Sao

My wife and I had an incredible experience at Sao last night. From the moment we sat down, our server, Demetri, was fantastic. He was extremely knowledgeable, answered all of our questions, and guided us through the menu so we could put together a great meal. The food was absolutely outstanding. We ordered several seafood and steak dishes, and every plate was delicious. We also loved our desserts. We can't wait to come back.

My boyfriend and I decided to do a walk-in around roughly 5pm and the anticipated wait time was 4 hours… needless to say we waited 4 hours to try one of the BEST meals I’ve had in a while! I’m a big fan of MAWN but SAO blew me away. The sweetness of the oysters, the freshness of the seafood, and the ambience?? Phewww! The chirashi bowl was the star of our night. That’s not to say all the other dishes we tried had didn’t have me drooling mid-bite. Now, I’m not one to ever write reviews, but SAO deserves to be glazed. I would definitely go back here and order again, and again. I’m actually looking at pictures and reminiscing about the meal I just had. That’s all. If you’re ever in Philly, I would try to walk in and snag a table.

So impressed with Sao! One of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a while, and we love to try new restaurants. Innovative, flavorful, surprising and delightful! Dmitri was wonderful, friendly and attentive, giving us great recommendations. Everything was delicious, so flavorful: fresh oysters, specialty beef skewers, soft shell shrimp, and the hoe cake (topped with trout salad and roe). The hoe cake - now I get why this is such a hit here - the combination of sweet, buttery cornbread-cake, savory and creamy trout salad, and crunchy roe balanced each other perfectly and exceeded my expectations. The little neck clams were a bit salty for my taste, but everything else was so good I look forward to coming back to try more dishes. Recommendations: lower the salt level on clams and add vegan/dairy free dessert options like sorbet.

On top of amazing food, we also got to dine with freaking JASON KELCE two tables away from us!!! If he’s also eating at Sao, you know it’s good. Here’s what to definitely order: - Hamachi Crudo - Dayboat Scallop Crudo - Head on Soft Shell Shrimp - Garlic Fried Chicken - Hoe Cake (ask for this to come out towards the end as it’s half sweet/can sub for dessert basically) - Scallops in Crab Gravy (similar to Khao Soi sauce at Mawn) We thought the chicken cutlet was on the dry side. Needed the fish sauce caramel on the side at least for dipping.

fantastic meal. The soft shell shrimp was perfect and similar to the ones at Mawn. Scallop crudo was seasoned very well. Hoe cake was amazing — it’s like a hot buttery, sweet cornbread top with crab salad and roll. The combination just made it very fantastic. Scallop with crab gravy was served on rice on a bowel. The over all dish was slightly salty but the scallops are taste. Pumpkin spice woopy pie was not too sweet and very well executed. We thought overall it was better than what we had at Mawn and Kalaya. Will try to come back.

This was our second time dining at Sao, and somehow, it was better than the first time. Everything we ordered was delicious and the pacing was great. Our waiter, Dmitri, was very knowledgeable and kind to us during our dining experience. I can’t recommend Sao enough!

First and foremost, shout-out Dimitri for the best service I've ever had in a restaurant in Philly. Secondly, but as importantly, Sao is one of the best meals you can have in Philly right now. Must-haves include the Henny Lemonade, the Hoe Cake, the Beef Noodles, and the Hamachi Crudo with Coconut Cream. We will definitely be back again!

Sao is a different experience than Mawn, but it still feels familiar in some ways. The menu is seafood-forward and everything sounds delicious! We tried oysters for the first time, and the Shigoku were my fave. They were a bit sweet and not as salty/briny as other oyster varieties. The honey butter hoe cake is an explosion of sweet and salty flavors. It was the perfect combination and we ate it SO FAST! The garlic fried chicken was so good that we were sopping up leftover sauce with the fried gizzards that were at the bottom of the bowl. Our entrees were the Mee Caton and the Scallops in Crab Gravy. Both entrees were delicious and filling. Their cocktails were very well done - the milk punch was delicate and strong at the same time, but in a good way! Lastly, our server, Demetrius, was super attentive and helped us pick a good selection of oysters. He also lit a candle and gave us Thai iced teas to celebrate my birthday! We will definitely be back if we can snag another reservation!

