Sorelle — Restaurant in Charleston

Let me preface this review by letting you know that my wife and I lived throughout southern Italy for 3.5 years. So when we heard that a restaurant was opening downtown focusing on southern Italian cuisine, we were over the moon.

The atmosphere and location are both charming. It is in an old historic building on broad street with a view of Saint Michael’s church. The lights for the building went out on multiple occasions but then restored (from an intimate candlelit ambience to being extremely bright when fixed after our eyes had adjusted to the dark). I’m sure that as a newer restaurant, kinks are still being worked out. For a Tuesday night, the restaurant was absolutely slammed. At first when we arrived, my wife and I thought that they might be over staffed due to how many staff there were buzzing around (Sommeliers, waitstaff, bartenders, maître (and maybe busboys?)). This however was not the case, as we watched customers around us grow impatient and some even walked from their tables to the bar to order drinks instead of waiting to be served. The staff was polite and I personally was in no rush so I didn’t mind waiting longer for service. The high-tops were too small for the choices of plating. Two appetizers, cocktails and water glasses (which were also large) would not fit on the table and we were forced to use the ledge beside our table. My wife ended up dropping her fork due to the limited space but it was however promptly replaced by staff.

My espresso martini was average but I was glad to see them actually use espresso instead of some coffee liquor. We were incredibly excited to try the Arancini as that was our favorite street-food in Italy. The ingredients themselves were good and it was fried to perfection but there was too much cheese and not enough ragù. The sformato di funghi was blander than I had hoped. Just because Italian cooking is often simple doesn’t mean that the flavors shouldn’t be distinctive. The Branzino and olive oil was too heavily salted and I would’ve liked the baked pasta to have been edible to accompany the dish but the caponata redeemed it. The Tagliatelle Nero was cooked perfectly Al Dente but I could not taste the squid ink that is usually a core flavor of a Nero pasta dish.

We ordered the limone dessert which was good. I was surprised to see that their dessert menu did not include Digestifs like Limoncello or Espresso. I asked the waitress and she said they did have limoncello so we ordered two thinking it would be how it traditionally is in Italy (as a small shot). The pour was however twice as much as traditionally given and I could not finish mine. Sorelle should half both the cost and the volume. I also ordered a cappuccino seeing as they had a La Marzocco machine. The espresso was under-extracted with a slight acidity and lack of body which was evident even through the milk (which needed to have more air introduced while steaming than it did). Overall, the portions were good; my wife and I left being pleasantly full despite skipping lunch. It was nice to try some signature dishes from southern Italy that we haven’t tasted in years. We think Sorelle has a lot of potential but we’re sad that it did not meet our expectations food-wise. We will be revisiting again at some point to try some other dishes as we never write-off a restaurant after one visit. I will update my review if our...

From The Draw Of A Hat (picking a different restaurant every 2 weeks from the top 50 restaurants in Charleston - according to Charleston Magazine)

03/27/2025 - Sorelle - on Broad Street - Southern Italy meets Southern hospitality at Sorelle, a dining destination like no other on Charleston’s storied Broad Street.  Inspired by Italy’s all-day cafes, abundant markets and rich culinary traditions, Sorelle features a mercato, central bar, wine room, and a grand dining room offering a variety of experiences for every food lover.

This was TRULY an elegant dining experience. It is NOT easy to get reservations. We always plan a month ahead and still we had to wait for a confirmed reservation.

From the moment we walked in, we knew we had found a treasure. They escorted us to one of the BEST tables in the upper dining area. It was a large marble topped table that commanded the best view of the entire room. I felt just like a celebrity.

Our waitress, Lucy, was so nice. She took her time to hear about us and our tastes and preferences. The entire staff was top notched. There was one who served the bread, one who cleared the plates, one who wiped down the table, one who brought the drinks, one who brought the appetizers, and one more who brought the main course. The General Manager Dario Vigil came by for a chat and made us, once again, feel important and special. The table next to us had a sea bass that was prepared table side and to see Dario Vigil work his magic on that fish was "dinner and a show" and worth the price of admission.

Ron and I started with the Carciofo E Aioli (Crispy Artichokes, Pinzimonio, Lemon Aioli) and a wonderful Signature Meatball sitting in a generous layer of Polenta. For the main courses, Ron ordered the Chicken Milanese (Sweet Peppers, Spring Vegetables, Parmigiano Reggiano) and I had the Pork Chop Alla Griglia (Apricot Mostarda, Amaro Nonino, Roasted Pecans). For side dishes we had Patates (Olive Oil-Fried Potatoes, Rosemary, Castelmagno) and Cavolfiore (Fire-Roasted Cauliflower, Sicilian Chilis, Herbs).

I would normally have steak but the price was over $98 and I was not going to risk paying that much and not liking it. I decided to go with a safer "sure thing".

To say the least, the food was excellent. The artichokes were light as air. The meatball would make a great main course. The Chicken Milanese was a little bland, but the pork chop was so juicy and tender it melted in your mouth and the portion was huge! We had no desserts.

The ambience, the food, the service ... everything was amazing and outstanding. This was truly "dining out".

The price for drinks and dinner and everything for the two of us was almost $400.00. And it was worth it!

The next day, I got a nice email from Dario Vigil. We had told him how hard it was to get a reservation so he sent me a personal reservation link next time we wanted to book a table to ensure that our next visit would be just as memorable. Isn't that classy?

We...

Charleston is loaded with fine dining restaurants and Sorelle is one of the latest. Located on Broad St. near the Four Corners of Law, three old charleston homes have been merged into this very unusual and attractive restaurant. There are actually two complexions to the restaurant, a less formal bar dining area with a limited menu, including pizza and sandwiches, and a more formal dining room on the second floor with an extensive menu and a large well schooled waitstaff. There is also a small merchandise/coffee area near the entry foyer. We had relatively early reservations to accommodate a show time. We were a few minutes early for the reservation but required to wait until our reserved time. This drives me crazy but is common in many restaurants. Why make early arrivals wait to be seated in an empty restaurant? There was plenty of waitstaff twiddling their thumbs and we could have easily sat with a drink rather than wait ten minutes in a crowded entry foyer. Makes no sense. We were finally called forward and led up to the formal dining area (relatively empty)where we were seated. Service was quick and efficient and we shared appetizers and drinks while perusing the menu. Bread ($9) was a small freshly baked fougasse, warm and crispy with a small chilis hidden within. The Arancini ($14) was perfect. For main dishes, three elected the pastas, the Ragu, the Sorelle spaghetti and the Pillows of Gold, the ragu and Pillows were excellent. The Sorelle spaghetti was less so, being a bit overcooked and pasty. The star of the show were the scallops, perfectly prepared and accompanied by semolina dumplings. We shared dolce, but they were not noteworthy. The dining room filled quickly and by the time we left it was full. Noise level was relatively low and you could easily hold normal conversations. On the other hand, noise level in the bar area on the first floor which we passed departing, was earsplitting. Probably not the location for a quiet dinner. Overall service was very good. I counted seven different waitstaff including the sommelier, visiting our table for one thing or another. Decor was very eye pleasing, a subdued elegance with comfortable seating and lighting. The location is on a busy street but there is a nearby parking garage and they have valet parking. Overall this is a terrific addition to Charleston’s fine dining scene. The prices are high, even by charleston standards, and reservations are difficult,, better make them a couple weeks in advance for prime times. We found the restaurant a little pretentious, and that takes some of the glow from the experience. Finally, if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, not much here for you. In summary we give it 4.5 clams on the coveted Five Quahog Rating Scale (five stars on Google’s scale). FIG remains the one and only Charleston fine dining restaurant...