Sophie’s Steakhouse & Bar

We always enjoy our visits to Sophie’s. Sitting by the fireplace, with a glass of wine, anticipating our always perfectly prepared steak dinner. Enjoy!

Four of us had dinner there on New Year’s Eve. Our server Travis gave us the perfect amount of attention and was very prompt in seating us. Our appetizers of Steak Tartare and Pierogis were wonderful. My filet mignon was exquisite! Two others had the New York strip and pronounces it outstanding. The 4^th person had the steak burger and loved it too. I will say that if you order your hamburger medium well… it will still be a little pink. I had been here twice before and would have given it a 2 or 3 for previous visits. Much improved in entrees and service!!!

I would NEVER EVER eat here! This was our 3^rd attempt!!! To start off I HAVE TO GIVE 1 STAR… BECAUSE I CAN NOT LEAVE 0. Now to start the review. We walk in and they ask if we have a reservation… they we NOT busy, she had to get permission for the 3 of us to sit @ a 4 top. They say they have a full bar but no drink list. I asked for 3 different drinks and NEVER got 1! We were there for 45 minutes and was NEVER able to order… the 2 tables next to us sat down after us at different times. Both of their drinks were served and their orders were in. When we FINALLY got our appetizer the waitress pushed my husband out if the way to set it down and as she walked away over her shoulder said your drink will be here shortly (a diet coke and rum)…by 45 minutes we just put money on the table and walked out.

Amazing bread … Yummy spinach house salads and homemade dressings, excellent whitefish dinner
Great burgers
Loved the fries
Amazing desserts we had the choc tart for my birthday

We ate dinner here and all 10 of us really enjoyed our meal. My husband had the trout special, I had the whitefish meal, my MIL had the filet mignon, the kids got mini burgers, two others got the burgers. We also tried the steak and mushroom soup. We would definitely recommend this place. The service was great, it was kid friendly, and the food was yummy!

Cooled food, salty soup, and Denny’s-like service, will sadly bring to a close an era of going to Sophie’s twice a year for the last 5 years after dropping off and picking up our kids at summer camp in Bloomingdale, Michigan.
Things change, and that’s ok.
I agree with comments about the ambiance, but…
…today for an early dinner, my wife’s choice for her birthday dinner, was our 8^th time here, and something was wrong. Our server was also the hostess, but there were other servers who were not the hostess. From hello, there was set up a string of uncertainty in information and service that really only would fly at a diner, not s $ 50/​pp. steakhouse. From backwards to forwards, when our meal was finished, no acknowledgement of my wife’s birthday, no congratulations, bowl of ice cream, candle, nothing. Prior to that, our server proceeded on the table in front of us to stack up all of the dishes from my step-​son and me – bread, salad and dinner plates WITH the silverware, BUT THEN WENT TO THE OTHER SIDE, and stacked all of the dishes from my wife’s and my son’s meal. It was an impressive and needless ignorance of front-​of-​house clanking, stacking, then balancing and risk-​taking of breakage in a restaurant with a purposeful prep table in the center of a quaint and intimate setting, unworthy of such ill-​thought elegance-​smashing. Prior to that we waited uncomfortably for ~7 minutes for our check while we wondered where our server was (there’s only ~14 tables in a square, so it’s hard to get lost, only to have get arrive when one of a trio of laughing, self-​focused/​small-​talking servers (including ours) caught me looking for her. Prior to that our food was tasty, but cooled off extremely quickly for lack of warmed plates to keep the steaks warmer, longer. Prior to that, our main entrees were brought to the table, with the liquids from the foods dripping on the floor from her hand, covered in the spillage of the broths and buttery glazes that should have been set in their completeness at our place, not with some missing. Prior to that, expensively priced house Reds were brought to the table and poured for my wife, and led to a quizzical look as mine was starting to be poured but there was no glass. Prior to that, steak knives were presented to my place on my right, and my wife’s steak knife was delivered across my salad and my place with a broad-​house reach to my wife’s place (her elbow was part of my view at this point). Prior to that, we ordered two glasses of wine and watched the server stack in one hand and remove 3 of the 4 wine glasses on the table. Prior to that my sons reported that the soup was ridiculously salty, and my wife and I agreed (one was taken off the bill). Prior to that, we asked some questions about the soup and vegetables of the day, which the menu states the soup is made the day before, and we rec’d answers of uncertainty and confusion, with someone else (manager? owner?) adding by jumping in to explain directly to us, un-​introduced and literally in «fly-​bye» fashion.

If you live in south have long enough I suppose your taste buds deteriorate enough that this place passes for great food.
The service was slow and impersonal on the part of every employee we encountered. The food was mediocre.

Used to be great, new management is struggling. Slow service, over priced food and rude wait staff. Way better options in South Haven.

