Sonoma Modern America

What is the big deal with this place? First off we go in on a Thursday evening at 7:30p and we are one of five people dining. The drinks were ok, once again nothing special. The food was good but not hot.
At one time this was probably nice, now it seems to be a past memory.

I ate here for lunch while on business in Charlotte. Right away, I noticed the butter that came with our meal was white. My grandmother always taught me that good butter was white not yellow. I asked the waiter at what dairy Sonoma gets its butter, and he said they make it in house. I had the Grilled Salmon with Spinach, Asparagus & Sweet Potato Salad which was cooked very well. The sweet potato salad was refreshing and delicious with a slight mustard flavor. I’d love to recreate it. My friend had the Roast Beef Panini with Gruyère Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, & Horseradish Mayo which she didn’t like as well and said the roast beef didn’t taste fresh. Based on my meal, I’d have to give it four stars and recommend it while in Charlotte.

The location is right in the center of town and convenient for most venues. We got there early (6:00pm on a Friday night) because we were going to a concert. We were offered the «3 for $ 30» deal. (One starter, one entrée and one dessert for $ 30.00.) It was great! The wait person was helpful and attentive. The martinis were perfect! The wine suggestions were spot-​on and afforable. For starters, we enjoyed the chilled crab salad and the tacos. The grilled salmon was delicous and I enjoyed the whole red snapper. Normally, we might not have had dessert, but I enjoyed the crème brûlée and the trio of sorbets. The waiter timed everything so we were able to get to our concert on time. By the time we left, the restaurant was full of patrons. I would definitely return.

I was visiting D. G and she wanted to take me out and she chose Sonoma. I read the reviews and I was peeking at the menu in advance. The menu overall looked pretty solid, a few items that struck my fancy.
I was not in the mood for a cocktail, and sadly they did not have riesling, but our server reccomended something similar. Ehh, it wasn’t as sweet as a riesling oh well. My friend got a delicious I think grapefruit martini. It was sweet and a pretty pink color.
We ordered the chilled crab salad for an app. It was tasty, though I did not expect it to be in a mayo type mixture but more so a nicely compiled mound of crab atop of the gazpacho. The gazpacho was delicious and the cucumber added a nice texture element. I did not detect any lime zest though so they must have forgotten or omitted it. Overall, I’d order it again.
For entrees I was in a fish mood. I’m always in a low calorie, high in fish protein mood. My selection was Pan Seared Carolina Trout, Pine Nut & Preserved Lemon CousCous, Spinach. My first impression on my plate arrived was, oh skin. I dislike skin, I’ll have to pick around it. But I thought, it looks like it is crispy skin, so maybe I’ll like it. Luckily, because they got a good sear and it was nicely crispy I was not turned off by eating the skin. I was very impressed with the 2 large fillet portions of trout served. I enjoyed (though minimal amount) of the lightly seasoned lemon couscous. The spinach was another item that was cooked very well. The integrity and vibrant color of the spinach was intact and gave the dish another element texture wise. It was sauted lightly, but it almost had a creamy texture because it was cooked so well.
My friend ordered the Grilled Lamb with Israeli couscous, pickled onions, and rosemary sauce. I am an extreme lover of lamb, but the trout called to me more and I am glad on that decision because i was not impressed at all. Though the lamb was cooked perfectly and to the medium-​rare as requested. The meat was a little tough. The couscous was delicious and seasoned just right. I did not taste the onions or the rosemary sauce so I cannot comment.
I am either a lover or hater for dessert. It was my first night out in Charlotte, I was like lets do it. I was sadly the one who picked out the dessert because they all sounded pretty standard. Nothing really jumped out at me except the Pear Tart with vanilla bean ice cream. Overall presentation was a bore. Just a slice placed atop an oversize plate with a poorly (not smooth, nor an attempt to make it pretty) scooped out portion of ice cream. The textire of the tart was grainy, and you could not taste the pear which makes me think the pastry was overbaked. The ice cream was horrible to say the least. I’ve had better at ice cream shops by the scoop. The visual presence of vanilla bean was there, but the flavor did not make me think of vanilla at all. Overall unpleasant dessert.
For a first night out and being a restaurant of a nicer/​classier variety I expected a bit more on the cut of lamb meat and the dessert. Décor and ambiance was nice. The restaurant was on the empty side, even though it being 8ish on a Thursday evening.

