SoHo Gourmet Cuisines — Restaurant in Madison

Working on the south side of Madison, I have access to a wealth of Asian food options, so I was curious to find out how SoHo Gourmet Cuisine was going to carve out a niche for itself in this crowded market. While the dumplings I sampled from the SoHo food cart this past summer failed to impress, my experience at their bricks and mortar facility was far more impressive. When combined with passionate service and an inviting interior, the well-prepared food at SoHo has my taste buds clamoring for a return visit.

The open kitchen, with its gleaming stainless steel fixtures immediately caught my eye. Two large flat screens located above the counter project the menu options to prospective patrons. The matching black chairs and tables, together with the grey and cream floor tiles provided additional flair to the space. A boom box on a table in the center of the restaurant provided some soothing background music during my meal. While the dining area has a flat screen TV was mounted on the wall, it was not turned on during my visit.

The focused lunch menu has three main categories: 1) Dumplings (chicken, beef and pork) 2) Rice plates (BBQ Pork, Curry and Charbroil Chicken) and 3) Salads (Lemon Balsamic, Sassy Peanut and Soy Citrus).

During a recent visit, I elected to go with the daily special, the ginger - garlic fried rice with the $2 fried chicken skewer. After about five minutes, I received a massive bowl of fried rice topped with a perfectly fried runny egg. I savored the combination of the runny yolk with the fried rice - my only regret was that I wish there was more yolk. The fried rice was well prepared - not only did the kitchen do a terrific job of balancing the ginger and garlic components, they served the homemade soy sauce on the side, so I could control the seasoning of my dish.

The fried chicken stick was simply spectacular. The crunchy, lightly battered exterior gave way to the succulent, well-seasoned interior. It easily was the best $2 I spent that week.

Rocky, the passionate owner of SoHo, personally checked in with all the patrons during the busy lunch service. He quickly established a rapport with all the customers, whether they were newbies like myself, or repeat customers to the restaurant.

The combination of speedy, enthusiastic service with flavor-packed Asian-influenced fare makes SoHo Gourmet Food a welcome addition to my South Madison...

We came here for lunch while in the area because the menu looked interesting. And because somehow it has good reviews.

The inside feels a little dirty and a lot chaotic.

The mac and cheese dumplings were bland, but came out fast and fresh.

I ordered the Hong Kong curry with tofu, my bf ordered the Portuguese style curry baked rice. Both consisted largely of dry white rice. The sauce on both was the same greenish goop, but there wasn't enough of it. I wouldn't call it curry because it just tasted like lukewarm gravy. Eventually we tried to get more sauce to at least help the rice down, but all 3 employees were in the back for 10 minutes. And when one finally showed, he said they were out of the curry sauce and couldn't get us more.

I do have to say the tofu, potatoes, and carrots that came with mine were fried well and pleasantly crispy. But I was looking for more than dry, plain, fried root vegetables and white rice when I ordered a curry for $10.

I was going to talk to someone before we left, but again they were all in back and we finally just left. Definitely don't see myself...

If you havent been here, you are missing out! First of all, the smell before you even walk in the door is extremely enticing! Once you get inside, the decision on what to get is a difficult one to make. Their menu is the perfect size...it has plenty of options without being overwhelming. The hard part is that everything soumds delcious! The guy that took our order was phenomenally nice & was able to ask just a few questions & make suggestions...and he was so right! When the food came, it looked like it could've won a food contest and tasted even better! The flavor was spot on, the meat was so tender & the veggies were perfectly cooked. My mouth is watering typing this & I am still full from dinner. The restaurant was clean & the decor was minimalistic, but very inviting. I can't say enough good things! Check out the menu & get on over there...you...