Sayat Nova

Had lunch here. Food was good (small portions however). The real problem is the «tude» given off by the goofball man-​bun wearing manager. Tip to him: when your customers leave… say «thank-​you.» Learn to appreciate your customs… you might not always have them. I’m guessing this place is not gay-​friendly, the irony of this is that there’s a small hole-​in-​the-​wall gay bar directly above it.

A wonderful resturant that would make for a nice date spot. We walked right in on a Saturday night and were able to be seated immediately. Atmosphere and décor was wonderful. They had nice Arabic music in the background.
I had the kabab and rice plate. It was very delicous! It’s hard to find good Middle Eastern food in Chicago and I think I finally found my go to spot for kababs.

Now as an Armenian my bar for Armenian food is pretty high. Sayat Nova is the perfect Armenian restaurant for Armenians and people who have a taste for good authentic Middle Eastern and Armenian food. I have only been once but am already planning many more visits. My whole family loves Sayat Nova and recommend it to many people. It definitely the perfect little Armenian restaurant.

Good food. Very trendy atmosphere. Been here a few times, zero complaints. Good location, too. Service was pretty quick.

My only complain is that they put very few amount of food at the plates, I never felt enough when eating there while hungry !!
Come on it’s Armenian NOT FRENCH resturant.
The food is ok but doesn’t seems armenian .
I didn’t like the sarma which is grape leaves dilled with rice because it’s sweet which it shouldn’t taste like this .
The chicken kabab and pilaf are good .
I also like lahmajon .
Overall Id rather go to turkish or middle eastern resturant If I had to choose one.

Passed by to take a look & ask about the place. Haven’t heard of Armenia food but the menu seems almost exactly like Lebanese cuisine. On a map Armenia looks to be between Russia & Asia so I’m not sure what to think but the menu sure looks similar to a nearby Lebanese restaurant I used to visit with my family. The names of some of the items are different yet the description sure looks Lebanese. Anyway, the staff wasn’t interested in seating us or even wanting to answer any questions we had so we left. Probably won’t go back after a slightly cold reception.

Visiting from California we have tasted all kinds of Armenian food so when visiting Chicago we came across Sayat Nova An Armenian restaurant we had to try it out Annnnddddd it was delicious … from A-​Z

For my first foray into Armenian food I sampled a number of the combo dishes. Pleasantly surprised by all. The red cabbage and white beans were especially tasty followed closely by the grape leaves.
The service was friendly and not overly attentive. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who is looking to try things Mediterranean with a slight flavor twist.

I ducked in here for lunch with The Bud while seeking shelter from the Chicago wind. What a serendipitous find. The menu consists of kebabs in all manner of meat and mezze plates. The kebabs are served with a flavorful rice pilaf. Their cocktail menu spans the alcohol spectrum, and their beer list includes an Armenian beer/​lager. I had the Paloma, a tequila/​grapefruit/​lime/​soda concoction that I recommend with tequila-​infused enthusiasm. If I were looking to dessert, I would have tried the Armenian coffee martini that is a combination of vanilla vodka, Baileys and Armenian coffee. Because. Coffee.
We were seated at a booth in a row of half-​moon booths along one wall where the wall behind each booth is decoratively cut away and back lit. It makes for an intimate and cozy conversation and eating area.
This is a perfectly respectable place to stop for a quick lunch before getting back to the vital business of supporting the economy of the Magnificent Mile. I’m willing to bet it’s downright romantic in the evening when the Moroccan-​style lighting fixtures can really throw their geometric light shapes around the place.

Ok food with abysmal service.
I’m Armenian and I would not come back here based on how unauthentic the food tasted.
The pilaf, however, was good.

Most of the items I tried at Sayat Nova were fine, but not stellar. The hummus appetizer was a bit grainy but okay, and it was served with fresh warm pitas. The number 2 combination at lunch features a nice assortment. I really liked the salad dressing, and the stuffed eggplant was good. the Plaki was pretty thin and rather flavorless.
But the Spinach Boereg was phenomenal – a perfectly flaky philo triangle filled with scrumptious sautéed spinach. I would definitely go back just for this one item, and probably try some kebabs or other items, too.
Service was very friendly, and the décor is neat, although I ate on the sidewalk because it was a beautiful day.

This little place was so awesome! Great food, super friendly staff. What more could you want? It was clean, the food was tasty, hot, served quickly with a smile.

The restaurant is definitely right place to go.
Live jazz ones a week and food is delicious!
Ohh, I almost forgot, Armenian coffee is great, should try!

Never tried Armenian food before, so I went there with an Armenian friend. The experience was great. I expected something in between Russian and Turkish food style, but it was something totally different.
Unfortunately, I had a small appetite that day, so I only tried the Kibbee, but it was absolutely delicious. Pay close attention to the sweet perfume of herbs and the taste of lamb… I loved that! Wish I was hungry enough to try the different appetizers, such as Hummus and Labneh which looked delicious… Will come back someday for those ones!
Also, a few words about the place. It is quiet and peaceful, but very close to the Magnificent Mile, so the location is perfect. They have a lovely small terrace with only 3 or 4 tables, it makes it so cozy! Finally, the service was absolutely perfect.

