Two Cousins Behind Siena Cafe to Open New Steak and Fish House on UES

Cousins Russ Sujak and Emir Mrkulic, the owners of Siena Cafe on 1580 3rd Avenue, are opening a restaurant one block north at 1600 3rd Avenue called Catch n’ Chop. While Siena Cafe has provided locals and further-flung visitors alike with traditional Italian dishes since 2017, the new establishment will serve customers a classic steakhouse menu featuring various cuts of beef, seafood options, and small plates.

Staple items like filet mignons, ribeyes, branzino, and farm-to-table vegetable sides will be served alongside seasonal and weekly specials. According to Sujak, their father, a Montenegrin-born chef for fifty years, is helping them craft the menu. “He’s giving us a great view of what we can do with the menu, how to balance out different kinds of dishes and appeal to different palates,” he said. Also involved in the process is the new head chef, who has managed several Bobby Van’s Steakhouses in New York City.

Sujak and Mrkulic are also hoping to make Catch n’ Chop a center of the neighborhood bar scene, providing craft beer and cocktails as well as wine. The restaurant, which will take over a vacant space once occupied by Parlor Steak and Fish, is expected to hold 31 tables and serve food and drink between 11 a.m. and 2 a.m.

Catch n’ Chop will be the latest addition to a network of restaurants owned by the Sujak family that stretches across the Bronx and New Jersey. Many of them, like Siena Cafe and the Italian steakhouse Sofia in Englewood, serve dishes from the family cookbook.

“Coming from a family that has run Italian steakhouses since 1991 has given us good experience for opening Catch n’ Chop,” said Sujak. “Siena Cafe has worked well but is a little small, so we wanted to open something new and refreshing that could hold that crowd.”

The cousins found the space for Catch n’ Chop just a few months ago, after resolving some “kinks” with the landlord. Otherwise, he added, there has been little unusual difficulty in the process.

“We have our ear to the ground and are listening to everyone, and we’re getting unbelievable feedback and positivity from the neighborhood about Catch n’ Chop,” said Sujak. “What I learned in the Upper East Side is a lot of this is word of mouth. People hear about us, come and enjoy the food, then keep coming back and refer us, and in the end they’re not just customers but also friends.”