SiP Bistro

I really don’t like to give negative reviews but just want to let ya know don’t set your expectations to high here.
Staff is very very friendly but they just don’t know what they are doing and the food is mediocre. Could be a great place hopefully things will get better.

Coffee is great. Stop by for a dessert and a double espresso with your soul mate. You won’t be disappointed.

Great service, great food and live music! Intimate, but not stuffy. Sip is a winner in my book. Taking my lively bride next date night.
Tri-​tip salad handled my steak craving in a heathy way.

I enjoyed the gourmet sandwich, quaint ambiance, and decent service. Since I’m gluten-​free, I appreciate the gluten-​free options, and I look forward to more lunches at this location. If I were to change one thing, I’d offer more comfortable seating.

I’m so confused as to why I have had 2 good experiences here, out of the 5 times I’ve been here. The wine selection is great, but you will never have a server that knows the wine list, or how to make a good coffee drink. Even when I am the only table here, which was most of the time, the food took forever and the server never checked on us. The prices are way too high for what you get. My mimosa tasted flat, like the champagne had been opened for a week. Granted I have had 2 good experiences, the server, Vinny, no longer works here. I don’t think I will be back unless something changes in the food and service. I would like to see this place succeed.

I’ve now had a chance to try their brunch a couple of times. I really enjoyed the Chilean breakfast. The kids liked the french toast.
I also came for a going away party for a friend and they did a good job with the big group.
My latest venture was a night out alone on a Wednesday night.. .I got a charcuterie plate and it was okay. It was served on a «slate?» lazy susan and at first I thought that was neat. If there were several people dining it would be cool to spin around. But since I was alone and some of the cappicola was too big for one bite I needed to cut it and the lazy susan became a hassle as it rocked back and forth. I also was not impressed that my dried fruit was raisins.. .I also did not like that the pistachios and raisins were thrown about on the tray instead of in little bowls. I had dollops of pesto and spicy mustard but nothing sweet to balance that out. The two cheeses (sage and port) came in little cubes instead of slices. None of this was terrible, mind you, I just did not think it was as nice as the ones I’ve had in other places. It’s easier to eat cheese stacked with the meat on bread if it’s not cubes that fall off. The quality of the cheeses were just okay for me, also. I felt like they were nothing more than what I could have bought at Harris Teeter. The hot cappy was yummy. The only choices that night for meats was salami and cappy. There were 3 or 4 choices of cheese and there was no description of what else other than nuts and dried fruits so it was all a «surprise» when it came. I did like that it was served with sliced baguette but felt there was too much olive oil on the bread. I like crackers just fine with meat/​cheese plates if they are good quality and I’d rather have that instead of oily bread. It took a while for me to get my order in because there was no list of the meats and cheeses on the menu. The waitress also could not tell me so she had to go back and write it down and there was a lot of back and forth so I had a delay in getting my food. Luckily I was not famished and was not in a hurry but the plate and a glass of wine took over 2 hours from start to finish and I did not linger eating.
Will I stay away because of the last experience? Heck no! This is a lovely European style dining spot that I treasure. I just probably will not choose the charcuterie plate here. Restaurants are like friends — you have to know which is fun doing what. =)

Stopped by this weekend for brunch and really enjoyed my meal. I love the atmosphere inside we got a table right next to the fireplace and it was glorious. I’ve stopped in before for lunch takeout an enjoyed both my sandwiches but since this was brunch I need to update my review.
They have a brand new chef who is changing up the menu a bit, for the better I think. He was putting out some delicious looking dishes, I really loved how much effort he put in plating each dish. All of his dishes looked perfect. I was torn what to get but decided on the Chilean breakfast, two over easy eggs on top of crispy ciabatta bread with swiss cheese, asparagus, avocado and tomato. This dish had so many of my favorite ingredients and it was so good. The chef came and greeted all the tables and even offered to make us eggs benedict or strawberry pancakes, I really want to come back for those pancakes.
They also have so many options from the coffee bar. I ordered the gingerbread chai and it was the perfect fall coffee drink. All of their mugs they serve the coffee in are so cute, you really feel at home here.
I’m definitely planning my return to try their dinner, cheese plates, and wine. I did notice the wine prices per bottle they were selling were much higher then some other shops. I actually saw a bottle for $ 25 that my roommate had just bought for $ 10 at another store the day before so not sure I’d buy wine to take home from here. Overall though I’m looking forward to trying more dishes from their new Chef so far so good!!!

