SYKO — Restaurant in New York

Alright, let's talk about this place. If you're looking for a Michelin-star, white-tablecloth, "pinkies out" dining experience, you've come to the wrong spot. Like, way wrong. This is the kind of place where your dating profile picture might accurately depict you awkwardly holding a delicious, overstuffed burrito with sauce on your cheek. And honestly? I wouldn't have it any other way. The food is great, bordering on "I'm pretty sure I just transcended" levels of tasty. And don't even get me started on the fusion – it's like a culinary Frankenstein's monster, but in the best possible way. The Korean add-ons? Shut up and take my money. Seriously, whoever thought of that deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for flavor. Plus, they're not stingy with the portions, which means you're getting a generous helping of deliciousness. No sad, lonely burritos here. Now, for the "grab and go" reality check. The service is fast, so fast you might get whiplash from the sheer speed of your order being taken and fulfilled. You can even watch them whip up your food right there at the window, which is either fascinating or slightly terrifying depending on how hungry you are. But here's the kicker: the line. It can get long. We're talking "forming a small, hungry village" long. And once you've got your delicious bounty, don't expect to sprawl out in a plush armchair. There are very few seats, so embrace the "eat standing up like a sophisticated scavenger" vibe or plan to picnic on the...

There are not many times where I visit a restaurant and immediately feel like part of the family but at SYKO I did. James might be the nicest person I've ever met, answering all kinds of questions about the menu and showing us pictures of what we were asking about. He was so enthusiastic and proud of everything they do there which made the experience of eating there even better. He treated my friend and I to a fresh falafel and I can definitively sat its the best falafel I've ever had. It had a really nice crunchy crust with a creamy flavorful center. With a little dollop of hummus and fresh mint on top it was perfect.

James also helped us choose the best dishes to accommodate my friend who is vegetarian and he even made sure the cooks behind the counter split the Syko Box Sampler (which contains vegetarian pieces and meat pieces) into separate boxes. Everything we had was delicious but some of the standouts were the fried tofu with kimchi, kibbeh with labneh, Sujok Arayes which were like Syrian quesadillas and the baba ganoush. Also their date filled cookies (I think they were called maamoul?) were delicious.

The restaurant space is small but they have lots of outdoor seating which is really nice.

I rarely feel the need to ever write a review but after eating all that amazing food and trying the cookies at home I knew I needed to. This small business is obviously doing all the right things and they really are the nicest people. I plan on going back...

I really can’t overstate what a disappointment this spot was. The moment we entered, a very unfriendly women with headphones in greeted us at the counter. We were directed to select from their lunch menu. The first sign something was wrong was that they were serving a French Fry sandwich for $13 (we asked what was on it: just bread, fries, and coleslaw).

The person at the counter couldn’t hear our order because she had a headphone still in and then proceeded to come around the front to look at the menu item we repeated multiple times. I wouldn’t have minded except she had headphones in, so of course she couldn’t hear us?

We ordered a $20 Bibimbap (which traditionally comes with meat) that was not labeled vegetarian and we walked out with a bowl that was 70% rice and 30% soggy cold veggies with no meat. If a traditionally meat-containing item is on your menu with no further description, it should have meat. If not, it should be labeled as vegetarian. Especially at $20!!!

The remaining door was soggy, flavorless, and inedible.

I write all this because I genuinely care about people paying for something worth their money, and this is not it. Don’t let an Infatuation review trick you.

Maybe it was an off day, but the overall experience was really one of the worst I’ve had in a while. I really care about small businesses and hate to give such a bad write up but hopefully it sparks some change because with the prices and quality, I don’t expect this...