Port Sa’id — Restaurant in New York

Aight listen. Port Sa’id. The vibes themselves are immaculate. It’s a spacious, vibey environment that definitely represents Israeli culture in a very cool, almost 60s/70s “frozen in time” throwback way. A live DJ on the 1s & 2s playing a nice mix of middle eastern-influenced electronica & downtempo music out of larger than life custom all-wood speaker/ about 20 feet high each in front of a wall of classic records, adjacent to an open-floor plan facing kitchen, coupled with an eclectic & high energy staff makes for the wrapper of this restaurant largely a 9/10.

Unfortunately as we learned on this trip, it’s about what’s on the inside as much as what’s in the outside - looking inside to the food, that may be where the stellar performance of this restaurant presents itself less well.

My squad of 4 (all Jews, mind you 🙏🏻) probably ordered half of what’s on the menu and we were transparently a little disappointed on the flavor of foods versus crowd favorites such as 12 chairs let alone Lazer Wolf. Nothing was particularly bad - it just lacked that “Wow” factor, that flavor profile that really sets you back in your chair and makes you say like an old Jewish man witnessing a home run at Yankee stadium “that’s really something.”

Items like the burnt potato weren’t bad - there just wasn’t much to it. Literally a sweet potato with crème fraiche - needed some seasoning beyond the good roasting it came with.

The chicken sandwich also was like something you got out of a gourmet convenience store - almost like your grandma’s chicken salad if she wasn’t that good of a cook.

That being said the lamb kebab was good albeit a small portion - recommend you get several of those to go around, and the hummus was actually very creamy & fluffy. Almost air whipped.

There oddly, sadly is literally zero pita at this place to go with that hummus or any other dish. You’re somewhat strangely getting thinly sliced challah to go with it and it’s not toasted nor particularly moist for it being “our people’s” bread - we can do better. I’m all for Ashkenazi and Sephardi intermarriages #onepeople except for here when it’s this challah and hummus.

Again on the plainness, the cheesecake (shout out Nafty) was fluffy but lacked flavor depth and did not even have any sort of crust base (a La graham cracker) which also hurt the structural integrity of the dessert. For a people who never fold under pressure, this cheesecake did not represent the Jews well. While this may be Israeli style to have no crust(?) we felt they just needed more of a punch. Similar goes for the peach crumble - not bad, but Aviva’s crumble cobbler from Friday absolutely ran circles around this. It was just rather plain.

Vibes: 9/10 Food: 6.3/10 Overall experience 6.8/10

Would I go back with friends, & will this place last in the busy lexicon of Israeli-American restaurants? Absolutely. Are there better Israeli staples around the city like 12 chairs (casual/party) or lazer wolf (nicer). You bet. And there’s the fat on the Port Said skinny....

Had a large party dinner there last night. Here’s what’s good:

hummus music spicy marg

Here’s the disaster and why you should avoid this place:

table took 20 minutes to set up 1 of us had a dairy allergy and we warned them. TLDR they did not accommodate and we found out the hard way ordered hummus for table, they bring out ONE piece of bread all portions were small, not enough for 8. So everyone left hungry cleared 3 orders before we were finished forgot to bring 3 dishes. Finally brought out 2 after 2 hours but already cleared everyone’s plates and silverware so food sat there til we could flag someone down (10 minutes or so) dirty martini arrived green - imagine if someone filled the glass with olive juice. We thought they were pranking us and when we asked, doubled down “that’s how we serve it here” when the cleared the table, they dropped a huge sour cream on my suede boots, my pants and friends dress and just walked away. Accidents happen but dude, I am flagging you for a napkin, pay attention.

Overall, this place just felt like they were overwhelmed the entire time and struggling with communication between themselves. Maybe it’s cuz a few of the waiters were smoking weed outside. Maybe it’s cuz the kitchen says they sent out food and we had 6 different people wait on us, so chaos ensues. Or maybe this place just isn’t good. We were very positive and wanted to like it, but it just missed the mark on a pretty big celebratory dinner.

Food is fine DJ plays good music Portions small Service is garbage Price is ridiculous even for NYC (4 tiny...

Port Sa'id is one of those restaurants that reminds you why you didn't want to eat at home that night. It is lively with a vibrant energy that makes you feel like you've both entered a house party and a chef's table experience. I've now been back multiple times, often bringing friends or family who are visiting from out of town and want more than just a great meal, but an experience. On weekends the music is key to make you dance a little in your seat and get you hyped for the club/bar you plan to hit after, but it also doesn't overpower the intimacy of the low-lighting and cozy window seating. The menu is classic Eyal Shani... seasonal, local veg/proteins are celebrated with a flavorsome twist and light-hearted dish titles. The food here is ideal to share, perfect for bonding with your friends around a table, cocktails in hand. The menu is also very diverse, so it is easy to accommodate a lot of dietary restrictions or preferences, and the servers here are amazing at checking in about that and recommending items accordingly. In that vein, the service overall is warm and energetic. You are a guest at their party, and they ensure you're having a fun time...and getting your drinks refilled ;) You will be checked in on, but also given space to have fun and not feel too perceived.

I highly recommend the hummus gargarim, bread salad (probably my favorite item on the menu), lubina chrime (tender and flavorful fish), spicy instruments (if you like a kick), and tatami for dessert (its like better tiramisu).

I...