Sofreh

This was a highly recommended restaurant to me by a friend but I walked away with a very subpar experience. The service and hospitality definitely need work. We were told kitchen is closing at 9:30 immediately upon seating - ok so why even accept a 9:15 reservation I made a few days prior? Our menu choices were criticized for not ordering balanced flavor profiles….that was a first, I’ve never been told I’m ordering wrong things. The appetizer portions were ridiculously small for the price and very bland and boring. The main portions were generous and quite flavorful - the only good part of the whole night was the eggplant and chicken dishes. The herbed rice side was nice to look at but had no flavor. We were also told we didn’t order enough food and an expensive app was recommended and ordered. It was not good and we definitely had ordered enough, we didn’t need it. Wine poured was spilled several times on our table. The service throughout the meal was in-attentive. We weren’t even given serving spoons with our dishes. At the end the minimum tip is at 20%. This is a joke. We won’t be back due to not that exciting food and pretty bad service.

Sofreh has a really nice and cozy vibe. The place looks beautiful and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. We ordered pomegranate beef ribeye, eggplant dip, and half chicken. Everything was tasty and well made. The ribeye was very flavorful, the eggplant dip was smooth, and the chicken was juicy. Overall, it’s a great spot for Persian food in New York.

(Review from March 2026): It’s very, very good, no denying the care that went into all the dishes. I think the veggies and salads stood out more for me than the mains. I really enjoyed the tahini and date salad, the dressing is absolutely killer. The cocktails are pretty great too. The service was the one detraction. The waiter we started with was great but she went off shift and her replacement seemed to mostly forget about us. Overall i really enjoyed Sofreh and hope to go back for more of the menu!

Good food, awkward hospitality… we enjoyed the food and drinks, but the way the staff communicate and look at you, you feel like it wasn’t worth the price you are paying … We had Eggplant dip and Herb koofteh for starters and half of the chicken, pomegranate ribeye, saffron rice, and tahdig for main. Tahdig was not crispy, everything else was good… You have to ask for iced water on an 80-degree day, what you get is a cup with some ice and a spoon, and someone fills your cups with warm water once in a while… I don’t know what’s wrong with putting some ice in the jar and leaving it on the table