Amazing food and chill setting. Great place to take a date for an evening or bring a group. Their beer selection is excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mark Mamelian
Food was a 10/10. We took ours back to our hotel. The food traveled very well.shnorhakalut’
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Kebab, Spinach Boereg
Fiery Lioness
The booths are cool. The staff is fairly attentive. The Armenia-tini was delicious. The food was just ok, at best. We got the red cabbage, falafel, baba ghanoush, and a couple of other things. None of it was great. The baba ghanoush was ok. I usually love falafel, but it was very dry and overcooked. I would not recommend this restaurant or go back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Joyce D.
Food was outstanding, service was excellent! Have been going to Sayat Nova for over 40 years and they never disappoint.
Anderson Lemos
Amazing! Clean and fresh food. Excellent service (the owner came out and personally checked on us). Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kebab Combo
Greg K.
Great food - authentic preparations. When I want to connect to my heritage and eat the food my grandmothers made - this is where I go.
S. A. S.
This is one of our favorite places. We've been coming here for the nice atmosphere, friendly service and great meals for over 45 years. They make the best and most consistent hummus, tabbouleh, boereg and lentil soup on earth. We like to split the kabob combo dinner because we fill up on appetizers.6/12/21 They are closed now-hope they reopen.2024: They did reopen after a nice job of remodeling, and their food remains as wonderful as ever. So glad Armando is back!Our only suggestion is to lower the volume of the music (which now unfortunately includes some rap music).
Based on the yelp rating I wouldn't eat here but I was given a gift card so I tried. The food was rather bland. I don't think it is worth the price.
Andrew M
We’ve been here a few times and the service is always excellent. The food is consistently cooked well and gives a great representation of Armenian cuisine. I would definitely recommend the chili sauce as an accompaniment. If this place is local or you are visiting, it’s certainly worth a trip.
Akshatha K
My partner and I like try different cuisines and this restaurant looked like had a good ambience and food, so we decided to try it. Food is delicious- I loved the Spinach Boereg which was delicious and light and the lamb stuffed eggplant. Falafel was tasty as well and generously seasoned. Chicken kebab was okay, I found it bit overcooked but the meat was seasoned perfectly.The Interiors are really pretty with cute little booths. I had a draft of cold air coming through probably because the back opened up to kitchen but I didn’t mind it much since the food was great. Overall an amazing place and I’d visit again.Vegetarian options: Many vegetarian options in the Mezza and Side section. However, the main courses are mostly meat dishes.
After walking past this place several times I finally decided to try it this week. Sayat Nova checked all the boxes and I'm absolutely certain I'll be back. The inside is dimly lit and cozy making it a great spot for a date. They have booths against the wall that are in little alcoves offering privacy and a unique set up. We split a mezza platter and had a few kebabs. The hummus and lebnah were tasty and the pita came out piping hot. The pita wasn't anything special or seemingly homemade but it did the job as a vehicle for the spreads. Both the chicken and steak kebabs were cooked well and delicious. Taking away one star because as the restaurant got crowded the service became sparse. We had to flag down our waiter multiple times for water refills and waited a while for our check. He was running around so much it was difficult to get his attention even.
Sami
The food was excellent, tasty , fresh and really delicious. Our server was sweet , very helpful in making decisions we did not regret . We did not feel rushed at all . Over all the experience was excellent and we will be going back again and again . The owner came several times to make sure everything is okay . And greeted us when we arrived and when we left .
Chuck Knerr
This is the BEST ARMENIAN FOOD in the U.S.! I've eaten here on three different trips to Chicago. Tastes exactly like the yogurt soup, kuftas and sarma (with meat) my Armenian grandmother cooked. Eating here is a happy time machine taking me back to family and childhood. The best thing in Chicago!
DELICIOUS Armenian food. Stopped in as a solo diner at 5pm on a Saturday. I had a reservation but it wasn't very busy at that time so walk-in would have been totally fine. The Lulla Kebab (I got the 2 piece meat only) might have been the best kebab I've ever had. So juicy and bursting with flavor, with a slight char crisp on the outside. Also got the Raw Kibbee appetizer, which can be "regular" or "spicy". I got spicy and it did have a little kick! This is a raw meat dish, but it didn't have the same mouth feel as like a raw steak tartare. I think maybe due to the spices. This dish is heavily spiced/herbed and absolutely delicious drizzled in olive oil. They also gave me a complimentary basket of pita bread which was nice to eat with the Kibbee. Only thing about this dish was that it was way too much for just me, especially with how intensely flavored it was. A side of Jajic provided a nice contrast to the Kibbee. This was creamy and cooling with the mint yogurt sauce, with nice crunchy and lightly garlicky cucumbers. Finally a side of Spinach Boereg was fun as well! The pastry is so light, airy, flaky. With a hot melty spinach filling. Washed it all down with an Armenian beer that was crisp, refreshing, with a slightly sweet finish. Served cold with a chilled glass. Everything was phenomenal and I'm glad I found this place! Ambiance inside was very cool and unique as well. Dimly light with colored walls and Armenian (I think?) music, beautiful fabric benches. I kind of felt like I was in an underground cave on the main floor. Looks like they did have a lower area level as well, though it was empty when I was there.
Mobyville
The place was packed, but a great table was available for us. All staff cheerful and helpful; old favorites were set before us and we were reminded why these are our favorites. The whole visit was everything we wanted: all stars all around!
