Sotto Review

I went here for my birthday and was very impressed! We started with the goat cheese/honey grilled bread and the chicken liver mouse grilled bread, the flavor combinations and textural contrast were amazing. Next we split the Gnocchi and the Cappellacci, they were fantastic! Also if you like Gin, I highly recommend their Bennedetta

This was a fantastic experience with great service. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the whole menu and made great recommendations on food and drinks for the whole table. Would highly recommend visiting here.

A 3-star rating (with the possibility for improvement) because we had reservations for my birthday and: 1) we were seated 30 minutes later, on a Monday; 2) walk-ins were being seated before us; 3) staff did not acknowledge our wait until they were seating us; and 4) they did not offer to make up for the substantial wait - not a believable apology or dessert or a discount. That said, the service was good - a few mix-ups, so not great. The food was, by all accounts, excellent. Definitely save room for the Italian doughnuts. Perhaps next visit will be better overall.

Loved the setting. The food was great and the service was wonderful. For the price you cannot beat it. We will definitely be returning.

Most authentic Italian food and experience since I was in Italy itself. Couldn't rave enough.

Went with a bacholar party. I split the 1kg porterhouse with a friend, amazing. We actually all tried each other's dishes, not a bad one in bunch. Their short rib ravioli was incredible. Tried most of their desserts, amazing. I'd say an average bill per person will be around $40-50. They add 20% gratuity with the bill. Our waiter was excellent. The atmosphere excellent. A must eat place.

Please dont eat at my favorite restaurant and make it too crowded.

Good good. Great service. Like the ambiance. A little noisy

The cocktails were great. The food was good, the ambiance, the buzz is great.

Unbelievable service and the food is amazing. Make sure to get the donuts for dessert!!

Weve had almost all there pasta dishes for dinner, and the quality almost reminds me of when I visited Naples Italy. Very comfortable ambiance, but the food is the most important part. I like how the menu is very limited, every one of their items is made to perfection EVERY time, absolutely love it!

Probably one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. Get ready to spend some money though.

My favorite date night spot. Great food, drinks and atmosphere.

Best italian in Cincinnati without a doubt. Excellent restaurant

Intimate atmosphere and adventuresome plates. Bring someone special!

Incredible atmosphere - especially for an intimate dinner. Every dish on the menu is exceptionally good. Be sure to try the cacio e pepe pasta. Quite possibly the best restaurant in Cincinnati.

mehhhh. wasn't worth it for the price for us. $106.00 bill for OK food. the place itself is gorgeous. really romantic and cool atmosphere.

We came for a birthday dinner. Two diners could eat everything, one a vegan. I called beforehand to check on dining options. I was assured there was a full menu for a vegan. This was not the case.
The only starter was bread with garlic (which was quite tasty). There were three salad options and only one pasta. Everything else had cheese. If you remove the cheese from the dish it doesn't taste right and it's usually way too small.
The other problem was their assurance that the portions were 'Italian sized' which or server made clear meant small. We lived in Italy for three years and returned last summer for a visit. One of our big disappointments was that we could never order full meals (appetizer, primi, secondo, dessert) because we were full after pasta. The servings were quite large in our experience.
We had a lovely evening, but left disappointed.

What a great experience, the entire staff was friendly and professional,
the food, well it was delicious!

We highly recommend Sotto...

Amazing service, above and beyond what we could have imagined! It was incredible!

This place is a beautiful restaurant in the basement of a building. I love the stone and wood. Comfortable and rustic elegant all in one. The service was great. Knowledge friendly staff. From the front end to the kitchen. Our waiter was helpful nice and always there when we needed him but not when we didn't. The food was amazing and the desserts are some of the best. Everyone should come to Sotto at least once.

Great food! Wonderful setting. Great service! Loved it!

Wonderful time. Exceptional service. Thank you, Ryan. Fantastic Food

I went to Sotto Feb 14 for lunch. The food was great in the restaurant however when I went to eat my leftover at home I found a piece of a plastic wrapper in my panini. I almost choke.

One of the coolest restaurants in all of Cincinnati. The atmosphere is top notch as is the food and service. This is one of mine and my wife's favorite places to eat. Highly recommend it.

Just got back from Italy so I was annoyed when friends wanted to eat here, but I was no longer annoyed when all of my food was amazing, and it seemed like a continuation of my visit. Authentic and well-executed.

Sotto has no rival in Cincinnati. This romantic, wine cellar venue offers the very best Italian cuisine in the city. Yes, it may be hard to get a table so be sure to book in advance. Worth it though. The service was impreccible and the experience was unique. This is a must try.

Cozy romantic environment. A little hard to hear in groups at busy times. Service was prompt and attentive. I had the honey walnut goat cheese appetizer and the short rib pasta for my lunch entree. Both were delicious, and the meal ended with a lovely little donut. If it wasn't impolite to lick the plates I think I may have!!

