Restaurant on edge of Hell's Kitchen that has been around for a while..
Good reviews but definitely mixed...not everyone is charmed by it
Sosa Borella
832 8th Ave
New York, NY 10019
Neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 262-7774
New York, NY 10019
Neighborhoods: Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West, Theater District
(212) 262-7774
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
50 St. (A, C, E)50 St. (1, 2)49 St. (N, Q, R)
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
- $$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
95 reviews for Sosa Borella
Review Highlights What's this?
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"Empanadas have a zing hint of lemon salt with and are fabulous." In 12 reviews
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"I drank an Argentinian white wine and my sister drank white sangria..." In 8 reviews
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"The filet mignon with chimichurri was excellent." In 9 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
95 reviews in English
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Review from Will C.
Got the Steak sandwich without bread, side of sweet potato fries. We sat in the patio area where I ran into fellow yelper Raphael, who was on a company lunch as well.
The waiter was great, introducing some fun into the awkward vendor-heavy lunch environment. The open sandwich I created was the envy of the table and I would recommend it over the steak frites. Had a half lemonade, half iced tea for a drink. -
Review from Michael Z.
Ridgefield Park, NJCame here for lunch today with 2 of my attorneys and absolutely loved it. Since it was a gorgeous day we sat upstairs in the outdoor patio.
I ordered the red sangria which was fruity and flavorful as well as the crab salad. This salad was amazing. Light, fresh and delicious. There was a lot of (real) crab meat, not just a spoonfull. The citrus dressing was really good without being too sweet or tangy.
I'll make sure to come here again. -
Review from Christina B.
WHITESTONE, NYSosa borella is a solid spot for a light dinner or some noshing before seeing a show.
One of the least touristy spots in the area and very romantically lit.
I love any type of empanadas so obviously that's what we ordered for starters. I liked that they came with a chimichurri dipping sauce, that was my favorite part. The empanadas very crispy but I didn't care so much for the filling. It was a beef mixture which didn't really impress anyone in our group.
We had the most fun sharing the food here. They have many pizza options and you can order 1/2 and 1/2 of any type they offer. ($20)
We went for the 'arugula' pizza and 'la número cuatro' pizza. I preferred the 'la número cuatro' since it involved mushrooms, spinach and fresh mozzarella. Vegetarian brick oven pizza is always a score! The arugula version had sausage and Gorgonzola which my friends loved.
Sosa borella is a great little place, the service could be a little better though. We were one of the only groups in the restaurant and it took our server forever to get us our check, we finished our food and he disappeared for what seemed like an eternity. During our meal he was really attentive though so Maybe he just really had to use the bathroom?-
Empanadas w/ chimichurri sauce! Yum
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Review from Marci M.
Manhattan, NYI always loved this place, until last night. It was my 12th visit and my last visit.
To kick things off, when told that my 2 friends and I weren't going to the theater and weren't in a rush, our waiter threw his hands up in the air. He then vanished for some time. He turned up, we ordered a bottle of wine and after serving that, he vanished again. When I finally waved him down to order appetizers to start, he gave us a stern talking:"they" don't like to do it that way; "they" only like full orders. "But since the restaurant isn't that busy right now, I'll do it."
When it came time to order, I requested salad in place of fries. "No substitutions allowed." When I said it had been done before, he turned on his heels for a 2 minute powwow with the manager, and then the manager turned up: "Someone wants to make a substitution? We don't allow that. Sometimes just with lunch you can get mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes instead of fries, but nothing else." When I said it had been done before, he said he would make an exception but only this one time. When my two friend ordered appetizers as their entree, the waiter made it clear he also wasn't happy that.
So Sosa Borella it's been nice knowing you. Zero flexibility and several stern talking to's by staff are just unacceptable in Manhattan. There are plenty of other places that will be happy to accommodate my substituion and do whatever they can to have me be a returning customer. -
Review from Erikka W.
Manhattan, NYEmphasis on the Italian side of the Italian-Argentine cuisine. The food was decent, the wine overpriced. The service was fine until we paid and never saw the waiter again. We were still finishing our wine and catching up, so after serving our table myself from the water pitcher at the waiters station, I got lazy and just left the pitcher on the table. No one noticed. Because no one came upstairs ever. Our waiter did come back, to have his shift meal on the other side of the room. And never acknowledged us.
They changed some of their menu and took off the more Argentine dishes that originally drew my husband to the restaurant. This was my first time here, and it'll probably be the last. The place might not have a touristy ambiance, but it's clear that tourists are all they're really expecting to serve. -
Review from Therese M.
