Sophie's Cork & Ale — Restaurant in Lexington

Sophie’s is a such a favorite for our family! My husband and I and our two teens have been coming for almost two years.

The good: There are solid menu items that are consistent faves (flatbreads and salads, tartlets, their Chorizo & Smoked Gouda Nachos, paninis)….but it is their specials that shine here! The special burgers get super creative. I’m talking about French toast burgers with incredible breakfast ingredients or bugers topped with calamari, tartar sauce, bacon tomato and onion. The pasta specials are also really interesting. Once I had seared venison tips and smoked bacon with Chapel Hill cheese and penne. But perhaps our favorite is the special salad. I hope they make it a regular menu item, as it seems to pop up a lot. There is usually a salmon salad offereing (oftened blackened) with candy-striped beets and their cherry white balsamic vinaigrette, which will knock your socks off!

The atmosphere is so much fun and really feels like a neighborhood place, but also somehow upscale while being deeply comfortable. The lit-up tree made out of wine bottles is so much fun.

There is a menu item or everyone! My daughter is pescatarian (and floating toward being a vegan) and she can always find something to eat. I have a lot of dietary issues including gluten problems and I also can always find something to eat. The carnivores are all happy with their big juicy burgers.

The servers are great. Often you’ll have several people come to the table to see if you need anything.

As mentioned, the wine and beer list is stellar. They have selections from local places, but also a really great smattering of wines and beers from elsewhere.

The prices are reasonable and the portions are big, especially the nachos, which are served with such a flare in a long dish.

The live music (when available) is really lovely. As somebody who grew up in the 80s, I really appreciated a particualr trio one night. They were playing acoustic, and it wasn’t until later, that I realized they were playing Nirvana and some other bands I grew up, but with a folksy twist. Such a treat!

The bad. I only have one negative comment, because this really is a favorite go-to place. The place can be smoky. Not cigarette smoky, but smoky like a kitchen-smoke, it’s subtle but sometimes it burns my eyes a bit, and I asked my other folks in the group, and they said they definitely feel it’s a little smoky, sometimes, but I’m probably the only one who is sensitive to it. Again, it is not lots of smoke, it’s just a bit of the type of atmosphere you get when you are in the kitchen and there’s a lot of cooking going on. I wonder if they could have some sort of extra ventilation installed?

Orderering and other tips:

There are some board games at the front when you walk in, so it’s a fun option if you have kids (or even adults) that wish to play trivia or something easy while you’re waiting for your food. In addition to the tables and fun furniture for larger parties, there are two or three small intimate tables near the bar that have beautiful lighting. And they feel private and a bit intimate even if they’re near the bar. Get the nachos! The presentation is tons of fun...

Last week I shared a post with a picture of one of the most creative mouth watering sandwiches I've seen called the Germans tomato &Cajun fried okra BLT from Sophie's Cork & Ale in downtown Lexington Nc, a sandwich that I knew i just had to get my hands on. Luck have it, the family and I happened to be at High Rock Lake Saturday for the 2023 Rowan Chamber Dragon Boat Festival so after the days events and being so close I dragged the family with me to get one. Now, this is a sandwich that is not on the menu every day, and Saturday was NOT one of those days, so there was a brief moment of dispar when it was not on special for the day. But after a short conversation with one of the nicest, outgoing and caring waitresses I've had to date, she went back to the kitchen and came back after a few minutes to inform us that they had just enough ingredients left to make only ONE. this made my wife very happy as she is a big tomato sandwich lover, so I let her have it, and I ordered the burger they had on special for the day as it sounded equally impressive. That BLT though was even better than it looked, our eyes were rolling in pleasure with every bite, and if there was ever a BLT that was worthy of a foodie destination experience status it would be this one right here. What was my burger, you ask? Well I forgot the name of it because my photo of the days specials has disappeared off my phone. But in short, it had andouille sausage a fried egg and 2 tempura fried shishito peppers. Creating another master piece that they knocked out of the park. Let's not forget about the large selection of wines they have, The ladies were definitely happy with whichever one picked up, and it was one suggested by the waitresses, this lady knows her stuff. Sophie's hit it on all cylinders with a great atmosphere, great service, and great food and wine. After dinner, the luck continued as we stepped out the door, and I saw The Butcher's Block directly across the street. I am like a kid in a candy store when it comes to butcher shop. I had to go in and see what all caught my eye, which was everything, particularly those humongous tomahawk steaks and ribeyes But it came down to a pound each bacon, jalapeño bacon, and sausage for brunch the next morning. All there were awesome, but that jalapeño bacon was off the chain. And if your the type that understands "fat is flavor" the rendered fat from the jalapeño bacon is probably the best I've had, you will al.ost want to drink it, it's just that good and packed with flavor. And to make it a triple for the day downtown, we headed down the street for some dessert doughnuts from Red Donut Shop, NC. It's been a long time since I've found a really good doughnut shop. That dry streak has now ended as this one is now at the top of my list for the best doughnuts. Our first visit to Downtown Lexington did not disappoint, and we will return to explore it more. You...

Well... We walked in and sat down on old, deflated (no padding on the seat bottom - AT ALL!) leather like chairs that sank IN. This put our chins about twelve inches away from the table. Not a great start. The rest of the atmosphere was done in dark colors - browns and browns and browns. Lots of wood... And some deep reddish browns. Nice bar area. Very moody kinda feel. Service was good. There was only one server for the entire place and we got there around 12:30 pm. He was on his toes the entire time. He checked on us once and refilled our waters. Nothing outstanding, but good. The food... Hmmm. It wasn't great... Just OK. For the prices we paid and the descriptions on the menu, I would have expected it to have been more than just OK. We were disappointed. We started with the bruschetta. The menu states that its a seasonal rotation on the bruschetta and to ask what they are serving and we didn't do this. Our bad. I think we were served "bruschetta" made of bok choy with garlic bread, balsamic glaze and Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. It wasn't good. The crab cake sandwich was bland - no spice - and very soft - it had no crust from frying or sauteing. It was also not hot, just warm. The remoulade had no flavor even though it was supposed to be "Cajun". It had one small (VERY SMALL) strip of bacon. I didn't even eat half and brought it home so I could put the crab cake in a frying pan to give it a fry up and some seasoning. My friend had the hot dog, which was on a huge loaf-like bun with chili, Dijon mustard and cheese. She said she wouldn't have to ever order it again. The one outstanding food experience was the hand cut Hatteras fries with sea salt. OMG! Those were the very best part of the meal. We split the order ($5 ordered separately as a side dish - they do not come with any sandwich.) One other food note: Sophie's has a separate little menu section where they have very expensive menu items like duck and filet mignon. Those prices are in the $25 to $38 range. We ordered sandwiches (that come with no sides) and our range was ($13 to $16). The bruschetta was $9 I believe. Also? If you order a soft drink, it comes in a bottle with a glass of ice. Overall, we were excited to try Sophie's for the first time but we're significantly let down by the food experience. I'm not sure we...