Amazing. Atmosphere. Service. Food. I loved everything.

Honey goat cheese bread was an amazing bite.

The octopus was spectacular.

The short rib pasta is probably the best pasta I've ever had.

And the olive oil cake was just simple... And absolutely delicious.

Go here. Amazing place.

Absolutely exquisite! The service was impeccable and the food delicious! Shared 3 courses - the feta bruschetta, black male salad and two small pastas. All of them were expertly prepared, bursting with flavor, and enough to fill our bellies.

Finished with the ricotta donuts FTW! (I'll be back with the children for those again)

If you want to feel special when celebrating one of life's wonderful occasions like a baby, then Sotto is an ideal restaurant. We scheduled our colleague's baby shower over the lunch hour. Food was delish. (Beats eating a salad at my desk.) Pastry chef went the extra mile and filled our beignets with pink, luscious filling . Waitstaff was fantastic. Yes, it was hard to go back to work!

This was the best tasting meal that I've had in quite some time. The deserts were delicious. Try the fresh donuts with dipping sauces.

Service was wonderful (J. Rodgers), delicious appetizers, pasta cooked to perfection, sauces a bit too salty, but the music selection was dreadful and loud, it was hard to talk.

We went here to celebrate a birthday with a group of four and the food was great! Our server also made great recommendations! I would definitely go again!

Classy place
Very good real italian food
Staff very professional

My favorite place to eat In downtown Cincinnati. Consistently fantastic food, drink and service. If the octopus is on the menu then you need to try it.

My husband and I went for our anniversary. We were seated right away with our reservation and the atmosphere was romantic and wonderful! The food was some of the best I have tasted on my life! Every course just got better. I would Highly recommend the Goat Cheese and Honey Bruchetta, it melted in your mouth, it was glorious. Our server was very knowledgeable about the wine list and menu. I hope we have a chance to go back someday. I have already recommended to many of my friends. They even put a candle with our dessert. All in all, wonderful experience. Thank you

Food and service are the best in the city. Every time we go, the servers genuinely care about your experience. The food...it s something to dream about. We live 2 hours away and will drive in just for dinner. Even though I seldom eat meat, I have a cheat day just for breaded pork, IT S THAT GOOD! The cappellacci will melt in your mouth, and make sure you get their donuts! Made fresh, not too sweet, and with three amazing dipping sauces. If you decide to eat anywhere else, you are missing out.

Great abience. I arrived late to our party of four. Everyone ordered before I got there. I ordered the polenta, which turns out everyone else ordered that too. A little too salty for my taste. Next time I would suggest everyone ordering different entrees to share. It was fun to watch the making of hand made pasta in the back room. I did not order dessert, but others in our group did, so I sampled the chocolate budino; gianduja mousse and candied hazelnuts and the panna cotta; amarena cherry jam, chocolate pistachio biscotti. Both were delicious.
Nice touch of real cloth hand towels in women's restroom.

Beautiful place! Awesome food and Tim and all of the staff couldn't have been better! Excellent!

Delicious food and cocktails. Staff is excellent, definitely pay for valet parking.

I've never written a review for a restaurant before but I feel that I had to for this one. We came here two nights in a row due to how amazing the food and service was. Bryan in particular made our nights by being so friendly the first night and the second night invited us to talk with the pasta making chefs in the back after the meal. Our waitress/bartender also gave us an order of her favorite pasta after we had trouble deciding on what to order and the coin flip resulted in the short rib ravioli instead of the penne. Everyone was so willing to engage with us and they seemed happy to be there. Thanks for the best meal I have ever had.

LOVE this Italian spot!! Authentic, affordable, and so many options easily shared with a group. Don t forget to make a reservation - it fills up fast!!! Love the atmosphere

I ve had nearly 100 meals here since Sotto opened. I ve read all the reviews, good and bad, and I find myself coming back to Sotto 2-3 times a month (and that s a 3 hour drive total since I live in Lexington). Why? To start, the team is the most consistent and obsessive in this part of the US. Many of the serving staff have worked at Sotto since it opened...that s a huge deal. Yes, the food is incredible (and to the reviewers who said opposite, if you don t like it, let them make it right), but the excellent experiences we ve had with their management and serving staff keeps us coming back over and over again. I ve been in parties of 10 or more, walked in to the bar with no reservations and sometimes I m able to snag an actual table reservation in the event we are planning 4-6 weeks in advance, and every time I walk away tasting something new. Like any restaurant, they may occasionally have an off day, but this is the exception in my experience...not the norm. Communicate with the staff and let them make it right. This team takes Italian food as seriously as the Italians do...if not more. Ask for what s seasonal and special to the menu, and also inquire about the reserve wine list that will sometimes be available by the glass via Coravin. Go slow, enjoy and park in the garage across the street from the restaurant rather than wasting cash on the mostly inconsistent valet.