This is a 4-​star businss that keeps getting hornswoggled by random 2-​star performances. Most of the time, I’m wholly satisfied with the service and food. But it’s that 1 time out of 3 that puts a bad taste in my mouth and keeps me from blanketing the place with the love it so often deserves.
The Good:
When the head guy is there, everything is top notch. I’ll shoot the breeze with him, he’ll offer recommendations, I’ll leave happy. One time, I had an experimental dish of 3 delicious sliders, all different. However, the tri-​tip slider and the bbq slider had the same dressing and I advised that maybe the bbq burger could get by just fine without it. Also, you don’t want different selections tasting the same. He thought that was a great suggestion and I felt useful for probably the only time that whole day. When the top dude is there, the quality is up and so is the atmosphere.
There was another time when the server, a young lady with an easy disposition and soothing voice, worked with me to whip up something off menu. I wasn’t being particularly high maintenance that day, but she was out to please me nonetheless. Score and win. Things like that will happen here from time to time and that’s why I keep going despite what you’re about to read next.
The Bad:
When I don’t see the manager, the «Jaws» music starts playing. Could be a coincidence — just saying. For instance, today was a major letdown. I ordered the French Press coffee and when the server brought it to my table, she didn’t know how long it had been brewing and hence, had to guess on when I should press the grounds. That’s a horrible fail. The food, «The Cavemen» dish (basically steak and eggs), was somewhat tasty but all of it came out cold. I was hungry so I didn’t make a big deal out of it, nor did I have all day to wait for a replacement dish. I should point out that I was the only one there, so it’s not like they were too busy to pay my meal the proper attention.
Parking is easy and during the day, it’s a laid back lunch space. I’ve never been there at night so I don’t know what the bar scene is like. And though I still like the place, it can be frustratingly hit, hit, miss.

Made a reservation for lunch on a week day for a party of 7. After we placed our drink and appetizer order we were told they were out of chicken. Chicken is the main ingredient in 75% of their sandwiches. We drank our overpriced wine and ate our overpriced spinach dip and hummus (very small portion size for the price) and walked next door to Bass Lake to eat lunch.
Save your money and go elsewhere. I can’t understand how you run out of chicken at 11:30am on a week day.

This is a great place! I love to support local business and this one has a unique menu. The food is presented fresh and amazing. The service is good but takes time. Please don’t go here if you are in a hurry. Reserve this location when you have time to really appreciate the great food.

Sandwich was good. Coffee drink was okay. Disappointed to be charged for a refill on sweet tea and first discover refills aren’t free by seeing my receipt. Service was also a bit slow consider only 2 other diners at the time.

Mom & I have been to SiP Bistro before for a glass of wine so we decided to check this place out for Sunday brunch recently. Walked in, grabbed a table and waited for our server.
Drinks — Of course we started off brunch correctly with an original mimosa, they also have peach, strawberry and loganberry. They were tasty and decently priced at $ 5.
Food — I ordered the Hawaiian Sunrise with a side of Home Fires while Mom opted for the Fireman’s Breakfast. My food was good but nothing that blew my taste buds away, I wish that I was able to taste a little bit more of the mango habanero chutney throughout the wrap. My mom really enjoyed her meal especially the marinated pork loin.
Service — Our server was nice but a bit slow & the food took a while to come out
I would definitely return to SiP again to try their dinner menu with a glass of wine but would probably not return for breakfast/​brunch.
FYI, if you check in on Unilocal,you get a free specialty coffee. The coffee does look amazing but since I no longer drink it, we opted to not use the offer.

The Ruben was terrific!
The atmosphere was very nice as well. For a bistro it had ample room between tables.
I will go back.

