Sayat Nova Restaurant

I had a disgusting, terrible experience at this «restaurant», I you can even call it that.
I was invited for a middle eastern friend’s party (As you can see, I am white, not an arab) but what I arrived to was very underwhelming — smoking is rampant, singing is poor, and the service is absolutely terrible. They are disgusting and overpriced.
An F experience.

Horrible place! Bad service, the food is not fresh and all the waitress are rude. Avoid this place is bad. Worst experience ever! I went there to have a good time and do some hookah; rather drive a little and go to Wine and Spirit at Edge Water!

I visited this restaurant couple of weeks ago. I tried the chicken lunch special and it was a disaster. the rice was watery and flavourless and the chicken tasted like it’s been cooked a week ago. The service is shameful. I do recommend it if you want to a chicken that tastes like a fridge. Live long chef mic!

it says it open today from 11 to 7
we went there at 2: 30
and they said they close at 3!!!
we made a long trip
change the hours

Wonderful Lunch Special $ 8.00.
Great service. Check it out! BYOB.
Had the chicken rice and salad. With drink and desert. Close to my office so I will frequent and keep everyone posted of my experiences here. :) So Far? 5 Stars!

This place have the poorest customer service I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s June 24^th, 2015 –3:45pm afternoon and it took 10 minutes for someone to come to my table after I walked in for lunch. Good food but bad bad bad service

The food here is amazing especailly the lunch special is worth the money. However as most of reviewers have noticed the service is a bit slow and you will find the resturant empty at all times am not sure if its the same case for the evenings.

Hummus is great and has lasted me almost a week. The falafel was delightful as we’ll. A little pricey but large portions. I got take out but would come back to dine in for dinner as it’s convenient. The place was pretty deserted. One customer (I think there were two total) was smoking hookah which smelled pretty good. Definitely becoming a staple in my diet.

I was stuck running errand in the Hackensack area and saw this restaurant. The restaurant caught my eye but the nice girl Anna was outside handing out flyers. I stopped and said hello to Anna to see what the flyer had — at that time she pointed out an 8 dollar lunch special. I stepped inside to an apparently near empty restaurant and Anna seated me.
The restaurant has a warm feeling with a stage for weekend entertainment. I didn’t stay long as this was w running lunch for me but I did order the Lamb Gyro. The food was delicious.
I think the restaurant may be family owned and operated as it seemed to me that the staff would disappear for long periods (perhaps watching TV or to an adjacent living area. Either way service was fine and the food was good.
The restaurant does have a 10 dollar minimum credit card charge; but they let me charge just my 8 dollar lunch without much hassle. I hope to bring a large group here sometime for the weekend fun!

I have to admit that this food here is absolutely wonderful. Everything is fresh and tasty, and USUALLY worth the extra cost.
But their service leaves something to be desired. I went after placing an order. The lights were on, the door was open, but the place was like a ghost town. Finally someone came from the back to let me know, rudely, that — No, no orders were placed, No, we’re not open.
*sigh* And I got my hopes up for some really good food.

This place is a mess! I went to this place on April 15 for my bday dinner. The place is look like close from outside. But the sign is OPEN, so we came in. Nobody there, I called so many times. No one answer, but I heard some one talking. So I keep calling, finally a woman come out. She didn’t say anything, like welcome or even more sorry for waiting too long or whatever. So I asked her, are you open? No, she said. Unbelievable answered. But the sign is OPEN, I told her. I expected apologize this time. But you know what? She just said, yeah but the kitchen is closed. What the ??? It’s around 6pm! What kind of reason is that?! I will never step my feet back there again!!!

Byob. That’s always good. Open and serves food late. $ 50 gets you meza: hummus babaganoush kibba basterma lebna borak kebsay and kebob. Live music on saturday.

Slightly pricey but worth it! I am told by Middle Eastern friends that this is the best ME restaurant in north NJ. We went on a non-​singing night so it was very empty. Owner was very friendly and attentive!