Authentic and Italian food. The food, service and atmosphere are top notch here. Everyone who s working here is friendly, patient and cheerful. This is really the best place to sit and eat while in Cincinnati.

I am not the biggest fan of Italian food and this was spectacular. Loved it. And totally packed on a Tuesday night for three hours. I regret I did not take pictures of my food. This place is no joke.

Food is amazing and the atmosphere is great for a date! Bow chik a wow chik a wow wow

Well deserved reputation. Fine dining Italian food with a southern Italian twist.

Every flight in this menu is off the charts. The serving staff knows their stuff and walk you through the experience. This is one of the best Italian places in the Midwest.

The prosciutto salad starter and braised short rib pasta delish. Cozy atmosphere. And don't forget the ricotta donut!!! Heaven.

It was okay. I had the fried pork loin with capers.

I think I'd go with something else next time.

I loved the atmosphere.

Delicious! We will be back. Went with my fiance for his 30th bday at 5:15. Our waitress was awesome, helpful and very knowledgeable of the menu. Don't let the menu overwhelm you. The staff is on point!

One of our favorite restaurants in all of Cincinnati. Never fails to impress.

A Manhattan dining experience in Cincinnati. Amazing fresh pasta and craft cocktails. Eat at the bar to meet interesting people.

Amazing!!! My wife got the pate which was spectacular. The breaded pork was my winning choice.

Love the ambiance of this restaurant. This restaurant for date night is a must!

For the price of the food, the portion were very small. It was good but I have tasted better authentic italian food for less price and better portions.

Stopped in to have a drink and app at the bar. Lovely as always. The meat and cheese is SOOOO good! Great place! If you want to sit and eat make a reservation, at 6 it was even full at the bar already. Bartender was friendly and efficient. A must for a nice night out!

Such a fun place! Branzino was delicious, though a little pricy. Pasta dishes and salads delicious. No one pushes you to hurry up and eat.

delicious food and friendly service in a speakeasy type setting. definitely recommend.

One of the most famous and popular restaurants in Cincinnati. Conveniently located in downtown, hidden in the basement. Service is impeccable. Well decorated as well. Ordered their specialty dish- grilled octopus. When first served it was too salty, the waiter insisted on changing a new plate for me so really appreciated that. Second time is much better, however I feel personally I don t really like the taste :(((. A bit sour for me. Nevertheless a great restaurant. Their pasta is a must order

Outstanding meal. The short rib capallacci simply melts in your mouth.

This spot simply knows how to satisfy their clients. Constantly with a helpful attitude. The food is conveniently priced, regularly flavorful and clean.

Difficult to get a reservation for certain times bit definitely worth it. Extremely professional staff and nice atmosphere

My go to is the cacio e pepe with their grilled broccolini, it s so good. I did order the donuts this time and am not a fan, I did not like them at all. Hence the 1 star missing

Impressive place. Affordable for the quality of food for sure... id expect to pay 10-20% more at other businesses for what i received. Great place to take a date that wont break the bank. Also some of the best service ive ever received. Im used to being ignored since i dont look like the typical wealthy person, so that was pleasant.

We sat at the chef's table and had a blast. The food was delicious, but the best part was the service. Our waiter was knowledgeable and helpful.

Way over... over rated and over priced. Food quality is high and atmosphere is great although that for itself does not justify the hype.

Absolutely wonderful, birthday with my husband. Food was great, unique and servers help so much, especially to figure out the menu. Great atmosphere and very comfortable! Definitely going back!

This place is excellent! While I think the portions could be a bit bigger for the price, everything we had was delicious! The service was superior and each diner was made to feel like we were the only patron in the restaurant. This is a great place to relax and enjoy the evening. I recommend this great restaurant and I will make the trek from Dayton to Cincy to eat there again!

Went to dinner here a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic. My sister has celiac and they were very accommodating (we both shared the gluten free dishes and honestly I don t think anyone could tell a difference in the gf pasta and non gf pasta). I don t live in Cincinnati, but will make a trip back to come to Sotto!

Great dinning!! Really european, delicious food and awesome service. Will go back!

Good place for tasty italian food. Service is consistently great.

Overall good time. Overall service was fine. Waited a bit for someone to greet us. Service with Peter was okay, seemed a little inattentive. The bruschetta was entirely burnt on one side. The sausage rigatoni was splendid. Cool atmosphere inside.

Best Italian restaurant in Cincy. Love the vibe here and that fact that I'm in a basement. Everything on the menu is great, so come hungry and try it all!