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Home > Restaurants > Soto

All Reader Reviews of...

Soto

357 Sixth Ave., New York, NY, 10014
nr. Washington Pl.
212-414-3088

7.1 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
70% Would you go back?
70% Would you take a date?
0% Would you take kids?
50% Would you go on business?
60% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 7.9
Service: 7.0
Décor: 7.5
Value: 6.1
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  • Showing reviews 1 through 10 of 10

Overpriced but great food

jly7 from 11355 | Posted on 5/17/09

Overall Rating: 8 (Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 6

After reading the two previous reviews, I decided to try it out. I made a reservation but there was absolutely no need for it. I went on Saturday night and there were plenty of empty tables. The food was fantastic. Absolutely delicious. However, it was quite expensive. 1 role(6 pieces) ranged from $10 to $22(about). It's a nice and calm environment to talk and chit chat but to really eat a meal and feel full, I think this is not the place. Over all, it was a nice experience and will go back...not soon but sometime.

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2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Good food bad service

hlb248 from 10028 | Posted on 4/5/09

Overall Rating: 3 (Not Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 8
Service: 1
Décor: 8
Value: 3

My boyfriend and I went here for dinner recently. The staff seemed nice enough at first, but the bad service started pretty quickly as we were brought soup with no spoons. My appetizer (a salad) was served after my main course and my boyfriend and I had to eat in shifts because they brought our individual sushi rolls (including my one piece of sashimi) 20 minutes apart. Service only mildly improved after we complained. I haven't been so disappointed in a restaurant in a long time.

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3 out of 20 people found this review helpful.

Okay sushi

wine_sear31 from 11101 | Posted on 1/15/09

Overall Rating: 5 (Mixed Reviews)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 3
Service: 4
Décor: 4
Value: 3

Perhaps it's that I had possibly the best sushi meal of my life at Sushi Yasuda in December 2008, but Soto just did not do much for me. It felt like everyone there was off a beat. The fish did not taste as fresh as Yasuda and the prices at Soto were higher in many respects. I'd gladly spend my $80 for sushi/drinks for two at Sushi Yasuda next time.

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5 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Undiscovered Gem! Amazing Sushi!

NYC415 from 10011 | Posted on 1/14/09

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 7

In my opinion, Soto is one of the best sushi restaurants in Manhattan. The great thing is that the restaurant is still undiscovered and has a nice intimate feel. The quality of sushi, sushi rice and seaweed are excellent. Even the soy sauce they use is of very high quality. I would recommend getting a seat at the sushi bar, and get omakase. This will give you the opportunity to chat with the chef. Sushi will also be served individually. They are priced slightly higher than other well-known sushi restaurants (Sushi Yasuda, Morimoto, Blue Ribbon, etc) but Soto remains genuinely Japanese...something I hope will always remain with them. This is definitely a place for all true sushi lovers to try!!

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9 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Innovative, memorable, excellent quality sushi

bigbeard61 from 12302 | Posted on 12/30/08

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 9
Décor: 8
Value: 7

Coming down from Albany (!) and having been tasked with finding online "really good sushi" in the West Village for a small group, I took a blind shot in selecting Soto, but it really paid off. We (esp. my bf who was footing the bill) were initially taken aback by the complexity of the menu, but following the direction of our server, we made selections from the raw bar, followed by hot dishes from the kitchen, and finished with a few pieces of standard sushi and a couple rolls. What followed was an elegant concerto of images, textures and flavors. The portions and pacing were akin to those of a tapas bar, but there the similarity ends. An entirely satisfactory experiences

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11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

Sublime, a gift if you know what to order

MissMMM from 11230 | Posted on 12/4/08

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 7
Décor: 8
Value: 8

Soto is a delight and a gift to be treasured! the Steamed Lobster with a cloud of creamy, rich, and pristine uni mousse, crisp lotus root, a piece of smoked uni rolled in smoked uni powder, caviar... HEAVEN! all the elements are so sparkling, I spontaneously started meditating on the flavors. Salmon Citrus (like ceveiche) MANY slices of the most buttery pristine salmon anointed with a delightfully tart and salty citrus bath, the flavors are futher blossomed by finely minced micro cilantro/scallion. So simple. ABSOLUTE GENIUS. it goes on and on. I can feel full (of happiness) on just those 2 dishes alone. quality over quantity. For some people, Uni Ika Sugomori Zukuri can be strangely textured/gluey?especially if you don't appreciate the subtleties of raw squid/quail egg yolk, similar texture goes for geoduck/raw ebi shrimp/seaclam even when they're beyond pristine, but I adore them! Soto's talent truly shines with fish creations and uni dishes "from sushi bar" and "from kitchen" menus...still yummy but my LEAST favorites: Broiled Lobster, Broiled Langoustine, Tempura, Toro TarTar are too rich/not as multi-dimensional as many dishes, but still scrumptious! Many true delights. Brilliant!

