Sofia, So Fine

Sofia Wine Bar

Tonight I was invited to try Sofia Wine Bar, Cafe so I headed to the East side and walked in to the ground floor of a brownstone on 50th street. I felt like I had stepped into someone's home. It was warm, inviting, and full of interesting antiques. It was immediately clear that Sofia was something special.

Sofia is an impressive wine bar, with a wine menu that features over 100 wines by the glass that rotates monthly. However, don't be fooled. You absolutely must try the food. There is a very good reason for the "Cafe" part of "Sofia Wine Bar, Cafe". 

It did not surprise me at all to learn that Sofia is a family business operated by a father & son with the wife/mother running the kitchen. All of the recipes are family recipes, passed down from generation to generation. To do the recipes justice, they use fresh, organic ingredients. 

To start the evening, we got to try three items off of their Small Dishes menu. The Stuffed Mushroom & Artichoke kicked things off on a very high note. The richness of the stuffed mushroom was complimented by the tenderness and delicacy of the artichoke.

Stuffed Mushroom & Artichoke

From there we moved on to the Meatball & Fresh Sauce and were all sopping up the tomato sauce with the bread, completely impressed.

Meatball & Fresh Sauce

Next was the Bruschetta Trio featuring an Olive Tapenade (top), Classic Tomato (middle), and Ricotta & Honey. Each of these were fantastic, but I was really blown away by the Ricotta & Honey. The perfect proportion of each made something so incredibly simple, purely magical.

Bruschetta Trio

Next, we were treated to two Pizza selections. Our vegetable pizza featured olives, mushroom, & red onion while our meat pizza featured 18 month aged San Daniele. Again, the quality and freshness of the ingredients shone through.

Pizza Vegi

Pizza Prosciutto Crudo

To finish the evening, we had the cannoli- the only item on the menu not hand made in house. These babies are flown in especially for Sofia directly from Sicily. You think that sounds crazy with all the great cannoli made here in NYC?  Well make sure to leave room to try one. The dense, rich filling definitely sets these cannoli apart.

Cannoli

Sofia Wine Bar, Cafe is the ultimate neighborhood gem. Don't believe me? Let's go back, I'll gladly stick my hand in their replica of the Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth) and have another lovely evening at Sofia.

Bocca della Verita

*My meal was provided by the restaurant as part of a Press Dinner.