
Hands down.
Worth the trip for puddin alone. Absolutely fabulous.
This is my new happy meal.
If they boxed this to go, I would be picking up one of these a week on my way home.
UPDATE:
This is a food and SERVICE industry.
On two subsequent visits I had horrible «too cool for school» service from the wait staff. (Specifically the bar staff) I think the «über-​cool» graduates thought too much of themselves and their recent certificate from The Barista Institute. I would have made this my regular hangout, especially since I live so close. Wrong. I will spend my $ elsewhere.
Food: 4 Service: 1 = Score: 2

Sip something and enjoy.
If you’re in the Downtown Crossing area and want a nice place to people watch outside, Sip is it. My friend and I came here for dinner on a Weds night after a super long day on planes from SF.
The food is good and the drinks are decently priced. Ample seating inside too with good service.

Sat at the table outside for 7 minutes before I asked the hostess is there was service. Got a rude «there is.» Response. Waited another 4 minutes before finally being acknowledged as a paying client. So disappointing. Get your act together. Happening now at 6:40pm on July 3^rd
7:09 pm — asked the hostess for two wine glasses for friends that joined us. Was told «I’m not your server» as opposed to trying to provide any service whatsoever.

I ate Chet.
What?
Ok… let me clarify…
At the recommendation of the very, very lovely manager Emily, who was conscious of my concerns of muffining out the top of my skinny jeans, I ordered the Ahi tuna Napoleon, which was some amazingly flavored tuna tartar atop a huge fried rice cake. It sort of resembled a Shaquille O’Neil sized replica of bite-​sized spicy tuna on crispy rice cakes you’d normally find at trendier sushi houses. Except the tuna was SOOO much better.
Now, I have to admit at first glance that it reminded me of a character named «Chet» from the movie ‘Weird Science’, who Kelly LeBrock turned into a pile of… um… how do I say this delicately… «shit» (don’t worry, I’ve included a picture). I just found it hysterical. I’m glad to say, however, that the shit tasted amazeballs (pun intended). Seriously, it was amazing.
Granted, that’s all I have to go on food-​wise, so this review is more about the amazing service my buddy Alex and I got from Emily, and Sharon the bartender (who turns out… is married to a guy that was a college roommate of the owner of Soda Pop’s sandwiches in LA… a place I’ve seen, yet have never tried… oh what a small world this is!).
I just landed back in Boston from an exhausting 4-​month trip away to the terrible awesome beaches of LA… yuck… and the terrible 80-​degree weather… barf… so I was not only sleep-​deprived, but completely ADHD. Emily was ridiculously hospitable, patient, and engaging. Sharon, what a wonderfully sweet bartender, made the rest of the night so comfortable I was able to return home afterwards and comfortably fall asleep.
NOTHING beats great hospitality, and I can’t wait to go back for more!