Stumbled across this fab spot this morning when searching for a cup of coffee in our new town. We’ve been complaining for a few weeks about not having a coffee spot and this problem was solved today! Not only did we find a coffee spot but also a great breakfast and place we hope to return for lunch and dinner!
For coffee I had the crème brûlée cortado. It was large, delicious, and an experience. They torch the sugared top in true crème brûlée fashion as your table — such a fun touch! I had the cheesy eggs with tri Tip, fruit, and hashbrowns. My husband loves his breakfast burrito as well. The chef brought out our food and told us a little bit about sip’s history.
The environment is inviting and chic. There’s a big fireplace that will be perfect in winter with a big glass of red vino. The service was also great. Our server was knowledgable and friendly. No complaints here.
We will definitely be back the first chance we get!

Nice convenient spot to grab a sandwich or just enjoy wine or beer. Casual restaurant with outdoor or indoor seating. Bar area as you enter. We were seated right away in a Saturday mid afternoon. Owner was friendly and recommended some drinks. Homemade hummus was nice and thick and pita bread came out warm and fresh. Smoothies could have been a little thicker but were tasty. Definitely a place for a large variety of wine and beer.

We stopped in for a cool-​down after hiking about Bass Lake Park. This fit the bill… air-​conditioned interior, cool drink and to tank up on some hummus.
William the proprietor greeted us at the door like an old friend. Conversation continued about food, wine, beer and his background and life in Buffalo NY.
Had the Featured Draft beer and my two friends had smoothies. The hummus was tasty and while we were weaned upon this stuff since we were in diapers, it was a good representation. My sister and I shared out recipe from back home.
Being Lebanese we could not resist to add our 2-​cents to make this the to-​go-​to place for the favorite dip:
½ cup tahini (sesame paste), optional, with some of its oil
¼ cup extra-​virgin olive oil, plus oil for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, peeled, more to taste
Salt a pinch or two to taste
1 tablespoon ground cumin
a dash of paprika, & sprinkling for garnish
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed to taste (I like mine real garlicky and lemony)
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish & a few whole garbanzo beans atop to finish the garnish.
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Sometimes on busy, workday mornings, I try and picture my happy place– in this case, a table at SIP on a Sunday, with a Velvet Underground in hand. Seriously.
The menu was recently redone, and I like that they have paleo and low carb choices mixed into the brunch menu. The dishes are thoughtfully prepared. I usually get the coffee rubbed tri tips, with fruit and sunny side up eggs.
A promising little bistro, check it out out.

Well done, Sip. Great service, excellent food and top notch coffee. I came to work and left with a new favorite spot!
Seriously, though, the chicken pear sandwich was delightful. Grilled panini stuffed with chicken breast, arugula greens, melty Brie, caramelized onions, and possibly a fig jam… bliss.
The spicy Mayan mocha was a fiery delight. Zing, time to wake up! Sweet, hot and full of caffeine. A must try for people who like it hot!
I’ll be back for another working lunch. I can’t wait to try their charcuterie. Yes, Holly Springs has good wine and charcuterie. Woo!

I wasn’t a fan of this place, the service here was the most horrible I have encountered. The place needs more ventilation as the place smelled like oil and garlic. They will bring you your coffee but no sugar with it, so you have to then get up and get your own sugar. Not something you expect in a sit down restaurant. The only reason why I gave three stars is because the bagel I had was amazing. Overall skip the place and calories am sure there are many others in the area to try. It is true the service here is as slow as molasses, someone needs to get them a caffeine fix.

I was less than impressed with this place. My husband and I came in on a Sunday afternoon and sat at the bar thinking we would have better service. You walk into the place and there is a pick up/​coffee bar area and then you have to walk further in to realize that there is a restaurant/​bar… a tad confusing. We sat, ordered a glass of wine and the hummus appetizer. We waited over 20 minutes for a hummus plate… I have had better lead times on appetizers at fine dining restaurants on a fir day night. We asked the server before it came out and inquired if we could just cancel since nobody had been around… AT THE BAR… to acknowledge us to see if we needed anything… the guy said it would be right out.
The wines were on the pricer side, and while they did pour decent glasses, the server did not ask any questions or suggest anything for us.
What was very discouraging was that two ladies sat down next to us at the bar and were greeted much quickly than we were… and not only that, they were told about the specials that we were not told about… had we been told, we probably would’ve ordered a bottle of wine to split and had a late lunch/​early dinner.
It was just a mess in there, maybe it was understaffed, maybe someone called out of work, maybe we just got a bad server. We might try it again, maybe not, certainly doesn’t make me want to drive there.