We visited @saophilly for the first time. Y'all -- I wanted to cry at multiple points in this meal. We sat at the bar, highly recommend as you may witness a live fish butchering or just get to talk to dope people like D and Steph! Their service was phenomenal and didn't miss a beat. Anyway, oysters were (apparently) delicious - I tried the Lao Crack sauce and was immediately obsessed. Please bottle and sell in 12oz portions!! Hamachi crudo and the spotted prawn crudo. Both were amazing but the hamachi won my vote. It was like butter and a flavor explosion at the same time. However, the Honey Butter Hoe Cake will live in my dreams until I have it again. A perfectly cooked hot cake/pancake topped with smoked trout salad and roe... This blew my mind and was easily one of my favorites. We also had the special edition of the Mee Caton which had scallops, shrimp and lump crab meat instead of the beef for the night. BIG FAN of this dish and would definitely have again. Only wish there were more noodles. The Mawn Cutlet was super crispy and topped with Parmesan galore. Can attest that next day it's slaps just as hard. Finally the whoopie pie dessert... So good I ordered a second one to take home. The restaurant is small but the vibes are great. It's low key, and chill. Very cute for date night, or like small family dinner. Would not suggest for more than 4 people in one party as a heads up. This one goes on the must try list! And, as a Yelp insider tip, reservations are hard to come by, but if you don't mind a game of chance... Show up, put your name on the wait-list and then grab a drink at one of the other places nearby. You'll be happy you did

absolutely obsessed with this restaurant, phila lorn has done it again! mawn is my favorite restaurant in philly, so i was super excited to try this new addition. i love the crudo specials at mawn, so i knew that this spot will be right up my alley. i've been to mawn countless times, so my friend and i were trying to avoid repeats. i had to try one of each oyster variety, and my friend and i shared three of the four crudos. i absolutely loved the aged hamachi and spotted prawns crudo. everything was so bright and flavorful, and the seafood is delightfully fresh. i enjoyed the oysters as well, but i think the crudos were much more unique -- there is no shortage of exceptional oysters in philly. my friend and i also shared the scallop in crab gravy which was decadent and super flavorful. i loved every bite and couldn't get enough. the hoe cakes were super rich as well. i loved the buttery pancake paired with the umami of the trout salad and roe. for cocktails, i tried the milk punch which was absolutely delicious. it smelled smokey which worried me, but the drink was sweet and refreshing. i could not taste the alcohol at all. super dangerous drink, i could easily down 5 of them. my friend and i were so stuffed we opted to skip dessert, but i already have another reservation and will be back soon... can't wait to try more!

There really needs to be a half rating on this platform. I enjoyed Sao, not as much as its older sister, Mawn, which is why I rounded down from 4.5. Overall, the space is cute, well decorated, a clear theme, and I like that this space has a bar/oyster counter for walk ins. It's dimly lit, which gives it a sexier vibe than mawn but it's still casual and fits the ambiance of most restaurants on east passayunk. The food was very tasty. It's clear that Chef Phila (James beard award winning chef) has carried their personality and style over to this restaurant. If you get anything at this restaurant, let it be the hoe cake. I've never had anything like it. The pancake has a subtle sweetness and it's perfectly contrasted with the white fish salad and roe on top. We also enjoyed the special chicken skewers (delicious), the scallops in crab gravy (khao soi flavor profile if you've had the dish at mawn), garlic fried chicken (crispy but not dried out!), and I last minute ordered the papaya salad after a pang of jealousy watching another table get it delivered (carry over from mawn). I was really impressed with the cook on the scallops in my dish as they were lightly coated in batter and fried but not over cooked! All in all, we enjoyed ourselves! I would recommend you check it out (especially if you like oysters).

The owners of Mawn have done it again with this additional restaurant. I'm not a big oyster person but decided to order a couple and let the waitress pick which ones for me and I must say they were pretty good where I might have to start eating them more often. To drink I got tequila drink that had beer in it as well and it was very delicious. For my entree they had a twist to their Mee Caton usually made with beef but the special had crab and shrimp instead and man oh man it was one of the best meals I ever had. For dessert I squeezed in some cream brûlée that put the icing on the cake. It definitely can be hard to get reservation here but it is worth it. They do have a bar for walk ins as well but can be busy. All the staff was really nice and helpful. My glass of water was always full

If you are lucky enough to get a reservation don't hesitate to go and make the most of your time here. Everything we ate was top notch, there's nothing I wouldn't order again and we got most of the menu options. The service and ambiance of the restaurant were spot on and worth visiting because of it. Definitely worth the effort of getting the reservation and I can't wait to go back.

Service was inattentive and it felt like I was annoying them by wanting to order drinks and food. Oysters had a bunch of shell fragments in them. The rest of the food was 10/10, order as many crudos as you can, papaya salad was great, the hoe cake was my favorite of the night. Space is tiny and had to wait a while after our reservation time