A stylish, cocktail-led SoHo/Chinatown bar-restaurant with excellent drinks, strong hospitality, creative seafood-forward food, and a few meaningful service, pricing, and dietary caveats.
Soso's delivers strong food quality and exceptional service, anchored by consistent praise for cocktails, crab, and attentive hospitality. Inconsistent execution on certain dishes and desserts prevents a higher grade, while the walkable SoHo location and polished design create appealing but not destination-defining appeal.
Soso's is a cocktail-led bar-restaurant on Centre Street where the room often matters as much as the meal: colorful retro booths, soft lighting, music, and a lively bar create a polished but unpretentious night out. Guests describe it as intimate enough for dates yet energetic enough for groups, with one recurring impression summed up as a place where the atmosphere makes you want to stay awhile. Reservations are a smart move, especially for dinner. The cooking is contemporary and adventurous rather than traditional comfort food, with oceanic flavors, creative sauces, and dishes such as Crab Royale, hamachi crudo, escargot, cabbage, and steak. The best feedback is genuinely enthusiastic, especially for the crab, cabbage, burger, escargot, cocktails, and hospitality; a smaller set of diners finds particular sauces, fish dishes, or the food overall less memorable. The drinks are the safest bet: the current menu lists a broad classic-cocktail selection at $19 each, while premium tequila can climb dramatically. Families with adventurous older children may find approachable choices in the burger, chicken nuggets, fries, cauliflower, and desserts, but this is not a natural kid-focused restaurant. The dining room is lively, the bar can be loud, and seafood-forward dishes may be challenging for picky eaters. Reviews also mention strong oceanic flavors and an undisclosed smoked-mussel sauce, so ask questions before ordering for children or sensitive diners.
Area vibe: Upscale, art-and-fashion-forward neighborhood with cobblestone streets and boutique shops.
Safety: Generally safe, busy by day and evening with good lighting and steady foot traffic.
What's nearby: Near Broadway, Lafayette St, boutique shops, art galleries, and many restaurants and bars.
The safest food bets include Crab Royale and cabbage, while the cocktail list keeps nearly every classic at $19.
Expect a lively, seafood-forward dinner where reservations help and the pricing may feel high for the portions.
Retro booths and soft lighting make Soso's date-friendly, but the lively bar can shift the room from intimate to loud.