Sopra Bistro

So since I just polished off my leftovers and enjoyed them as much as I did in the restaurant itself I figured it was time to do a write up. This was probably my 3^rd visit to and each time has been an excellent experience. Service, food and atmosphere all warrant a 5star rating IMO. If this restaurant was closer to me it would be one I would visiting very regularly. It’s a small intimate space which I think is perfect for the type of food and experience they provide. The servers are well trained and experienced and the food is creative and top notch. The wine list is well thought out and the specials they provide defiantly heighten that. As for the food there really isn’t anything that has come across the table that hasn’t been enjoyed and very much devoured. So to sum it up anytime I am in Lake Geneva this is a place that is at the top of the list.

We have visited a number of times. We also had a 40 person anniversary party in a private room. It was awesome. And now, this visit incited my review. We met the owner, he was extremely nice and was clearly interested in ensuring quality. The bartender was talkative, as much as we wanted. We didn’t eat, just drinks this time, but the quality of the service was excellent. Still love this place. Make it a stop on your tour of Lake Geneva.

Very unorganized service. We got 3 of our drinks right away, but it took 10 minutes and 3 requests, including a personal request to the hostess, to finally get the fourth. Had to request spoons for the (excellent carrot) soup. Had to request bread. Water glasses were frequently refilled– with room temp water. And to top it off– the table next to ours got our check and then our waiter brought theirs to our table! No pens of course. The food was fine, but who noticed???

Food is amazing. Pork Loin was probably my favorite of the 6 dishes I sampled followed by the smoked mozzarella gnocchi (a little on the heavier side, but worth it). I enjoyed my duck as well. Two reasons not getting 5 stars. 1– The noise. Need some acoustic tiles or something, we ate upstairs and it was extremely loud with conversations. 2– The stem wear and glasses for their pricey wine and cocktails were not appropriate. I had a martini and it came in an «Old Fashion Glass» the type used for Brandy Old Fashions. Should of been in a martini glass or at least a cocktail glass, it was a small pour as well. The wine glasses were very thick and the wine snobs with me did not care for them. I know I sound a bit snobby here, but when your paying those prices it should reflect in every aspect. Otherwise great place, great service, awesome food.

Adventurous bites here, creative selection, friendly efficient service. We enjoyed the soup du jour, a nicely flavoured tomato soup thickened with pureed cannelini, wasabi, and sesame oil. I would come back for another bowl of this any day. The appetizer of yellow beets with arugula and goat cheese and a red best purée was a favorite for all of us! Lentils and lamb sausage appetizer was good but a little short on sausage and heavy on lentils. I didn’t try the octopus but everyone else assured me they enjoyed it. All of us enjoyed the light, crunchy cabbage salad, split four ways. The duck prosciutto pasta was tasty, especially the duck and pasta noodles. All in all an enjoyable affair.

Worst worst experience with the dining staff. We came to the restaurant with two kids in tow, both fast asleep in their strollers. The look on the manager’s face when we walked in said it all. We were an inconvenience and she wasn’t in a mood to be accommodating. She first tells us she isn’t sure where we can park the stroller, and then proceeds to tell us she can only seat us by the front entrance because «what if other patrons walk in». This is mind you, 5 minutes before they close and the entire restaurant is EMPTY except for two tables. This restaurant is NOT going to accommodate families, so people with kids stay away. This horrible manager ruined our evening, we decided to take our business elsewhere.
While writing this review, I’m not surprised to read that other people have had similar experiences with kids here.

I have never given a bad review on Unilocal,so this my first. I took my mother here for a mother day celebration. We ordered a bottle of wine, olives, and were told we had to order right away because our tables was reserved a 1 hour 45 mins from then, and we needed to be gone by then. But we weren’t ready to order. Never in my life have I been pressured into hurrying the way we were. And embarrassed. After some attitude from the owner he sarcastically told us to «smile.» We would like him to «sarcastically» treat guests better. The worst experience of my life in restaurants. For a supposedly a classy restaurant, this place has no class. Hide your kids, hide your wife cause this place is garbage. Pronounced «gar-​baghe». Who kicks paying customers out of their restaurant?

I have had grilled octopus in many restaurants. Sopra did a great job in preparing the octopus. The portion size was great for the price. The mussles were quite a large size and served with a nice spicy red sauce. The appetizers took less than 5 minutes.
Impressive wine list and pretty good beer selection. Goose island Matilda is one of my favorite beers.

