Sophie’s Rooftop Restaurant, Terrace & Bar — Restaurant in Dublin

Unfortunately, this is a place I would never recommend. I had made a reservation for a birthday celebration and contacted them 3-4 times to ensure everything would go smoothly, repeatedly emphasizing that it was a surprise birthday. However, upon arrival, when I gave our reservation name, the staff member turned to us and said, “A table for 11?” This immediately gave away that it was a surprise event.

Our table was long due to the number of guests, so we occasionally switched seats to be able to chat with everyone. The waiter serving our table started complaining about this, which was quite unnecessary. Whenever food and drinks arrived, we promptly directed them to the right person, yet the waiter kept commenting, saying things like, “Did you change seats again?” and “Are you switching seats again?” At a celebration table, it’s only natural to move around and talk with other guests.

When I spoke to them about bringing the cake, I was told that the dessert plates had already been served at the table. I asked why the plates had been brought out before the cake, as it was supposed to be a surprise. They acknowledged the mistake and suggested bringing the dessert menu to make it seem like it was for dessert instead. I agreed. But shortly after, the same staff member approached me while I was seated at the table and whispered in my ear, “Shall we bring the cake now?” This completely ruined the surprise, as I had just spoken to them about bringing it not 30 seconds earlier.

While waiting for the cake, the same waiter came over and asked if we needed anything, and the birthday person ended up ordering dessert—not knowing the cake was on its way. Additionally, I had handed over two special candles earlier in the day for the cake, but they lost them and replaced them with three random candles they found. Such carelessness was astonishing. Have they never hosted a surprise celebration before? It felt extremely unprofessional.

On top of this, vegetarian options were very limited, so I opted for the vegan penne, which I didn’t enjoy at all. It was bland, the sauce was watery, and it lacked flavor altogether.

Despite emphasizing multiple times that this was a surprise celebration, the numerous simple mistakes and lack of professionalism left me deeply disappointed. Unfortunately, this is not a place I would recommend to anyone… especially for...

Had dinner last night for our anniversary. Made a reservation and put a note it was our anniversary and requested a window table. I know it's not always possible to get what we request but was really disappointed in the overall experience. The restaurant does have lovely decorations, vibes and views but it ends there for me.

We were seated between a bunch of people squished together (staff kept nudging and elbowing us between tables), no windows, nothing special. Whats the point of asking if it's a special occasion if the only interaction you get is a manager and server who seemed frantic and panicked. There were multiple window booths open and the restaurant was half full when we were there.

We got there way before the tables to either side of us and our food came out nearly 20 minutes later than theirs, despite our orders going in beforehand. We ordered easy stuff (pasta and an appetizer we shared). I've worked as a bartender/server for years so I know the server forgot to put in our food. It happens I understand but still irritating. The food was okay 🤷‍♀️ really not what I expected from something so highly rated. I know quality and service fluctuates and the people that work there are human but the cocktails were weak and poorly combined, soup was mild and bland, food was lukewarm and very delayed and we got a terrible table despite it being an important meal. Overall....really underwhelming and I wouldnt go back.

My suggestion to the restaurant would be dont ask if it's a special event if there is nothing special you can do (which you aren't required to of course). Encourage your manager and wait staff to slow down and breathe and to stop running around looking frazzled, even when they are, this isnt the norm for a "nicer" establishment. When a mistake is made acknowledge it and offer perhaps a drink on the house or even just an appology. Your on duty manager should be approachable and visible to patrons, not looking like he couldnt be bothered to engage.

Bummed we chose sophies (we stayed at the dean for a week which is an awesome hotel) ~ we will choose a better restaurant for our last night...

I booked a table for 7 people at Sophie’s for my birthday and I was very disappointed with the service. 5 of us including myself live in Drogheda and our morning bus to Dublin broke down on the way to Dublin. As we were on our way my 2 friends who were in the restaurant said that the manager repeatedly told them that we have 1 hour left of our booking even though the majority of us weren’t even there. When we eventually arrived we were 30 minutes late and the manager kept the same attitude and even blamed us for being late when this was out of our control. He had no empathy and wasn’t willing to come up with an alternative. He used the excuse that we were late and that someone else booked that table straight after our slot. I find it questionable that the manager can’t even accommodate slots in a manner that doesn’t disrupt other people’s booking regardless of their arrival time. I initially called the restaurant a month ago and was told by a male staff that we could stay as long as we want but the lunch menu starts at 2.30. The manager even claimed this wasn’t true. I wasn’t informed of the strict timing and it’s the duty of the company to inform me of this, not to disrupt my birthday brunch. This really affected my mood and the manager had no empathy whatsoever. He was rude and sarcastic. We were also the only black people there so I’m sure this is part of why his attitude was like that. To make matters worse the waiter who was serving us brought out my cake to sing happy birthday (I asked the restaurant to bring out a plate with a small dessert to wish me happy birthday like every other restaurant does which they didn’t do.) and he didn’t even know I was the celebrant which ruined the video. The waiter then took us to the terrace as the manager gave us an extra 30 minutes to stay, so we had to redo the cake being brought out and wishing me happy birthday. I will never go here again, the management clearly don’t prioritise customer satisfaction and...