Amazing food and chill setting. Great place to take a date for an evening or bring a group. Their beer selection is excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was a 10/10. We took ours back to our hotel. The food traveled very well.shnorhakalut’
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Kebab, Spinach Boereg
The booths are cool. The staff is fairly attentive. The Armenia-tini was delicious. The food was just ok, at best. We got the red cabbage, falafel, baba ghanoush, and a couple of other things. None of it was great. The baba ghanoush was ok. I usually love falafel, but it was very dry and overcooked. I would not recommend this restaurant or go back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Food was outstanding, service was excellent! Have been going to Sayat Nova for over 40 years and they never disappoint.
Amazing! Clean and fresh food. Excellent service (the owner came out and personally checked on us). Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kebab Combo
Great food - authentic preparations. When I want to connect to my heritage and eat the food my grandmothers made - this is where I go.
This is one of our favorite places. We've been coming here for the nice atmosphere, friendly service and great meals for over 45 years. They make the best and most consistent hummus, tabbouleh, boereg and lentil soup on earth. We like to split the kabob combo dinner because we fill up on appetizers.6/12/21 They are closed now-hope they reopen.2024: They did reopen after a nice job of remodeling, and their food remains as wonderful as ever. So glad Armando is back!Our only suggestion is to lower the volume of the music (which now unfortunately includes some rap music).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hummus, Spinach Boereg, Kebab Combo
Based on the yelp rating I wouldn't eat here but I was given a gift card so I tried. The food was rather bland. I don't think it is worth the price.
We’ve been here a few times and the service is always excellent. The food is consistently cooked well and gives a great representation of Armenian cuisine. I would definitely recommend the chili sauce as an accompaniment. If this place is local or you are visiting, it’s certainly worth a trip.
My partner and I like try different cuisines and this restaurant looked like had a good ambience and food, so we decided to try it. Food is delicious- I loved the Spinach Boereg which was delicious and light and the lamb stuffed eggplant. Falafel was tasty as well and generously seasoned. Chicken kebab was okay, I found it bit overcooked but the meat was seasoned perfectly.The Interiors are really pretty with cute little booths. I had a draft of cold air coming through probably because the back opened up to kitchen but I didn’t mind it much since the food was great. Overall an amazing place and I’d visit again.Vegetarian options: Many vegetarian options in the Mezza and Side section. However, the main courses are mostly meat dishes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Falafel
Restaurantji Recommends
After walking past this place several times I finally decided to try it this week. Sayat Nova checked all the boxes and I'm absolutely certain I'll be back. The inside is dimly lit and cozy making it a great spot for a date. They have booths against the wall that are in little alcoves offering privacy and a unique set up. We split a mezza platter and had a few kebabs. The hummus and lebnah were tasty and the pita came out piping hot. The pita wasn't anything special or seemingly homemade but it did the job as a vehicle for the spreads. Both the chicken and steak kebabs were cooked well and delicious. Taking away one star because as the restaurant got crowded the service became sparse. We had to flag down our waiter multiple times for water refills and waited a while for our check. He was running around so much it was difficult to get his attention even.
The food was excellent, tasty , fresh and really delicious. Our server was sweet , very helpful in making decisions we did not regret . We did not feel rushed at all . Over all the experience was excellent and we will be going back again and again . The owner came several times to make sure everything is okay . And greeted us when we arrived and when we left .
This is the BEST ARMENIAN FOOD in the U.S.! I've eaten here on three different trips to Chicago. Tastes exactly like the yogurt soup, kuftas and sarma (with meat) my Armenian grandmother cooked. Eating here is a happy time machine taking me back to family and childhood. The best thing in Chicago!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hummus, Spinach Boereg, Grape Leaves
DELICIOUS Armenian food. Stopped in as a solo diner at 5pm on a Saturday. I had a reservation but it wasn't very busy at that time so walk-in would have been totally fine. The Lulla Kebab (I got the 2 piece meat only) might have been the best kebab I've ever had. So juicy and bursting with flavor, with a slight char crisp on the outside. Also got the Raw Kibbee appetizer, which can be "regular" or "spicy". I got spicy and it did have a little kick! This is a raw meat dish, but it didn't have the same mouth feel as like a raw steak tartare. I think maybe due to the spices. This dish is heavily spiced/herbed and absolutely delicious drizzled in olive oil. They also gave me a complimentary basket of pita bread which was nice to eat with the Kibbee. Only thing about this dish was that it was way too much for just me, especially with how intensely flavored it was. A side of Jajic provided a nice contrast to the Kibbee. This was creamy and cooling with the mint yogurt sauce, with nice crunchy and lightly garlicky cucumbers. Finally a side of Spinach Boereg was fun as well! The pastry is so light, airy, flaky. With a hot melty spinach filling. Washed it all down with an Armenian beer that was crisp, refreshing, with a slightly sweet finish. Served cold with a chilled glass. Everything was phenomenal and I'm glad I found this place! Ambiance inside was very cool and unique as well. Dimly light with colored walls and Armenian (I think?) music, beautiful fabric benches. I kind of felt like I was in an underground cave on the main floor. Looks like they did have a lower area level as well, though it was empty when I was there.
The place was packed, but a great table was available for us. All staff cheerful and helpful; old favorites were set before us and we were reminded why these are our favorites. The whole visit was everything we wanted: all stars all around!