A friend coming to visit is a good excuse to get dolled up and blow some cash on a Thursday night, and Sonoma’s seemed a good a pick as any (especially since I had a Groupon… which I accidentally left in the car. Go me.)
I started off with a martini. Our waiter recommended it, and I forget what it was called «something Red.» Anyway, it was delicious. Not very strong though, which I would have objected to had I not been driving.
I can 100% recommend the Chilled Crab Salad with gazpacho, cucumber and fresh lime zest. Extremely flavorful, light, and just overall very well composed. I feel that they could make a meal out of this. Gorgeous presentation, as well.
For an entrée, I got the Grilled Lamb with Israeli couscous, pickled onions, and rosemary sauce. The couscous was cooked and seasoned perfectly. I ordered the lamb medium-​rare, and while it came out cooked to my specifications, most of the slices were tough. I actually found a couple valves in it, which is not the type of thing you expect when you’re paying $ 25 for an entrée with 4 oz. of meat in it.
My friend got the Pan Seared Carolina Trout with pine nut and preserved lemon couscous and spinach. This was definitely the better of two meals. The couscous was nothing to write home about, but the trout was exceptional. The skin was left on, but it was pan fried so well that it was crispy and delicious, while the fish was flaky and flavorful. Honestly, one of the best parts was the spinach. I’m not sure what kind of wine reductions they used, but it was infused with flavors that made you wish that all spinach just automatically tasted like that.
The large disappointment of the evening… the pear torte with vanilla bean ice cream. I can almost guarantee that it was not made at that restaurant. You couldn’t taste any pear whatsoever, and the vanilla bean sauce just overpowered the entire dessert. It was a sickly sweet, and the quality of the torte was just overall terrible.
Beyond this… a good meal. One thing I can say more is that I wish I had tried the Hanger steak. It’s actually my favorite cut of meat and if you’ve never had it before, I encourage anyone to try it. It’s extremely tender and flavorful and I have no doubt that Sonoma could work wonders with it. Since I left my Groupon in the car, it’s definitely on the list to try for the next visit.

Interesting menu. The wine was pretty affordable, the food was on the pricey side. I had the quinoa salad and pork tenderloin and grits. Both were excellent. Service was friendly.

Any review of a location uptown needs to start with the parking, and this is where Sonoma falls down — badly. They offer complimentary valet, and it stinks.
To park, you wait in a line. To retrieve your car, you wait to turn in your ticket, then you wait for them to figure out how to find your vehicle and then how to get it back. At least it’s free, right?
If you choose not to partake of the free valet, you do have other options, such as a parking deck nearby (the restaurant is attached to the BofA corporate center — may be why we ran into Brian Moynihan), but you’ll add to what will likely be a hefty bill.
In between the parking issues, you have the opportunity to sample some interesting cuisine. Like a number of places uptown, the menu is a la carte, so you get to decide what you want. Rather than a high-​priced, small-​portioned item, we decided to order some selections from the «Conversations» portion of the menu and some sides. After seeing what other people received as entrees, I’m glad we did.
We started with a basket of bread. Actually several baskets. The bread was good. It might have been the best part of the meal.
Next up, we had the escargot. Unlike some places which serve them in the shell, the meat was actually on the plate, mixed in with chorizo, mushrooms and a butternut squash purée, along with white truffle oil on the side. The chorizo and mushrooms were good. The purée wasn’t bad, but it was chilled. It would have been better if it was at least warm. But it wasn’t bad. Being snails and saying that it’s «not bad», I can’t complain.
Then we had the kobe beef sliders, which were really good — if a bit greasy. We also ordered sides of two-​cheese mac and cheese and potato gruyère gratin. Both of the sides were on the small side, and not that great. I’d probably save the money and get another order of sliders instead. I might even just get another couple of baskets of bread.
Others at the table seemed satisfied with their meals, but on the whole, the dinners were on the small side — fish was especially small. Salads were decently sized. If you don’t mind small portions, you might be okay.
When it got to dessert, we went for the chocloate torte with hazelnut ice cream, which wasn’t very cake-​like. Instead, it was a big mound of chocolate goo, and a bit of ice cream on top.
The service, at least, was generally good, although we did notice that the glasses would get nearly empty before being refilled. Since we were about the only table in the almost-​empty restaurant for most of the night, that was odd.
If you go, prepare to spend some coin and maybe stop for a snack on the way home. And make sure that you have patience for the valet parking…

It was my first visit and I had high hopes. It certainly looks the part of a sophisticated, uptown restaurant, but that may have been the highlight. I started with the Tomato Bisque and it was quite good, but for my entrée I got the Mahi with a Miso-​Pineapple glaze and it was just completely deviod of taste. Disappointing. On the side I had spinach sauted with garlic, golden raisins, and pine nuts. This was pretty good. My wife had the NY Strip and said it was tough and slightly overcooked (she ordered it rare). I tried her mashed potatoes and they had no flavor. I finished with a pear-​almond tart with ice cream which I really enjoyed although the portion was on the very small side, especially in these days of overly-​huge desserts.
Almost every woman there was wearing their coat as they ate. It was really cold in the restaurant, and I am never cold.
The bottom line is it was an okay dining experience, but not for the money. There are too many other choices.

I’ve been here twice. The first time was for lunch, and the server brought me the wrong salad. He apologized and left to get me the right one, but he didn’t bring it to me until my husband had finished his lunch. When it arrived, it had shrimp with the tails attached and olives with the pits in it. I am not really sure how this makes for a pleasurable eating experience. It was terrible. The second time I went with a group for dinner, and I ordered a scallop dish. The scallops were not fresh and were very poorly cooked — still raw in a dish which required them to be seared. Out of the seven of us who dined, only one person enjoyed their entrée. I am surprised that this restaurant seems to be so popular. One plus was that the bartender did seem knowledgeable about wines and was happy to help us choose what we were looking for.