Soho Bar and Grill - 2.5 stars
7090 Lougheed Hwy at Bainbridge Ave., Burnaby, BC. Phone: (604) 421-4877.
I’ve been to the Soho on numerous occasions, but after a recent experience, I think it should be renamed the So-So Bar and Grill.
I know I’m off to a bad start at a restaurant when I ask for something fairly basic from the wait staff and get refused for inexplicable reasons.
I asked for a few fries and salad with my meal (which can be served with either) and was told they couldn’t do it. When I asked if it was difficult to do, I was told that lots of people request the same thing but the kitchen refuses - it has to be either fries or salad - no exceptions. What was hurtling through my mind at the time was - “gee, if lots of people are requesting it - why not make the effort to satisfy those people? Surely a happy customer is worth the price of a few fries.”
However, since it was not to be for me that day I chose the salad. Big mistake. The mixed greens (you know, the same ones that every restaurant in town is now serving), came pre-mixed with the dressing. There was so much dressing that the salad became one big mass of soggy foliage that was virtually inedible.
My companion’s meal was considerably better - chicken fettucine alfredo. The pasta was al dente, nicely sauced and the portion was generous. It was served with garlic bread.
To be fair, I have gone to the Soho on other occasions and have experienced both better food and better service. Some of the faves from the menu include: the chicken and bacon sacchetini, the Santa Fe salad, the burgers, and the roast chicken dinner. Stay away from the marinated deep-fried shrimp (the marinating makes it mushy), and the steak tips (hard and over-cooked).
Oh yeah, and if you do go, order your salad dressing on the side.