Onur Safak Is Redefining the Modern Mediterranean Restaurant Scene with Zoi

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lyss Lester

Founder Onur Safak has emerged as one of New York’s most compelling new hospitality founders with ZOI NoMad, the sultry Ten 11 Lounge tucked beneath it, and the polished expansion of ZOI Upper East Side. He has shown his instinctive, design-forward attunement to how this city wants to dine now.

This isn’t a single restaurant story. It’s the rise of a fully realized ecosystem.

ZOI is warm, sculptural, and layered with natural textures, ambient lighting, and an energy that shifts subtly as the night unfolds. Early evenings feel intimate and refined; by 9 PM, the space hums with the unmistakable electricity of a downtown power table.

The menu reflects Safak’s Mediterranean roots through a contemporary lens: pristine seafood, vibrant herbs, elevated meze, and dishes designed for sharing without sacrificing sophistication. Think branzino prepared with restraint, seasonal vegetables treated with reverence, and cocktails that lean citrus-forward and herbaceous; balanced, intentional, and photogenic without feeling contrived.

Beneath ZOI NoMad, the Ten 11 Lounge feels like the restaurant’s alter ego, moody, intimate, and magnetic. The lighting drops. The tempo rises. DJs take over. Cocktails become bolder, spirits more expressive.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Zoi

Rather than sending guests elsewhere after dinner, Safak designed its continuity. A seamless shift from dinner table to velvet banquette. From seafood towers to mezcal-forward cocktails. From conversation to celebration.

It’s a distinctly European approach to nightlife, where dining and dancing are chapters of the same story.

The uptown ZOI carries the same Mediterranean DNA but refines it for its surroundings. Here, power lunches transition into elegant dinners. The culinary language remains vibrant and coastal, but the delivery feels impeccably tailored, less nightlife-adjacent, more enduring neighborhood fixture.

The move signals something critical: Safak isn’t building a flash-in-the-pan downtown darling. He’s building a brand. What separates Onur Safak from the pack is his understanding that hospitality today is experiential architecture.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Zoi

In an era where many restaurateurs rely on spectacle, Safak leans into mood. He understands that modern luxury isn’t loud, it’s immersive. It’s about how a guest feels from the first cocktail to the final song.

New York’s dining scene rewards stamina as much as buzz. With two ZOI locations and a fully integrated lounge concept, Onur Safak has demonstrated both creative clarity and strategic expansion.

He isn’t simply opening restaurants. He’s shaping a lifestyle around them, one that moves effortlessly from NoMad glamour to Upper East Side polish. And in a city obsessed with what’s next, Onur Safak is becoming what’s lasting.