Sophie's Rooftop Cork — Restaurant in Cork

We made a reservation at Sophie’s for our 10th anniversary as we heard only positive things about this place from our friends. When we arrived we were a bit early wich did not prove to be an issue of the head desk and we were quickly escorted to a table, here was the first disappointment. The table was cramed in a corner next to the staff computers against the support beam of the building, we did not have any view of the city like the place is well know for, we also were not able to experience the beautiful ambiance of the restaurant itself either because all we could see was the metal beam next to the table, the table was also so small we barely had enough room to fit the food. It felt extremely claustrophobic . We asked for a different table, however non were available.

We decided to stay anyway because the food on the other tables looked stunning. We ordered the antipasti as a starter, a pizza margarita for my wife, the chicken Casarecce for my self, the garlic bread and truffle fries.

The starter arrived shortly after ordering and it was Amazing! It was a shame that the cheeses and meat were on the same plate because the flavors mixed a bit, but disregarding that, the selection was amazing, tasty and generous!

We did not have a long wait after finishing the starter for the main course to arrive, my dish looked amazing visibly however after the first bite, it tasted good but it had a slight burnt taste, upon the next bite I was overwhelmed by the burnt taste, I noticed that the casarecce was completely burnt and the chicken was charred too, the garlic bread tasted sour, as if they baked a wonderful fresh bread but then used the pre-minced garlic from Aldi that is pickled in vinegar, the bread was so sour it was not enjoyable. The truffle mayo fries were unfortunately soggy and drenched in mayo.

We needed up sharing my wife’s pizza (which tasted absolutely perfect) and decided to have desert somewhere else due to the disappointment on our anerversary.

The waitress asked if everything was alright and I pointed out the problems with the dishes, she then said she will get the manager, 30min later the manager arrived (probably buisy) That being said, the staff was extremely friendly, and they did offer to replace the dishes we were not happy with witch we did not accept because I lost my appetite and my wife was satisfied with her food. Instead they offered to remove the items we were not happy with off the bill entirely.

It was our first visit at sophys, and even tho overall it was a big disappointment tonight, I truly beleave that we were just unlucky with the food.

Atmosphere at our table specifically - 1 star The food, 2 stars (I think we were just unlucky) The service & managment 10/10 perfect.

Conclusion: we will definitly give it another try in the future as I beleave in second chances and I genuinely think our bad experience is not the general experience at sophys.

Will update this review if...

Very disappointing experience.. Wouldn't normally complain and definitely wouldn't write a bad review but it was just one thing after another.. Rang in advance to ask to pay for/organise prosecco for my friends 30th lunch.. Was told they don't do bottles of prosecco when I asked if I could order glasses she reluctantly said I will mention it to the team when I speak to them beforehand (assuming some kind of manager) "but you may have to mention it to your server on the day" so she either had no intention of arranging it or thought the staff to be incompetent. Goes without saying there was no prosecco.. Then I asked to arrange a birthday dessert and suggested I could bring candles.. She informed me she could arrange a birthday plate so I agreed to this. I asked if I could bring a birthday balloon - "sophies doesn't do balloons" fair enough company policy but no need to be snobby about a single balloon. On the day our first server 'Darragh' I think was very nice and on the ball.. Once he left we struggled to get drinks even though both balconies were pretty empty.. We were 25mins late (our fault) so the only food option was pizza.. When I complained to the front of house at the end of the day as we never got the "birthday plate" either he attempted to but plaster on what was a very disappointing day by giving us each a complimentary glass of prosecco and one dessert with no candle.. While the staff awkwardly joked that they were not going to sing because we weren't in...

I Booked for 8 people at 7.30. My third and last visit to Sophie's. I was seated at a table that would sit 6 people maximum next to a swing door. They could not offer us a larger table inside but grudgingly said they could move us to the outside terrace with the warning we would be very cold. We stayed inside! Our server was a lovely person and was genuinely sorry about this. Food was mixed at best and was so slow to come we were there 3.5 hours for two courses!! Pizza good, Chicken curry good, Veggie Curry truly awful. Having ordered a wine and some beers a member of staff (woman in a check shirt), barged to the table and carded our son who was having a beer (he is 20 this year!) No reference to his Dad who was sitting at the table or respect for our son who is 6ft and looks his age! I think if someone want to drink underage they are unlikely to book a table for 8 at the Dean and pay for a very expensive Coors with their parents!! Staff training clearly needed at this level though the wait staff as I said could not have been better. For 500 euro plus I would advise you to go elsewhere. It's a shame because the waiter was so kind and...