Central Islip, NYExcellent food, a little more than moderatley priced. -
Review from Laura O.
Arlington, VAFast for a show dinner. Delicious pizza, warm atmosphere. -
Review from Jason K.
Great Neck, NYThis place is amazing. Went here after a Saturday matinee, and was relatively quiet (but grew more popular towards the beginning of dinner time for the night theater-goers). The second floor is more for the dinner crowd, rather than the "I'll have a few drinks before I see ____."
The servers are great. Will help you if you're on a schedule to see a show, etc. They did not have a reisling for my fiancee, so instead, our server brought THREE different wines for her to try and see which she liked best!
Grilled calimari salad was excellent! It was actually grilled and served hot, not cold and/or rubbery at all! The parillada was great, and a great value. While the short ribs were a little tough, the marinade, chicken and sausage made up for it. My fiancee had the parmesean encrusted chicken breast and loved it. Very juicy!
Overall:
Service/friendliness: A++
Food: A
Ambiance: Downstairs - noisier, more of a bar scene, Upstairs - quieter, nice dinner area, and somewhat romantic
Value: A+ -
Review from Frantz-Valery M.
Saint-Hubert, CanadaPretty good little restaurant made from an old house. Dim lights and small candles produce a good vibe for a romantic meal with a special someone. There's about a dozen tables and an L shaped sofa at the entrance and a bar across it. There's a second floor but I'm not sure what it's used for.
The cuisine is Argentinian with a splash of Italian. Good prices. Few small, minor flaws with the service. Not the biggest menu though but it's understandable view the size of the place. Very good; lots a flavor. Very good homemade desserts. The proportions are a tat bit reserved; I mean if you're used to eating at Applebees, you're going to leave this place with a little space still left in your tummy.
A very solid 3 stars. Minor flaws keeps it from 3 and a half.
Then again, it's just my opinion. -
Review from Paisley C.
Flushing, NYThe food was okay, nothing special.
I went for a birthday dinner of 14 people. Service was really good until it came to my order. I specifically asked if I can have the Fresh Fettuccine with Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Linguine instead of Fettuccine. The waiter Phillip said yes. But when I ordered, even though I specifically said Linguine, it came with fettuccine. When I spoke to the waiter, he handled the situation as if I never mentioned it to him and that I was the one at fault even though my friend next to me heard me say linguine as well. What happened to the customer is always right policy? I am severely disappointed, but I did not want them to remake it and possibly spit in my food. I'm never coming here again.
Charge for bringing your own cake and serving it is $3 per person.-
white sangria
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bread with pesto sauce
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ceviche
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Review from Robert S.
Theater District, Manhattan, NYWe went here after a play, meals and service were excellent. Quiet enough to talk, nice little Italian cafe feel. -
Review from Leslie H.
I think this restaurant is just okay. My favorite part about the meal was the chimichurri sauce. The empanadas were served very hot which was nice but the taste was just okay. My grilled calamari salad was mediocre. Also had the caramel crepes and didn't care for the caramel sauce inside. It was too thick and sweet. The service was good. The best part was the candles all around the restaurant which made it romantic. -
Review from Joe D.
Minneapolis, MNI picked this place out from Yelp results for a place close to where we were staying, I should have investigated further as this was pretty far from authentic Argentine. In retrospect, there being no Argentines or anyone there who spoke Spanish other than the busboy, that should have been a clue.
Empanadas - tiny. About the size of a silver dollar, that's a generous estimate. Carne only, not seasoned, tastes like bland ground beef with nothing else.
Wine list - honestly a lot of this is the cheapest Argentine table wine, at 1000% markup. A Michel Torino, which is really the cheapest wine in Argentina that you can get that doesn't come in a cardboard carton, costs maybe 12 pesos...4 USD. Here it's 44 dollars.
A lot of reviews rave about the sangria offerings, not going to be a snob but if an "Argentine" restaurant's big drink offering is sangria, you're up the creek. Sangria seems like more of a Spanish staple.
Having moved on from NY to Miami a few days later and had all of the best Argentine food that the U.S. has to offer at my fingertips, I really can't stress how much of a letdown this restaurant is by comparison. -
Review from Kim M.
New York, NYI have eaten here twice, with two sets of people. Everyone thought it was wonderful. I'm not much of a midtown kind of girl, but when I'm in the city, Sosa Borella is on my short list of restaurants staples to eat at.
The place itself looks from the outside like a dive. Ah ah ah! Appearances can be deceiving. Inside the decor is rustic/elegant. It is very lovely inside.