This past weekend we had a private 40^th Birthday Party at Sopra upstairs in their private room and I felt like it warranted an updated review. I wish I could give 6 stars! The private room is so cozy and has adjustable lighting and a RECORD PLAYER! We had so much fun just playing the old records and socializing in a setting where we did not need to worry about being «too loud.» And then the food, ohhhhhh the food! Just the baked bread and the salted butter and enough to go on and on about but the drinks and all the unique menu items are mouth watering. If you need a place for an intimate yet fun, not stuffy at all event then check out Sopra. Thanks so much for making our event so perfect!

I have never eaten a bad dish at this restaurant. Very impressive menu! I was so surprised to find a restaurant of this caliber in Lake Geneva! Service is always great, and servers are very attentive even when it’s jam packed! If you are trying to go on a weekend be sure to make a reservation as the restaurant is not very large. There are not enough good things that I could say about the food here! Besides what they have on the menu they always have several featured specials. The quality of everything here is top notch, and you will not be disappointed! I have dined at restaurants that cost 5 times the cost, and have left feeling like I did not get enough for the money spent. You will not have that feeling here!
Now I am going to try to remember all of the delicious things I have eaten here!
1^st: complimentary bread they serve is always warm served with sea salt butter!
Appetizers:
Tuna tartare – this is normally one of their appetizer specials. They change up the combinations quite often. The tuna is of very high quality, and fresh. Seriously order it you will not be disappointed. My fiancé and I have literally ordered 3 before in one sitting because it’s so amazing.
Lobster wontons – definitely a creative dish!
Duck confit – appetizer special. duck was cooked to perfection!
Crab cakes – also an appetizer special. It was very creatively displayed
Baby octopus – this dish is ok. The octopus was a little overcooked for me, but it is char grilled so I would expect that. I like my fish more on the raw side. It did have good flavor!
Entrees:
Paperdelle with duck thigh meat – this was absolutely delicious. The sauce was creamy, and the pancetta mixed with the duck meat added an excellent flavor.
Duck – cooked perfectly… extremely moist. When i had it the duck came with delicious sweet potato fries so the glaze on the duck was nice and sweet to match the flavors.
Orecchiette pasta with duck and pheasant sausage – probably one of my favorite dishes here. Extremely creative! It was a flavor explosion!
Lamb shank with saffron gnocchi – The sauce on the pasta was so delicious, and combined with a little braised lamb the flavor medley is amazing!
My fiancé has also had some excellent dishes here. Every time we come we are extremely impressed with the quality and creativity of the food. The menu is constantly rotating, and mixed with the specials there is always something new to try! Cannot wait to come back!

The food was delicious and well thought out, had a few apps, some cocktails and the Salmon special which was outstanding. Great service and ambience, would recommend to friends and will be back.

Probably the worst service I have ever had. My wife and I where the only ones dining and we still had to get up twice to go to the bar to get our drinks refilled while our waitress was talking to another employee in the back. The food was good but not as good to justify the price. So disappointed!

Visited Sopra on an unusually warm Saturday in February. Staff was extremely nice. Sat in a nice quiet area upstairs — very nice atmosphere. Other reviews have mentioned service upstairs was not up to specifications; however, I respectfully disagree. The food was delicious. Had the roasted chicken gnocchi and it did not disappoint. I would highly recommend Sopra.

We were a large group in the upstairs dining room, which was too cold or too hot (with AC on or off), service was slow, soup was good but the rest of our food was okay.

Friends were host that evening for his B-​day. Everything was great. Excellent waitress. Sat in window seat see pic and enjoyed the evening. Everything we had was good. Host ask waitress to choose meal and both of them well satisfied. They have Cakebread’s Sauvignon blanc and at a very fair bottle price. We will be back vary soon. Check out pic’s.

Sopra Bistro is an upscale restaurant with innovative dishes and offers a nice ambiance. The place was very busy and every table was occupied on a Saturday night. Make sure you make reservations since the place is small and is popular. Duncan was our server; he was friendly and explained the specials in detail and was knowledgable of the menu. He didn’t introduce himself, though, which should have happened upon greeting us. I eventually inquired. We asked for bread soon after being seated, which was not brought to our table until we reminded Duncan that we were still waiting for bread 15 minutes later. We ordered the warm oven roasted olives and the grilled octopus to start but were told by our server that it’s better to order our entire meal all at once for timing. Huh? Never heard of that before. We didn’t understand that but we placed our entire order as requested. The chef does need to get his timing better, though… s-​l-​o-​w service. We waited… and waited… and waited… twenty minutes for warm olives. It was a long time in my estimation to warm a small bowl of imported olives. The olives were plentiful, had a good variety and taste. The octopus came out a few minutes after the olives, however, it was not evenly grilled — some pieces of octopus were grilled perfectly and tender with a nice char, but some were not. The timing of service was off again when my three dining companions were served their dinners. I insisted they start eating while I waited for my food. I had ordered the cauliflower purée soup with white truffle oil and the tuna tartare for dinner. The soup could have used a little salt as it was bland, but was plentiful in size and the oil added a nice finish. It would have been nice to have the option to season my food, but there were no salt & pepper shakers on the table. My tuna tartar, however, was excellent and had layers of flavor with tomatoes, cilantro and jalapeños, and the tuna was very fresh. The rest of my group enjoyed their entrees. One had the fettuccine with sweet sausage, chorizo and peas, and two ordered the barramundi with gnocchi. I would definitely come back to dine here again when in Lake Geneva even though their service is slow. Another tip for Sopra in addition to making reservations, leave the kids at home. This is definitely an adult night out kind of place.