We came here on a whim while visiting Chicago. We actually found this restaurant on OpenTable as it was one of the only places with an open reservation for 9 (always a tough one).
Couple quick things about expectations of the place: We were a little hesitant going here as it had received so-​so reviews on both Unilocal and Open Table. In addition, the place was pretty empty when we got there. The emptiness probably had to do with the location (a little hard to find — especially being out of towners) and the weather (it was raining that night so most people probably chose not to go out).
The food — really good actually! I was super impressed by the appetizers. I love a good hummus and tzatki. We ordered a couple samplers and the server made sure to bring us extra pita which was great. The extra pita is definitely a must when trying out these dips! I ordered the mixed kebabs which were actually pretty good. I was a little disappointed by the rice — not as much flavor as I would have liked but that may have been the goal so it didn’t overpower the meat.
The atmosphere — super small and cozy place. They keep the lights pretty low which adds to the cozy and intimate atmosphere. There are some neat booths along the side that give you some privacy. We were at a large table in the middle so it wasn’t quite as intimate but it could be fun for a date night.
The service — this is where they lost me. Our server wasn’t that great. If the place had been super busy I would have understood her forgetting things or taking awhile to bring something but the place was almost empty. She forgot one of my co-​workers drinks and so he was sitting without for a bit. In addition, she just seem kind of irritated with us the whole time and I’m not sure why. I know that big groups can be a pain but I thought we were relatively laid back and not demanding.
As I was only visiting Chicago, this will not become a regular spot for me. However, if you’re looking for some good Middle Eastern food, you should definitely check this place out.

I can only say good things about our experience at Sayat Nova.
The restaurant was a peaceful refuge from the crowded Magnificent Mile. It was just a few yards away from the strip but it felt hidden away. Cozy crescent-​shaped booths, pendant lights, and candlelit tables set with flowers gave the room a romantic mood.
Each of our entrées came with a soup or salad served with warm pita triangles. The Red Lentil Soup was like a hug in a bowl – so smooth and comforting. I didn’t taste the House Salad but apparently their vinaigrette was excellent.
The two lamb entrées – Lamb Chops and Lamb Couscous – were well-​spiced and tender without being fatty. The fluffy couscous in my dish was moistened with a light tomato broth and served with a homemade hot sauce. The Chicken Couscous was served on a bed of couscous in tomato sauce with sautéed spinach. All three dishes were flavorful.
For dessert there was the Mahalabeya, a custardy pudding mold topped with walnuts and soaked in syrup. I ordered the Knafi, a shredded philo filled with a creamy custard. It looked like a giant shredded wheat biscuit but tasted like the top of crème brulee. There was also the Chocolate Mousse Cake, which was a winner judging from the clean plate.
They have live jazz every Tuesday that starts. We were treated to the sounds of the Erin McDougald Quintet, a guitar, drums and upright bass. The singer and instrumentals were so good that other customers were pulled in by the sounds wafting out through the open door.
I loved the food, the entertainment and the mellow atmosphere at Sayat Nova! It’s a great place for a date or to enjoy a laid-​back meal.

Very decent Armenian food, a modern yet interesting theme on the décor due to the curved bar and wall, and if you like live music, regular live music.
Soups were solid, drinks weren’t bad (I had something like a mojito, but not), and the mixed kebab combo was a reasonable size with pretty good flavor. Service was quite decent, if uneven.
Hard to get too excited about it unless you like live music with your dinner, tho. Just too much competition otherwise.

I had dinner here in a Tuesday night recently while in Chicago on business. I was walking down Michigan Ave. looking for a place to eat and saw this place. I noticed immediately they had to things I enjoy, Mediterranean food and live jazz!
I had a great experience here, the ambience was nice, the food was fresh and had great flavors and the Jazz trio plus singer were very good. Dinner service was a little on the slow side but I really didn’t mind since I was enjoying the music. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and will go again when I’m back in town.

Reasonably priced Armenian/​Middle Eastern food in a cosy, intimate setting.
We shared the baba ghannouj and labneh, served with warm pita, which were good but unspectacular. The lulla kebab was delicious, served with rice pilaf and a very tasty red lentil soup (it’s a thin, but not watery soup). Then we had the Armenian combo, with stuffed grape leaves, cheese boereg, kufta, grilled eggplant, and the soup. The grape leaves and eggplant didn’t have a lot of flavor, but the cheese boereg (phyllo stuffed with cheese) and kufta (Armenian style meatballs) were quite good. Overall, we shared four dishes with four people. The waiter divided the soups into four cups because we were sharing, which was appreciated. The food was good, but none of us thought it was particularly outstanding.

Sad to say watching an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians made me curious about Armenian food as they were eating some awesome dishes on a particular episode… sigh LOL
I came by recently and walked into very nice, cozy and dim lit place. I knew from the look and feel of the place we were going to have a nice meal. It was around 6PM on a Friday when we showed up and the place wasn’t very populated. This was good because so many booths were available and we got the one near the back in the corner… quite romantic! We started out with the Armenian Spinach which was crazy delicious. We shared it but I wanted to hog it all by myself because it was so good. The spinach is sautéed in onions and olive oil and comes along with a lemon wedge.
My entrée was even better as I got the Sautéed Lamb which is pieces of lamb sautéed with onions, tomatoes and green peppers along with rice pilaf. I enjoyed every bite! My dining companion got the sautéed shrimp and it was equally as good. Same dish except there was shrimp instead of lamb. Service was really good and music went well with scenery. I think its awesome that actual Armenians work here which assures you authenticity… awesome!