The food is lovely too, as is the service. The bread they start you off with is incredible; I think it might be the best bread I've ever eaten in any restaurant anywhere. It is like, infused with olive oil. I have no idea what they do to that bread, but it is amazing.
I had steak one time and chicken the next; the entrees were excellent. Everything was well prepared and delicious.
Sosa Borella has a nice wine selection, and waiters are knowledgeable about different wines.
The only miss of the night was dessert; it's good, it's just not outstanding, like so much at Sosa Borella is. I had chocolate cake both times; it was a little dry, to be honest.
Service was fantastic.
I have sat both upstairs and down; both are very nice; I would say upstairs is a little more intimate ("date-like" if you will).
Enjoy Sosa Borella! (I certainly have, and plan to again!) -
Review from V W.
Manhattan, NYwent there for lunch. Good food. Nice ambiance upstairs. Portions are small for the price. nothing memorable. -
Review from Greg F.
Reading, PAEverything about the night was great - we had an early Saturday evening reservation and were seated promptly on the second floor (such a nice atmosphere!).
Food including appetizer/bread was great, cooked well, warm and fresh.
Server was friendly and even helped us out with a special occasion we were celebrating.
Will be glad to go back if we're back in NYC. -
Review from Brian N.
Montclair, NJhttp://www.sosaborella.c…
Since the wife was out of town, and I love going to NYC and she doesn't, I found this weekend the perfect opportunity to take an excursion to the city. I hooked up with a good friend of mine Saturday who lives in NY and we went to Madame Tussuad's and Ripley's Believe it or Not, but the best part of the trip was dining at Sosa Borella's (to which my friend highly agreed.)
In doing research before heading out to meet up with my friend, I came to Yelp to peruse reviews of different restaurants we might wish to experience. My friend initially mentioned Olive Garden, to which I responded, "Nooooo, we're going to the city, we don't want to go to a "chain" restaurant ..." - so she told me I was in charge of selecting the restaurant. As my friend is Puerto Rican and loves Italian food, and I love both Spanish and Italian, I settled on Sosa Borella, tagged as Spanish/Italian.
This restaurant is tucked btwn a corner bank (Citibank if I remember correctly, on the corner of 8th & 50th) and another store - I might have passed it up if I hadn't been looking for it and noted the exact address. We walked into a nice, dimly lit atmosphere. Hard wood, exposed brick , rustic and beautifully warm. We arrived around 6pm on a Saturday - the place was half-filled (or half-empty, depending on that whole glass perception you may choose to follow.) We were asked if we had reservations - no - and we were lead upstairs - there seemed no difference, except we didn't have to watch people enter and exit nor watch the bar - so it was a bit more cozy upstairs.
Our waiter arrived promptly, and brought water and asked about drinks. I wanted pinot grigio, she wanted chardonnay - they were out of both, but the waiter suggested a substitute that was quite good, so we weren't disappointed. The menu had 3-4 options each of red meat/chicken, salads, pasta (for could-be vegetarians), and fish, as well as appetizers and pizzetas. The menu read well enough I wanted to try at least one thing from each section. The waiter returned with warm, soft bread and oil that was awesome - I couldn't have asked for better.
After hearing the specials, I chose the pan-seared monkfish - on a bed of spinach, dressed w/black olives and tomatoes. Holy shht, I think this was the best fish I've ever had, no joke, and it was prepared so well with the veggies, I ate every little bit. There was a side, a breaded zucchini patty thing, can't remember what the waiter said but it was good even though I couldn't truly identify. My friend had the grilled salmon and cous-cous, which she loved, but I was so into my meal-o-monkfish, I didn't even sample hers.
My friend ordered another glass of wine, but I saw a drink called "Sangria Mojito" on the menu I wanted to try. I figured, "I like sangria, love mojitos, I should try this." I don't know if this is made elsewhere, but after tasting it, I realized what a bad idea it was. Mixing the two wasn't horrid, but it was far from good, however, that didn't stop me from drinking it all. Maybe it didn't help that it looked like beet juice w/leaves in it...
The dessert menu came, with plenty to choose from, as well as coffees and after-dinner liqueurs - all seemed quite tasty, but I passed.
I dropped a buck-10 for all of that (including tip) - which I didn't think was too bad for the food/service/experience, but more than I expected from other $$ reviews.
I saw a couple groups up to 6 or 7, nothing beyond that, and one family had pre-teens, but I didn't see anything younger (and I got a good laugh when one kid fell out of his chair - haha.)
One last thing - the room was a bit tight - tables close together, just enough room for waiters to squeeze through - but people seemed respectful of how far their voices carry.
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