SOST — Restaurant in Washington

I really wanted to like this place, but the service left so much to be desired that it completely overshadowed the experience. I should have checked the reviews on the Yelp first.

We had a reservation, but when we arrived, there was no one at the front to greet us. Tons of people were just walking in and seating themselves while we waited about five minutes before someone finally showed up. When the hostess did appear, we told her about our reservation, and she went to check on our table. She came back and told us the people at our table were refusing to leave, so there was no seating available.

Instead of having a plan to fix this, she awkwardly walked us upstairs, where there were no available seats. We stood around looking confused for a few minutes before heading back downstairs, where we were finally seated at a table.

Once we were seated, it took another 15 minutes before anyone came to greet us. The hostess and one of the many owners eventually brought us water—without straws—and apologized for the confusion. The waitress who finally came over was visibly upset and told us she had just received some bad news. We told her she could take a moment, but she insisted on working, which felt uncomfortable because it seemed like she was struggling. To make matters worse, there was another woman sitting in the back with a laptop—who also appeared to be an owner—and she didn’t step in to help at all, even though the waitress clearly needed support.

The lack of leadership was apparent throughout the night. At one point, another owner cut to the front of the bar line, grabbed drinks, and went downstairs to party and socialize instead of helping manage the chaos. Meanwhile, we struggled to even order a drink.

When we went upstairs to the bar, it was so crowded that the bartenders didn’t even look up to take orders. We eventually gave up and went back downstairs. My friend tried to order a specialty drink, but they said they don’t serve specialty drinks past a certain time. I ended up ordering a lemon drop, and when it came, it had a curly black hair in it. I pointed it out to the bartender, who apologized and took it back, but at that point, I didn’t even bother asking for another drink.

When the owner came over to apologize after we were finally seated, they offered my friend and me a shot. We didn’t take the shot right away because we had no food yet. Later, after we placed our orders, they offered us a second shot. Normally, after two shots, you’d feel something—but we both felt absolutely nothing. It made us wonder if the drinks were watered down.

The food was good—honestly, no complaints there—but the service was so disorganized that it completely ruined the vibe. It was hard to overlook how chaotic everything was, especially since there were at least four people who appeared to be owners or managers, yet none of them seemed to be doing much to keep things running smoothly.

To top it off, we spoke to an acquaintance who had also experienced a long wait earlier in the evening, so it sounds like this wasn’t just bad timing—it’s a pattern.

If you’re going to have this many staff members and claim to offer a more upscale experience, then the service should match the atmosphere and prices. Unfortunately, SOST missed the mark in that department.

Would I come back? Honestly, probably not—at least not until they figure out how to properly manage their staff, take better care of their customers, and serve drinks that...

The food was good and the overall vibe of the restaurant was very cool. That said, the low tables on the top floor made it more appropriate for drinks at a bar than full dinner.

The real problem was with the service we received. We sat down at our table at 7:15 - granted we were 15 minutes late. We were immediately told that our reservation was for 90 minutes only, which was fine. When we sat down, we ordered drinks and then appetizers, which were very good. Our server did not return for a long time, even though we had been done with the appetizers for a while. After ordering entrees (she repeated all 6 orders back to us), we waited upwards of 20 minutes and only 5 out of 6 dishes were delivered - mine was the one that was not. Our server appeared confused and went to check on the last item before returning over 5 minutes later to say that she had forgotten to put in the order. In the same breath, she told us that our 90 minutes were up and we would have to give up the table for the next reservation despite having just received our food.

My food finally showed up 15 minutes later, and since we were told we had to give up the table, I immediately asked for a box. I also asked for a small container for the sauce that came with the dish. I was still waiting for the container when the server and several others came to clear the table, including my plate with the sauce. I reminded her that I was waiting for a container, and she went to go get it. In the meantime, a manager came over and tried to clear my plate again, and I had to tell him again that I was waiting for the container. As soon as we received the container, I packed up the sauce with the rest of my untouched food and we left.

I have no problem with the 90 minute restriction, but the service should match that expectation. We were not able to order entrees in a timely manner after appetizers because we were waiting for our server to return. The food took a long time to arrive and then, when my food didn’t arrive because the order was never put in, I wasn’t even given a chance to eat my meal. And then I couldn’t even get a container to pack up my food to help clear the table. Much of the 90 minutes was eaten up waiting for our server, not because we were taking a long time. We also ordered many drinks throughout the time, so it’s not like we were just idly lounging at the table.

I was excited to try a new place and for the food that I ordered, but left feeling rushed and disrespected....

tldr: bad food. bad seating options. poor service. not conducive of an elevated restaurant.

We set a reservation for 4 people on Friday, March 7 @9pm at the Sky Lounge.

2 people arrived first. When we arrived we were not walked to our table. we were just told “she’s up both sets of stairs” and forced to find our way. This is a new establishment so it should be assumed that most of your customers don’t know their way around the establishment and good service would be to walk your guests to their table.

Which brings me to my next point…the “table”. My friend said it felt like we were in an Airbnb. I describe the table as a Wayfair coffee table. Hope that helps you get the picture. The tables were entirely too small in height and surface area. In the photo attached you can see our knees were higher than the table. We had to hunch over to eat. We ended up putting the plates on our laps and eating like we sitting on a damn couch!

Now the food…just don’t come here for the food. Our mistake of thinking this place was a restaurant more than a club but it seems they do not prioritize their food quality. The menu is very very limited. They only have about 5 entree options and they arent very cohesive. The water cups were plastic. The kitchen apparently is in the basement so they have to bring it up two floors. Regardless of that, the food came quickly but was all cold. It was as if they prepared the plates ahead of time and when someone ordered it they passed it out. The salmon entree came with mashed potatoes that were watery like a puree. The beef skewers had no flavor. The jollof rice lacked in flavor as well. It tasted like day old rice. The burger was unique, had a sweet sauce. The french fries legitimately tasted like McDonalds fries but were so bad couldnt even finish them. One person at our table refused to even order a meal once he saw ours. Mind you, we were all starving so this food analysis is on the lenient side.

The drinks were good and came in glass cups.

We did go down to the Vinyl lounge and it was small space and too packed to...