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11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE IN FIFTEEN YEARS

CLCNYC from 10026 | Posted on 11/22/08

Overall Rating: 1 (Not Recommended)
Would you go back? No
Would you take a date? No
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 1
Service: 1
Décor: 2
Value: 1

I have lived in Manhattan for 15 years and been to some bad and/or overpriced restaurants in my time, but this one absolutely takes the cake. It was, quite simply put, awful. The portion sizes are a total joke. I ordered the tempura for $20 and got about $2 worth of food. My girlfriend ordered tai for $16 and got less than $1 worth of fish. I also ordered two tuna rolls. The seaweed was stale; the tuna pieces were so small they were barely visible. They forgot to give me wasabi with my rolls. Since the portions were so damn small, I asked for a bowl of rice. They told me that they didn't have regular rice, so they gave me sushi rice that was cold and tasted old -- and they had the balls to charge me $3. My girlfriend and I were so hungry after spending $65 there that we went to McDonald's just down the street and ate a fillet of fish and a snack wrap for $8. Trust me, the McD's was more satisfying and tasty than Soto.

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4 out of 26 people found this review helpful.

Make sure you adore uni (and all kinds of Japanese food)

food_is_amazing from 10019 | Posted on 3/28/08

Overall Rating: 7 (Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? No
Would you go on a special occasion? No
Food: 7
Service: 9
Décor: 7
Value: 6

I am a recent convert to Japanese cuisine (and, by recent, I mean since about 2006). But I fancied myself an enthusiastic, if late, convert, one capable of branching out beyond easy-to-enjoy Japanese food from restaurants like Bar Masa (which, incidentally, I like a lot)... Until I went to Soto. Now I cannot decide what I am. The reviews said to order anything with uni, which I like anyway, so I did (the uni and yuba, and the uni ika sugomori zukuri). Bizarre; unpleasantly bizarre. The easy-to-enjoy aji tataki and miso soup, by contrast, were mind-blowing (best miso soup that I have had outside of Tokyo). The service was excellent, and the space (once you find it) is pleasant enough. But, before you drop $$$ on food that will stop just short of filling you up, consider how much you like Japanese food to begin with. Maybe I am more of a Bar Masa girl than a Soto girl after all.

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10 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

Extraordinary

jkempel from 02115 | Posted on 2/8/08

Overall Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 10

Soto is by far the most interesting and exquisite Japanese restaurant in which I ever ate. Sotohiro-san is an artist, able to combine and create flavors I did not even know existed. His work on the sushi bar is perfectly complimented by that of his wife in the kitchen (I apologize I do not know her name). The crew is professional and the restaurantÂ’s design a-la minimalism adds to the overall experiences. This is not the right place for standard sushi lovers; there is nothing standard about this place.

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46 out of 91 people found this review helpful.

Gems of New York or should I say one of world best.

ken70 from 60611 | Posted on 6/25/07

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Would you go back? Yes
Would you take a date? Yes
Would you take kids? No
Would you go on business? Yes
Would you go on a special occasion? Yes
Food: 10
Service: 9
Décor: 8
Value: 10

Uni Ika Sugomori Zukuri” how can I say, the clean, fresh, and tender of the squid and refreshing aroma of shiso leave wrapped around the sweet, fresh, and juicy chunk of sea urchin sit over the tosa soy reduction the mild saltiness of the soy surprisingly compliment the sweetness of uni and freshness of aori ika plus the yolk of quail egg that increase the richness of uni. This clean approach let each ingredient speak itself out loud in harmonious way. There are more dishes that show his talent and I’m sure will make your palate happy as well. Steam Lobster with uni mouse is divine it like a brain kicker so many flavor is going on. This dish is beyond, beyond!! Shimaaji Capriccio, simply elegant. Fluke usuzukuri, clean...clean and delicate. What make his food achieve another level is the ability to balance flavor combine each ingredient to compliment each others. His food is a perfect combination of delicacy vs richness, simple vs elegant I cann’t imagine how much effort and dedicate the chef put to deliver you this level of enjoyment. Chef Soto my hat is off for you. Try this place!!

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121 out of 237 people found this review helpful.

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