sonder — Restaurant in City of Kingston

Food overall was very good. It is clear that a lot of thought and creativity went into each dish, and it was executed well.

The service, however was exceptionally poor. Very frantic and confused. We had a question about our reservation, but there is no phone number. So we emailed--3 emails over the span of 3 weeks, not one response.

When we arrived, our table was not ready. No big deal at all. But instead of having us wait, they sat us at the dirty table and then had us stand back up when they came to wipe it down.

They passed out a stack of plates and silverware to pass amongst ourselves. It was the wrong number of plates. When they came to bring the water, they brought 1 small carafe for 8 people and said they know it won't be enough but don't have any more clean ones, they're in the dishwasher. They could easily just have filled out glasses and went to refill the carafe.

Then, we order the wine. When they bring the bottle, they realize they only gave a few wine glasses so pour a few and scramble to go find more; same issue as the carafes I guess. As they took our app/main orders, they started to walk away and missed one person's order; had to get them back.

The table wasn't bussed at all, so when they brought the mains we had no space and had to make piles of dirty dishes, which remained there until we left. Each main dish was shouted out for us to raise our hand, instead of taking the order per seat and placing it for each person. They didn't pay attention to which steak was cooked which way either, so we had to inspect and figure it out.

Dessert comes around, and after we place our order the waiter comes back and tells us they're out of what we want and can make more in a half hour. So we left.

All throughout the meal, the guests and staff were leaving the patio door open so it was very drafty inside--multiple people from different tables kept getting up mid meal to close it.

Quite unfortunate experience in the end. We were very excited to eat here but there's only so much that great food can make up for such...

Super mixed feelings on this place. They had maybe the best jammy eggs and corn I've ever had. The bread and butter were out of this world, and it's so cute and unique inside. The bathroom was clean and spacious, too.

And even though the food came in kind of a wonky order.. everything was good.

But.. the wine list reads as most places w a pretentious Somm do, with no tasting notes and only weird things that don't actually help, like "Tom Cruise gliding off a building to defeat the villain." So, dry? Fruity? Lol :/

And while our server was such a cool dude, there was absolutely zero bussing happening and we had to keep putting dirty plates on the table next to us (which was already dirty from the guests who were there before). Also, the to go boxes were tiny, made of cardboard (?), and didn't close properly... so not great for their super liquid-y dishes.

Last, I love when you can tell that staff is having a good time. Good music, good vibes. But when it's 9:45 and everyone's ripping glasses of wine behind the bar and then forgetting simple steps of service (like asking how food is or grabbing water refills) it's a little off-putting.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend this place for foodies and people visiting the area. But I'd say lower your expectations for service, because it totally feels like management is non existent and staff lives their best lives in...

Here I sit, longingly reminiscing about a meal I ate with my friends nearly two months ago.The five of us had just emerged from a gorgeous and exhilarating fall day at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. We were ravenous, eager and apprehensive as we entered Sonder Wine Bar, a recommendation we had gotten from a stranger. Could we trust our source?

We arrived just before doors opened for the evening and were happily greeted by Amelia. From the delicious Portuguese wine that she graciously let us sample (before we bit off on a whole bottle or two), to the scrumptious Chocolate Brownie dessert, the kitchen at Sonder was knocking it out of the park.

The following are just a few suggestions from our evening at Sonder: The Zata’ar Bread with Parsnip Butter will bring you right to your knees. Trust me when I say you’ll be wondering if you could successfully duplicate this at home. The Brothy Beans won’t let you down either as they are perfectly comforting and balanced. The Sonder Burger is simply unmatched with its juiciness and complex flavors.

Sonder Wine Bar is NOT to be missed! If I were in close proximity, I would eat there at least once a month. Alas, as I live 500 miles away and am left to only reminisce, until next time.

To Dan and Amelia, thank you for a most memorable meal with my friends. See you next October, without a...