SOHN — Restaurant in San Francisco

If I’m going to be honest, I predict this place will go out of business in the next two years unless they get their act together. It’s already a 4.3 and only open for a few weeks.

We went today for the first time, wanting to avoid the initial hype and crazy lines. There were still decent lines on both the dine-in and the takeout front but we thought the takeout one would go quicker. Not really. Let me tell you what happens. You wait in line while everyone is on their phones looking at the menu. There were five parties ahead of us and it took us nearly 20 minutes until someone came out to take our order. By then, they were out of vanilla, melona, and most pastries. We then ordered the galbi melt, the cream top banana milk, and the rice bowl with the herbs.

The coffee bar has one person back there working on things and in twenty minutes we didn’t see her pull a single espresso shot, only mixing and pouring cold drinks. It was shocking that the throughput was so incredibly slow.

The food we give mixed reviews. The rice bowl was pretty mediocre. It was a whole bunch of sharp spring mix, very little seaweed, a very runny egg, and a ton of mushrooms. Mushrooms weren’t listed on the menu or I would have never gotten this dish. It was not good. I later went to another restaurant to get more food since I was still hungry. The galbi melt however was quite delicious. Flavorful and well put together with the croissant and kimchi. The coffee drink was slightly too sweet.

Their biggest challenge is either they don’t have enough back of house staff or they’re not tasking their team with things that can improve throughput. If someone has to come out to take our order ages later, make it so we order online in advance and don’t have to wait in a line. Or instill a kiosk or two. The menu is also very small and should be manageable operationally. Cookie dough can be refrigerated in advance and if people are ordering, pop a tray in the oven as you go. There should be more people working on putting the food and drinks together than there are coming to take orders.

Waiting in a very slow line for bad food (the rice bowl was my order) makes the customer...

I brought my elderly Korean parents to dine at Sohn right at opening on a Friday morning. My dad ordered the Mayak Gyeran rice and devoured it. He loved the flavor profile and all the mixed greens and was so impressed how much flavor there was without any gochujang. My mom ordered the spicy cold noodle salad, and it was the perfect dish for her, as she loves noodles and doesn’t prefer to eat meat. We also ordered the popcorn chicken, butter mandu, sausage croissant, and the breakfast sandwich (updated recipe with bacon and onion jam that I unfortunately didn’t get to try because my dad ate it all before I could grab a bite). Everything was delicious! Food came out quickly, service was warm and friendly from every team member we engaged with, and people checked on us often. The space filled up immediately at opening with people trickling in and grabbing tables while hostesses manned the takeout orders swiftly. Despite how many people were in the space, it didn’t feel overly crowded or noisy. Korean music playing in the background is such a great vibe for hanging out or working, and the volume level was perfect for having a conversation with my parents. Everything about our visit was warm, homey, comforting, and hospitable! I live down in the South Bay, but will try to make it up here at least 1-2x/month to work, meet up with people, and grab a soulful bite. The food, drinks, artwork peppered throughout, Maum store, and space all pay homage to Korean food, heritage and design, and it made me feel so proud to be...

I was really excited for this place to open, but so far I haven’t been impressed.

Food and drinks are good, but not amazing. I liked the banana flavor of the banana oat milk drinks. The galbi patty melt turns the galbi into a burger patty which I feel loses some of the point, but it’s nice flavor-wise. I can see what they were going for with the egg sandwich but the form factor is really poorly suited to the soft egg; it’s nearly impossible to eat without the egg just completely falling apart and dropping from the sandwich. Also had a bit too much cheese for my taste, with the ham and cheese overpowering most of the nice egg flavor.

The wayfinding and expectations around seating/ordering are next to non-existent. We were waiting in line only to be told once we got to the front that seating was full, but it’s open seating so if you find a spot you can grab it, and you order from their Toast page. So, it feels like the line forms for no reason. The staff are nice, but everything seems really inefficient and confusing. Sometimes they walk around calling your name with your drinks. Sometimes they just put it at the end of the bar silently and you have to go check.

Space is nice. I can recognize the desire to want to make a comfortable space for co-working but it would be nice for everyone waiting if there was a time limit or restriction on using laptops, at least for the first few busy opening weeks until things settle down to a more...