Horrible. Walked In there with 6 coworkers on a Wednesday evening and waited 15 min for a waitress to take our order only to be told that they only had THREE things available to order off of their entire menu! The staff was rude and very unapologetic!!! They could have Just told us when we first walked in! Horrible service and would never go back!

Not only was the food great, but the owner and waiters were amazing! We had hookah after our meals, and it was so smooth. Would definitely recommend this place!

The food is awesome. Hookah is awesome. Its pricey but hey if your into fine dining this is your spot… I was impressed with the quality of customers they were all drs, lawers, business men etc… All in all its a top notch place food is phenomenal… I am very impressed.

Good food friendly staff

I went here on a Friday night at about 8:30pm. There was one large table of old women chattering away and they seemed to be the owners or relatives of the owners. No one came out to seat us so I left. Not welcoming at all, I felt like I walked into someones house uninvited.

If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it is injustice. Despite all the naysayers and skeptics out there (keep barking at the moon, morons!) Unilocal is a great leveler. An honest business needs to focus on one thing alone: customer satisfaction — and the good word will get out there.
The number of Armenian restaurants in the Tri-​state area can be counted on one hand. So, it bothered me no end to read a review for Sayat Nova a few weeks back that was so over-​the-​top in its criticism of the restaurant that it reeked of foul play.
It wasn’t an auspicious beginning. I walked into an empty restaurant at 2:30 pm, and there wasn’t even anyone to greet me. I waited and shouted hello for a while, but to no avail. As I looked around, I saw the telephone, and so decided to call up the restaurant to get someone to pick up the ringing phone and usher me in. Seeing the empty restaurant, I thought that cramming people on top of each other, as the criticism went, would be the least of the restaurant’s problems!
Ultimately someone came to pick up the phone and sheepishly beckoned me inside. I asked for the dinner menu instead to sample some of the Armenian options that weren’t part of the budget friendly lunch menu. The lady was curious as to how I knew of the popular Sujok (ground beef mixed with garlic, herbs, and spices), and then explained that their roots were of Armenian settlers in Syria. The Mediterranean menu is thus reflective of a strong Turkish influence (evident from dishes like Adana Kebab, Iskender Kebab etc.), given the geopolitical history of the region.
I was offered a complimentary, creamy Hummus with warm pita bread, getting all the basics right. But, in ordering two appetizers (as opposed to 1 app and 1 entrée) I hadn’t counted on their generous serving size, and struggled to polish off the plates. The Kibbeh balls (ground beef and cracked wheat filled with seasoned meat, then fried) had some of the best texture I’ve sampled, while the Toshka beef (ground sirloin beef spread in pita bread with Syrian Cheese and then grilled over fire) was also tasteful. The highlight of the meal was the Kazandibi (Turkish for” bottom of the pot”): the cold, light, refreshing and delicious milk pudding that is artfully caramelized on one side. Sayat Nova’s version was more caramelized, and served with whipped cream and chocolate syrup was more like a European pastry, compared to the rectangular rolls I’ve eaten at Turkish establishments.
While I can’t vouch whether the poet-​songwriter-​monk Sayat Nova would laud their evening entertainment or hookah lounge, and might concede that the price points of entrees are on the higher side — clearly their food quality and personal attention in service are both top notch. I would definitely stop by here were I hankering for a Mediterranean experience.

Was in Hackensack last week and tried Sayat Nova Cuisine on a whim. I had heard nothing about the restaurant, and decided to try it. On this particular day I got very lucky. Sayat Nova has outstanding meditteranean [ I know the spelling is fucked up ] food.
I ordered the gyro and chicken dish with rice. Arrived hot and was full of flavor. I also ordered the tomato salad, which was outstanding. I wouldn’t hesistate to drive to this place again to eat just for dinner [ I am in Neptune an hour away ]. It was that good.