So Restaurant Bar — Restaurant in Little Rock

Visited here last night by reservation and we actually got there about 40mins early and hoped to just sit at the bar and get a drink while waiting for our table but was sat down right away. My special lady and I always prefer a booth and to sit right next to eachother as we enjoy sharing meals and doing our usual game at restaurants we play together while waiting for our food. They sat us at a 2 person sit across table at first and then accommodated our wants for seating which was very nice. That meant we took a 4 person table in the front of the restaurant across from the bar. Not sure if that was acceptable being a place of reservations but it made us happy. The communication at the restaurant must have been off because we asked about deserts first after realizing they are not on the menu and was told there was only one. We ordered our drinks and they came out pretty fast then after we ordered our food. We watched many tables that came in after us get plates and appetizers before ours was finally brought to us. It was over a 40 minute wait. The food was very good taste and appeal wise. We both got the special which was a 8oz steak with asparagus, crab mashed potatoes I believe, shrimp and some sauce that reminded me of a warm steak sauce. It was a play on a surf and turf. The potatoes were a little cold but both steaks being mid-rare were cooked well. Then shrimp and asparagus were a lil salty for my taste buds and hers as well. The manager came out did apologize for our wait and to our surprise offered us a free dessert they had many more to offer all the sudden. We had the tiramisu and it was honestly the best part of the night. If you sit up front you can expect it to be loud and everyone greeting each other like it’s a normal place for some to go to. The bar was packed before we left. Also there is only one bathroom for everyone. Expect to wait for your turn. Definitely not the fine dining experience I was hoping for with the prices $173 and I honestly recommend anyone to give them a chance seeing as there’s room for growth but we will not be going back.

Pretty pictures below to show the...

I typically would not post this type of review for the public to see. I contacted the restaurant in private, saw that they read my note and 48 hours later, still no response. So, here is the note I sent to SO Restaurant. “I visited your restaurant for the very first time last night, NYE. It’s a beautiful facility, charming and elegant. Our waiter was Brock. We had a 5:30 reservation for 6. We were seated promptly. We all ordered from the NYE limited menu. 5 of us got the oysters as our appetizer. The oysters were room temperature. It was an item that should be hot, melting cheese from being under the broiler. The oysters in the Bienville were very strong, fishy tasting/smelling. Very disappointing dish all around the table. The Turtle soup was ordered by most of us for the next course. It had good flavor, but has also room temp, not even warm. Again, very disappointing. Most of us ordered the prime rib for our main course. The mashed potatoes were divine, as was the asparagus with shaved yams. Delicious. The seasoning on the prime rib was excellent. The prime rib however, was also not warm, and mine was very, very tough. Difficult to cut. Just a terrible cut of meat. The desserts were hit and miss. Pineapple cake was great. The cheese plate was cold brie and a glob of apricot jelly. Just terrible. Never had cold brie cheese. The chocolate truffles were awful, dense, dry, hard, just awful. We ordered coffee and it took 3 times reminding Brock for us to get it, one in a dirty cup, and not hot. It was bad. It took 3 times asking Brock in order to get a glass of tea. Brock was frazzled, kind of high strung, odd. I wanted to inform you of our experience and I would never want to put this on public social media. We are all professional people and we eat at fine dining establishments often. Our tickets had a 20% tip automatically added in. I thought that was tacky. I felt this may have been the single most overpriced meal I have ever had then was forced to pay 20% for mediocre service from our waiter. I feel terrible even writing all this, but the owner of this establishment deserves...

I would have left a great review because the food was great and the service wasn’t bad. But a comment about if someone smells like marijuana will be put out. We were very confused and highly offended because not a soul in our group smoked nor do we smoke! We are professionals in upstanding positions at thriving companies that was just there to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Now the case would have been different if our party came in smelling like that stuff but we all came in like any other party wanting to fellowship and celebrate our friend birthday. Why was that comment even necessary? I DO NOT care to hear about anything with another party to use as an excuse because obviously we weren’t that group! And I hate to be THAT person, but that was definitely racially profiling if anything. Because I’m 100% confident that if we were Caucasian, that wouldn’t have been even a thought to cross their mind to say to. Do better and if the problem was there then address it but obviously there wasn’t a problem because nobody got put out nor did they smell any marijuana. So please be very mindful of comments like that because that can really tarnish a business by being that ignorant. Just know I enjoyed the food but that’s doesn’t cover the offense comment that was made. Will I be back?? I HIGHLY doubt it because of that comment alone. Not all black people smoke marijuana and not all white people are drug free! Next time post a sign that states about the smell instead of picking and choosing on who you...