soho japanese bistro

never go there.... rules stated are no reservations for the dining room.
if you go at 7pm with a party of three expect to see people with parties of 4 get seated before you if a booth for 4 opens up.
sat there from 7 until 7:45, a part of 6 straggled in at 7:30 & was seated at the open booth we were expecting to get. 3 other couples were in line after us (but before the group of 6) and they were screwed too.

apparently our money is not worth anything , we'd already purchased a few very over priced drinks at the bar... the 6 had purchased nothing.

ignorant manager, no tack, stupid explations... food was always mediocre, but we won't worry about it getting better because we won't be back to find out.

loved the sushi and sashimi,but sitting at the grill tables where the cooks prepare the meal was about average. we waited for 30-45 minutes just for the chef because they were understaffed that evening. but, upon return for a dinner during the week it was a much better experience. favorite sushi roll is the tigers eye, very good! great sashimi also.

good grill. came for the hibachi grill and had a great lunch. fun times and everybody was super friendly. do think i prefer hana yori, but this place was good also.

service was poor. when the issue was addressed the cook told me to “shut up” and when asked for management the cook said he was the manager and began arguing with me about the poor service and being completely rude. and to top it all off i had food in my hair and $1 was taken off of my food for that inconvenience. will never attend this place again. hani yori has way better service and food for the price you pay.

when employees assume patrons won’t tip and choose not to serve them, then are backed by their unprofessional managers, people will find out. as a brand strategist, i understand the impact of word of mouth. this will not work in your favor.

was out to dinner with 8 of us and it was the worst service we’ve ever had! my husband asked for another beer and it took about a half hour to get one. the “so called chef” put everything on the grill at one time, including shrimp and lobster. while doing so he wouldn’t talk at all and keep looking at the order. everything was way over cooked, dry and cold. nothing was done at the same time. i was not about to pay for the whole meal, because i did not eat it. they took off the drinks and that was all. i had a wine that was horrible and my husband only had three beers. will not go back!

very very disappointed with the sushi, staff and cleanliness of the restaurant. won’t be back. had heard it was a good choice but again, won’t go back. sushi had no flavor and definitely was not fresh. server gave major attitude when i mentioned it and didn’t offer any discount off bill. floor was very dirty.

carefull thieves at work. we used to like coming to soho, to spend $100 or even $300 dollars was a typical meal. we would always talk highly of the restaurant and the service, recommending to friends and family until now. my wife's phone was stolen right off the table. its not that we cant replace the phone its more in line with the fact that management is not willing to even listen and wasn't even respectful of the situation. i'm not looking for compensation or anything like that i just want anyone that is interested in an expensive night out to lock down all your valuables and don't trust a soul working there. now instead of recommending a decent restaurant to friends and family we recommend that you keep your money and your valuables and go some place that will respect you and thank you for being a loyal customer. good luck in the future soho and watch your till.

soho is soso. we like this place. it's not a fave or a never, ever, go there place either. just so so...

dinner at the grill used to be better. now it's getting lower quality, tastes more bland and takes too long.

when we do go, we dine in the main dining area off the menu. better service and less expensive this way too.

fave menu items: krunchy roll, cuc and avocado roll, chicken tepanyaki with white rice

fave drink: tsing tao

fave dessert: skip it!

tip: if dining at the grill, make a reservation and take 6-8 in your group. you get better and more efficient service with a private group.
coupons in cash pak sometimes and michiana saver sometimes too.

horrible corporate faux food. freshness was lacking, it was unimaginative and in general horrible. this place is just another corporate shill trying to make money from a type of cuisine that is best done by someone who owns the restaurant, and really cares about the quality of what they offer.

worst japanese/ sushi experience you can have except maybe for the packaged sushi at meijer and martins.


-----06 mar, 2012-----

not very good. i have been there for both lunch and dinner. for both meals we chose to have sushi. it was average at best, not particularly creative in presentation... and on the second occasion the rice was simply awful. the value simply wasn't there. i don't mind dropping 80-100 dollars for a truly great sushi experience, but there are other restaurants in town ( toyo grill comes to mind) that offer consistently better quality food, at a much better value.
the service was marginally better, at lunch in particular the gentleman who was our server was attentive and knowledgeable.
i would not bother with this place if you like good fresh sushi and sashimi attractively presented. soho offers atmosphere and thats about it.

kicks @ss. freaking delicious! sake and sushi makes me happy!

i cant decide. as a non-japanese bistro go-er, i generally stick to chinese foods and did not really know what to expect from soho. i liked the food once i got it, but it seemed to take forever. i ordered chicken, which was mediocre. i decided i liked the rice and egg teppanyaki better than the meat that came with it.
also, my group of 3 had asked for egg yolk sauce which my waiter and the boy working the grill had neglected to provide. however, a different waitress was very pleased to serve us and was apologetic about the missing sauce. it was so good it would almost be worth the wait; however i don't know if i want to wait that long ever again. it was a good experience overall, and i will probably go back again.

one time was enough... about a month after soho opened, my family (we are all huge hana yori fans) called for a reservation for 14. the decor was beautiful but that was about it. we were sat in the large dining area with two grill tops (im not sure what they call this room). it wasnt untill after we had had our soup (which wasnt memorable whatsoever) & our salad (the ginger dressing was ok) that the server told us that one of the grills wasnt getting hot, so they could only use one grill for all of us. 14 people! as if that wasnt bad enough, the food was totally forgettable. the rice wasnt seasoned but with a little salt & a lot of pepper. i ordered the chicken which had no flavor at all. upon leaving we found ourselves comparing it to hana yori. of the 14 of us, only liike 5 found it to be a better experience. if u want the japanese experience, drive a mile down the road to hana yori. u wont be disappointed!!

incredibly disappointing.. the decor of soho is simply top-notch, but it belies the quality of the food and dining experience. first, a warning, the lunch menu is not available on weekends, though this is not advertised on their website. service is attentive, no complaints there.

the food, however, is another story entirely. we ordered meals that came with miso soup and ginger dressing salad. the soup was the blandest miso i have ever had, and my wife agreed. not to mention that our two bowls of soup, supposedly the same thing, looked entirely different (hers had the characteristic cloudy broth of miso; mine was basically hot water with a chunk of tofu and a shred of seaweed).

the salad was delicious. the highpoint of the meal for both of us. entrees were terribly underwhelming. i ordered the chicken teriyaki, which was a chicken breast with a flavorless watery sauce that i could not register as teriyaki. the vegetables were overcooked and mushy. my wife's rice was uncooked and inedible. her veggie and shrimp tempura was mediocre. sadly, i had to steal some of her tempura sauce to give the chicken any kind of flavor at all.

we also ordered a california roll just for comparison's sake (my wife is pregnant, and sushi is therefore off the table currently). nothing to write home about.

we had been eagerly anticipating trying soho for some time, and never had had the occasion. well, the occasion arrived and we would just as soon forget it had. the idea of soho was much more appetizing than the reality. do not recommend for dinner service. did not have teppanyaki or a full sushi meal.

we like it.. we like this place and eat the teppanyaki style. i prefer the miso soup to the standard mushroom soup. the food is good. the white side sauce is great. the sushi taste very fresh. i never had a problem with the service. i see someone complained about the runny dressing. that is the norm for the ginger dressing. all in all i like the soho i am glad to have another choice! haniyori is dirty, old and needs updated.