The Sole Proprietor — Restaurant in Worcester

THIS RESTAURANT HAS MICE

I have never left a 1 star review, but my experience with the service and atmosphere at The Sole Proprietor was horrendous. After eating a delicious meal and having a wonderful server, Katrina, who was kind enough to wait on my party late on a Saturday night with such a great attitude (Katrina- not your fault!), my group and I saw multiple mice running across the floor and openly eating food off the ground in the booth next to us.

The mice were unbothered to be around people talking and eating nearby, which tells me they have made this place their home and are very comfortable being out in the open. The multiple mice we saw scurried along the side wall and behind people seated at the raw bar. We informed Katrina of what we saw (along with Carmen, who was less than pleasant) and Carmen stated, literally, "What do you want me to do, try to catch it?"

For a restaurant with $40+ entrées, no one should be eating their meal with rodents. I asked to speak to Cindy, their manager, who informed me verbatim that "This is an ongoing problem", "Every restaurant in Worcester has mice", and my favorite, "rest assured that the kitchen in the basement is completely sealed off". Cindy, there is literally no chance that if we are seeing mice out in the open on the dining room floor, there aren't mice in the BASEMENT kitchen?! Also, when I reiterated back to her what she said to me by saying, "So multiple people have eaten here and seen mice?", she tried to walk it back. The pandering tone insisting that this was common was the worst part. Cindy, I don't blame you, but girl. You could have at least comped our dessert as we saw the mice mid-dessert.

We tipped Katrina 20+% and paid our entire bill after seeing mice on the floor. My only regret is not informing everyone else still eating in the restaurant about it there and making a bigger scene.

Worcester Housing and Health has been contacted and Mass. Dept of Health as well. So unfortunate because I understand this place is an establishment! Mice can absolutely be a problem, but please, dear lord, find a better way to handle it...

I recently had a very disappointing experience at the Sole Proprietor. My husband, my son and I were celebrating a special occasion and were looking forward to a delicious seafood meal, but unfortunately, that's not what we got.

We started. off with some appetizers; fried clams, steamers, clams casino and a beer for each my husband and son (i was not drinking). Unfortunately, the steamers were undercooked and sandy, the clams casino chewy & the fried clams cold. We didn't complain bc we didn't want to ruin our special dinner.

But the worst part of the night came just after we ordered our entrees (we each ordered 2lb. lobsters). When my husband and son tried to order a second beer, the waitress refused to serve them, saying she wanted to make sure we got home safely. We were in disbelief, since neither my husband nor son were remotely intoxicated on one beer and we were quietly enjoying our time together. Furthermore, I explained that we had taken an Uber to the restaurant and I was not drinking. She still refused to serve them. She called the manager over and he also refused to serve them, awkwardly staring down my son. It was a very unpleasant and ridiculous situation, especially since they are responsible drinkers and have never been loud, rude nor disruptive in any way.

What's even more frustrating is that this has never happened to us anywhere before, except THIS restaurant. We were hoping the previous incident was just. a one-off during Covid. It's insulting and outrageous to accuse us of being drunk and saying we are incapable of making responsible decisions.

I would not recommend Sole Proprietor. The food was mediocre, and the staff's behavior unacceptable. It's a shame because we were looking forward to a great. dining experience, but instead we left feeling disappointed and...

Visiting The Sole Proprieter for the first time on a Saturday night, I felt very fortunate our party had a reservation as the place was packed full at 6:30 pm. We ordered mussels and oysters as an appetizer, and I ordered a Shrimp California Roll sushi ($14) while my companions ordered Spicy Tuna Crunch Sushi ($16), as well as a seared tuna platter and lobster bisque. The quality of the ingredients was very high, which is why I gave the food five stars. But overall, the experience was a bit uneven, so I brought down my overall rating to four stars. Here is what I am referring to. My California roll was not flavorful. I have eaten California rolls all over the map and this was one of the blandest I've ever tasted, even when splashed with soy sauce. I did not taste the traditional avocado/cucumber filling and there was no fish roe on the outside. I am glad I asked for spicy mayo to elevate the taste, but even so, I would not order that type of sushi here again. My companion who ordered the seared tuna received a nearly raw piece of tuna and did not finish the dish. Perhaps more communication with the diner would have been helpful. The mussels were well spiced and cooked, and the oysters were likewise judged to be good. So I gave a high score for the food ingredients. Also want to mention that the fish platters seemed expensive to me but I am not an expert on fish prices in the area so I did not want to judge whether this place is a good value for the money. The sushi was a decent value. I wasn't that hungry and sushi was a good choice for me. I would encourage people to check out the prices before making a reservation as I was surprised...