Sayat Ozyilmaz

Coming Up

Sayat Ozyilmaz trained at Dartmouth College and The Culinary Institute of America before beginning a career that moved from engineer to the kitchen. That early shift suggests a mind drawn not only to flavor, but to structure: how systems work, how people move through them, how a meal can be both craft and choreography. In the professional kitchens that followed, he accumulated experience across some of the most closely watched rooms in contemporary dining. Sayat went on to work as chef at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, chef at Le Bernardin, staging chef at Spago, staging chef at Bourbon Steak, staging chef at Husk, staging chef at Pujol, and chef at Saison in San Francisco. Each of those roles added another layer to his formation, from the rigor implied by the title of chef to the perspective gained through staging in kitchens with distinct tempos and ambitions. Over time, the arc of his career broadened beyond individual positions into leadership and ownership. From there, Sayat became co-founder and operator at Istanbul Modern SF in San Francisco (until 2019). Today, Sayat is co-owner and executive chef of Noosh (since 2019) and owner and executive chef of Dalida.

Where They Are Now

Today, Ozyilmaz is owner and executive chef of Dalida in San Francisco, a role tied to 2023 and to his work as chef-owner of the restaurant. Dalida’s specialty is Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, and the restaurant’s spirit is rooted in a philosophy that feels both intimate and expansive: hospitality, fresh ingredients, familiar flavors, shared plates, and the principle of “little little in the middle.” In practice, that means a table designed less around hierarchy than around gathering, where dishes are meant to encourage conversation and the slow unfolding of a meal. His own words offer the most direct window into the experience he is building there. “We built Dalida on the hospitality, culture, fresh ingredients and familiar flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean.” The sentence carries the reassurance of something deeply considered: a restaurant not merely inspired by a region, but organized around its rhythms and generosity. “Our food is best enjoyed shared across the table.” That idea gives the room its pulse. It suggests movement between plates, a passing of dishes, the easy choreography of hands and voices, the sense that the meal is as much social exchange as culinary performance. In that same spirit, mezes are not decorative preludes but the grammar of the dining experience itself. “We invite guests to follow the principle of “little little in the middle,” savoring an assortment of mezes while enjoying lively conversation with companions.” The phrasing is memorable for its warmth and restraint, and it captures a style of dining that is abundant without feeling heavy, precise without feeling severe. The current arc connects Dartmouth College, the Culinary Institute of America, Noosh, and Dalida into one line, a trajectory that brings education, hard-won kitchen experience, and ownership into a single culinary identity.

Signature

Sayat's signature dishes include Lamb Kebab and Lamb shoulder kebab with herbed yogurt. Both speak to a cuisine that values directness and comfort, but also the kind of careful balance that makes a familiar dish feel vivid and newly alive. The kebabs suggest fire and concentration; the herbed yogurt brings brightness and relief, a cool counterpoint that keeps the flavors in motion.

In Their Words “We invite guests to follow the principle of “little little in the middle,” savoring an assortment of mezes while enjoying lively conversation with companions.” “We built Dalida on the hospitality, culture, fresh ingredients and familiar flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean.”