Vibe Check: Siro's 7-Course Tasting Dinner

How Saratoga's historic track season hangout stole my heart.

Current and past Siro’s Chefs Noah Frese and Elliott Vogel at Tuesday’s tasting dinner.

As someone who’s more comfortable sipping Miller Lite out of a plastic cup than Champagne out of a glass flute, I’ve spent most of my post–track day evenings bouncing around Kings and the Horseshoe, not so much even considering going to Siro’s, the most iconic post–track day hangout of all. I’d heard Siro’s was overpriced, overhyped and full of the worst kind of tourists. So, save for last summer’s Siro’s Cup and the annual obligatory Saratoga Sale afterparty, I’ve largely avoided going there.

That is, until I was invited to Tuesday’s seven-course collaboration tasting dinner at which current Siro’s Chef Noah Frese and 2022-2023 Siro’s Chef Elliott Vogel teamed up to create a special seafood-centric menu paired with an array of Italian wines. After that, I was sold. As of today, I, Natalie Moore, am officially a born-again believer in the summer-season sacrament that is Siro’s.

(Clockwise, from top left) sockeye coulibiac, lobster carpaccio, foraged mushroom risotto; oyster sextet; cucumber carpaccio; blueberry and cherry financier.

Before dinner began, I caught up with Noah and Elliott at the bar. “I’ve been wanting to do a tasting with Elliott for a while now,” said Noah, who was recently named a rising star chef at the Albany Chefs’ Food & Wine Festival. “I was at the Roosevelt Room, and he was at The Delaware, and we followed what each other were doing. Once I came up to Siro’s, I was like, this is a perfect opportunity to bring him back.”

A Times Union poll indicating that Capital Region diners love their seafood informed the duo’s decision to double down on fruits de mer for this year’s tasting dinner. For the full review of the evening—including who was there (paparazzi pics included!), what was served and why locals shouldn’t miss out on the fleeting Siro’s season—read on.