Sobo Beach — Restaurant in England

• update as at 16 May '23**

Oh dear what has happened since my last visit where I'd given it 5 stars.

I went for lunch today when it was very quiet but still had a full complement of "chefs" in the kitchen.

I ordered calamari and chicken Wok, the same as last time when it is excellent.

But what a difference this time! The calamari was over battered, dry and most likely heat—lamped to death. To add insult to injury for £9 there were just eight small 'lumps' (isn't calamari normally rings of the squid) hardly enough to feed a cat. On first complaint I was told, somewhat unhelpfully "that's what you get".

I then tried the chicken Wok which was fine except for the fact there was zero chicken in it, not the merest morcel.

Back to the counter I go, this time I'm told that they would sort it out. A few minutes later I was presented with the same dish but now enhanced with some bits of hard, tough, dried out, over battered bits of chicken, a long way from succulent.

Whilst waiting I managed to talk to one of the more senior staff who, to be fair, was very apologetic and without prompting, refunded the calamari.

It beats me how a fully staffed modern kitchen can't prepare simple snack type dishes such as they are tasty, wholesome and fresh tasting.

Sobo beach certainly did but judging by today's experience, somewhere down the line they've lost the knack.

Such a pity.

This bar/cafe is a "pop up" until a permanent restaurant complex is built in a couple of year's time.

Sobo is really good, very quirky being built from a double decker bus and several shipping containers all decked out in a sort of Caribbean beach theme.

The food is excellent, with an interesting menu, nothing like the normal fare you'd expect by the beach. I had the stir fry chicken, freshly cooked, a large portion and delicious. Good value as well.

The staff are really friendly even bringing your food to the top deck of the bus.

I went when it was quiet but I'd imagine it gets very busy in season when the sun is out.

I'm sure you...

We visited whilst walking the dog on a bit of whim. It looked very funky, and the thought of a cold beer was too tempting!

Drinks were good, if a little overpriced but given its location it’s easy to see why they charge a bit more.

The menu sounded tempting so we gave lunch a try - we were in at midday and it wasn’t at all busy. Sadly, the food wasn’t with anywhere near the prices being changed. I ordered a chips, ‘special’ bavette steak tacos, and chicken burger and poke bowl. The bill was just over £40.

The steak tacos were stone cold, apparently that was intentional. I think they were all pre-made and stored in the fridge until ordered. I got two small tacos with one slice of steak in each. They were very bland (and surely should be hot!?)

The poke bowl was almost a joke - I did check I was being given the right thing as at £12.50, it was more the size of a McDonald’s side salad. One spoonful of guacamole, a bit of shredded carrot and some edameme beans swimming in soy with three pieces of watermelon the size of a dice. Really poor value.

The chicken burger and chips were ‘ok’.

Great looking place, fab location, but far below par food for the price - we wouldn’t eat...

I loved this place with a passion, such a lovely position and fantastic feel we also used the other locations within the group. It's my 50th this year and I wanted to plan my birthday with Sobo Beach and invite my family and close friends to celebrate with me. In 2024 I emailed twice to try and arrange the date, no response. In February 2025 I emailed no response and finally after a slight complaint one of the team finally responded to say that they were booked but they could squeeze us in, hence why I tried to book in 2024!!. Feeling slightly jaded from the experience we had a confirmed booking with pre ordered drinks and the top deck of the bus for 2 hours, great!!. However then 4 days later I had another email saying, "sorry we are fully booked on those dates and we can't accommodate you, sorry" By this time I was fuming and sent an email back and guess what no response. We did finally get a response once they realised that they had made an error on my booking and my party was booked. By this stage I'd had enough and booked at another venue that has been absolutely brilliant, can't do enough for you. Customers are important, do not forget...