I brought friends visiting from Ireland to this lovely little place and it was a delicious experience.
For apps, we ordered the lobster wontons and PEI mussels. Omg, the lobster wontons were AMAZING. The mussels were warm instead of hot. They were still delicious. The juice was delicious and did not last long when the bread was brought out.
For dinner I had the rigatoni. You can taste the guoda in the sauce. Yum yum yum. The sauce was flavorful and wasn’t too creamy.
I would definitely go back!

Way way way over priced !
Staff was super friendly and helpful. I like the risks they take with the food parings. I got one of the specials, steak with lobster mashed potatoes. I wasn’t a fan of lobster in the mashed potato myself, but I’m sure 99% of humans would be ! It’s just my personal preference, I liked the lobster and I liked the mashed potato — I just didn’t like them mixed … It’s a weird thing I know. The steak was cooked perfectly and I liked the sauce that came with it. My boyfriend got the pasta special. It was kind of bland, but the noodles were cooked well .
I was very happy with the portions we received, but still think it’s over priced .
I like the ambiance of this place ! They have outside seating in the warmer temperatures !

For Lake Geneva, this place was pretty dang good. My boyfriend and I were in town for the week from Chicago and were looking for a romantic and more upscale place for dinner. We originally had reservations at Medusa Grill, but when we arrived there 30 minutes early and they told us we could NOT wait at the bar but had to wait outside the restaurant for our reservation, we quickly ran out of there.
We came to Sopra as it was also on my list of places to try and were pleasantly surprised. We would consider ourselves foodies always looking to dine at the new and hip places in Chicago. As another caveat, I am born and raised Italian so to say I am picky about the cuisine would be an understatement. I was nervous because some of the Unilocal reviews were just OK but we had a wonderful experience.
We were greeted by the hostess, Brandy, who originally told us they were fully committed so we sat down to eat at the bar instead. Shortly after they had a table leave after just drinks so she was able to squeeze us in.
Our waitress, Ashley, was very knowledgeable and friendly. She listed off their 5 different specials and helped us with wine and beer selections.
We ordered the lobster rangoons, tuna tartare and split the spaghetti and meatball dish.
The tuna was diced in large chunks with tomato and jalapeño and was delicious. The lobster rangoons were also very tasty. The spaghetti was cooked al dente and it was a very generous portion.
All in all, I definitely recommend this for a nice dinner date, a glass of wine with your girlfriends, a family dinner or even a private party (separate room available upstairs).

My lovely wife and I were looking for something special to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of our engagement, and Sopra Bistro delivered a wonderful experience.
The room was not crowded when we arrived a little early for our reservation, but it filled up quickly after that.
Our friendly and helpful server filled our drink requests in short order, and my Hendrick’s Negroni was top notch.
We started with the grilled octopus and it was cooked to a perfect al dente. We were surprised at the portion size with the three large pieces over dressed arugula, but had no problem finishing every last delicious bite.
The specials are posted on chalkboards in the dining area, and soup of the day was gazpacho. One spoonful and I felt summer in my mouth with tomatoes, onions and several kinds of sweet peppers! It was a rather large bowl (not complaining, mind you) but good to the last drop.
A lot of the other diners were ordering pastas and as the plates came by our table, the scents were so tempting that we decided on the gnocchi with roasted chicken and spinach for my wife and the radiatore (my favorite pasta!) with smoked pulled pork shoulder for me. One bite of each and we were both in pasta heaven. Portions are very generous along with the richness of the sauces, so we tried but could not finish. Not a problem though as the leftovers were packed up for a lovely lunch the next day.
We are hopefully going to return to Lake Geneva for fall colors, and one place we’ll definitely return to is Sopra Bistro.