Sia Restaurant — Restaurant in Sibiu

New place in town, so let me start with the full experience, first with the reservation.

I check the website and see it possible to reserve online, but no option for half hour increments so I decide to call. First number is out of service, but second one answered and the reservation was made quick and easy.

My company arrived before me and they sat outside, and when we wanted to go sit inside, the staff was kind enough to check the availability and move us in.

All good so far, we sit and order, me having 3 items and a bottle of water. I get that it was almost full and expected some delays, but we waited around 15 minutes and no water came, even the food came before it.

Let's talk food now. Gyoza is as it should be but personally not a fan of the Katsuobushi flakes on top, that in my opinion overpowered the ckicken taste with it's own fish taste. The Bao Buns were delicious and no comments for them, but for the Ramen I have some remarks. I have been 2 times to Japan, I am a Ramen fanatic, I have eaten at least 30 types of Ramen dishes so far, passionated about cooking Ramen so I can appreciate as follows: Ajitamago (boiled and marinated egg) was 10/10, soft boiled and delicious, the char siu a bit thick for Japanese style, could use a mit more marinade but melted in my mouth so 9/10, the noodles were ok but for my bowl, they were a bit starchy and were stuck to eachother (when boiling, they should be stirred a bit to avoid sticking) so 8/10, as for the soup, maybe I had high expectations, but the intensity was lacking. I am not saying it was a bad soup, I give it an 8/10 since it mixed well and the chicken taste was present. Overall for the Ramen, I give it a 8.5/10.

A bit too much time passed until the table was cleared, and since I went to get a menu, I ordered also desert when the table was cleared.

Amazing desert, the sticky toffee pudding was a hit!

When we asked for the check, it also felt more that 15 minutes to arrive, as we were almost prepared to go pay at the counter.

To sum up, there is room for improvement on the site as there are some typos and some info does not work, for the service, it was great with a bit more to go until amazing, and the Ramen is almost there as the Japanese do it. Gambare!

The duration of stay was about 2 hours and 20 minutes, overall experience is 9/10 taking into consideration the place, location, menu, prices, items and service.

I get that they are at the beginning and things can get better so I will definively come again for an update on my review, this is for sure a place to look out for and which has the only Ramen in Sibiu. I...

Sia has been recently opened at the time I'm writing this and the 5 star reviews just keep on flowing which leaves me a bit puzzled. Let's start with the positive: this restaurant is unique in Sibiu. Asian fusion is a welcome addition to Sibiu's food scene. However is that enough to charge the prices they ask? Let us see...

Their ramen is good. The egg is the best part of it, meat is soft, noodles are ok and broth has a decent balance. However... ramen is a soup. I ate ramen in Japan, it's considered common basic food in there. It's not like you need a 3 star Michelin chef to cook it. It's like ciorba in Romania. However it is the only ramen in Sibiu and it's fine so that's to be appreciated.

Moving on to rice with shrimps. The rice was too al dente for me, but maybe that's up to personal taste. Not too much shrimp in there. Tasty but... 9 euros? Hmm.

Bao buns... this was way too simple. I'm not a big fan of Chinese buns overall but even so I have to really disagree with the praises from a few other reviewers. It's just good dough with decent meat and a few pieces of unremarkable pickled cucumber.

The beef tartare was a disappointment. Way too salty, the pickles taste overpowered the other ingredients and the worst of it the beef itself felt more like pastrami than like raw fresh meat.

Conclusion: if you've got the money to spend on somewhat overpriced dishes do try it and make your own opinion. However do not expect to find the best restaurant in Sibiu because Sia is certainly not it. It is however an experience that you will not find anywhere else...

Firstly, one would have to start with the attitude of the staff that strikes you as they greet you in the restaurant. The people working there are top notch, friendly and warm. They make you feel welcomed, and their recommendations are awesome. Next is the spotless restroom that one uses to wash the hands before digging in the awesome food. Now, getting to the delicious part, the food. The menu has 23 options for food and 3 deserts, but those are made to perfection. We had the Crispy peanuts Broccoli and Kimchi Salad, and what i must say that this is the most incredible Broccoli that you can eat. My wife had the Italian Aubergine with mozzarella and a smoked cheese cream. One could hardly believe aubergine can taste like that and have that texture. For desert, the pistachio tiramisu is delicate and creamy, and the sticky toffee pudding is out of this world. I actually had the pleasure to meed the Chef, who created the wonderful dish my wife and I had. Talking with him we understood why the food tastes like it tastes, because he really loves this. The dishes he makes have an immense amount of flavor, taste and texture. Please, do make time and visit Sia in Sibiu, you and your taste buds will experience...