If I could give this restaurant 0 stars I would. Waited 90minutes for lukewarm overcooked steaks and nearly raw salmon… the restaurant wasn’t even busy. Server had an attitude. Water glasses often empty. Very disappointing dining experience definitely will not return.

This was our second time to Sophie’s and we will not be going back. For some reason we were told our servers name and then had someone else who was horrible. she never greeted us, didn’t know anything about the wine selection (she was under age) and didn’t seem interested in being there at all — Grace. We had to ask about any specials then waited forever for her to come back after we asked for a few minutes to decide what we wanted to eat. She brought our food, and then we never saw her again until we asked another server for our check and then gave our payment to the hostess. We even had to find the water pitcher to give ourselves more water.
The food was good but my father had crab legs — we had to ask for an extra plate to put the shells on, we were given a bread a butter plate… my steak and baked potato were good but two brown things next to each other was not very appetizing… maybe a «sprig» in-​between would have been a bit more pleasant.
It’s a shame because we’ve been coming to South Haven for 13 years and do like going to a nicer place during our time there. However, this isn’t it. It’s a shame because the food is good — but really really bad service.

While on a family vacation we came for a nice dinner out. Made reservations ahead and they assured us they could split the checks. The steaks and entrees were good! The desserts were not. However we waited for 1.5 hours for them to get our checks correct. They never offered us water or drinks while waiting and compensated us nothing! In total we were at the restaurant for almost 4 hours!
Don’t waste your time if you have more than a few people!

We’ve now had two experiences at Sophie’s and this last one was as good at the first. We arrived early with our out-​of-​town friends and were promptly seated. Drink orders were taken with only one hiccup. They were out of the wine we selected but we were quickly advised of another we might like so we proceeded with the waitresses suggestion. The Ernie Els blend was an absolute great replacement. Smooth and fruity.
We placed our dinner order and shortly received our salads. Crisp but not too imaginative. The house special lacked enough of ingredients that made it special … Dried cherries and maybe pine nuts were in short supply. All the salads were also on the small side but tasty. Bread was supplied with the salad though the first bread order was not warmed. It was good so we ordered another which was well warmed.
As it turned out the ladies ordered the same salmon dish while the men each ordered the same New York strip steak. The fish arrived first. Very nice presentation and I was amazed, as were the girls, that they received such a large portion. My wife requested some dill sauce but none was available. Our steaks arrived and they were sizzling on the plate. No excess fat … Just a perfect prime steak. The baked potatoes were fresh … Not looking like they’d been in the kitchen for several days but really freshly baked.
Now for the tasting. The salmon was fresh, firm, mild and perfectly cooked. I sampled my wife’s and concurred with her that it was delicious. Our steaks, on the other hand, we’re even better that expected. Cooked exactly as ordered, sizzling warm, and as good a steak as I’ve had in years.
If I had any criticism at all to give was how the dining room is set up. Next to our table was a prep table for the wait staff to gather/​fold the cloth napkins, get wine/​water glasses … all of which was a little distracting. Maybe they could find another place for that activity. The wait staff did a nice job and were very attentive.
Though the prices were a bit higher than other restaurants in the area this is still a high value place to eat. The restaurant is clean and their restrooms were neat and clean as well.
Here you do get what you pay for. Casual dress and nearly fine dining is a great asset to the South Haven area. We’ll be back.

From the moment we walked in the door, I was impressed. The ambiance and classiness of the restaurant and waitress did not go unnoticed.
We started off with fresh baked homemade bread and butter that melted in your mouth.
We ordered pierogis and the Mac and cheese truffle which were a happy hour special. Both were good but one of the cheeses in the Mac and cheese left a weird aftertaste.
Next up came our soup which was cream of broccoli. Not enough cheese and very bland.
My husband and I both ordered steaks and a baked potato for our entrée. Both were cooked perfectly. The loaded baked potato could have had more cheese to potato ratio but still was good. Our waitress was lovely, always gave us recommendations and knew what she was talking bout.
We will definitely be returning in the future to this wonderful restaurant.

Overall it was okay, however service was off with each step of our dinner. Our salads arrived and one person waited for their soup and we had to ask for the soup. Onion soup was good but noticeably salty. Although very minor, the table was not set properly with one person getting two small salad forks and another getting two big forks. Two person wait staff didn’t clear extra glasses, nor clear used dishes after courses were finished. The waiter brought our desert and was actually looking for a spot on the table full of plates to place the deserts The Tri-​tip steak was over cooked and tough. The Delmonico steak was very good however came medium well instead of medium rare. Lemon bar desert was good as well as chocolate cake.

This restaurant at the exit to South Haven had some of the absolute worst customer service I have ever seen. There were 9 in our reservation, at 6 pm. It would seem they scheduled for 6 at 9 pm. No matter, they weren’t busy at all, but nonetheless it took over 20 minutes for the waitress to get a drink order taken and delivered. During that 20 minute wait, the large party across the dining room had a guest that became offended at her waiter, threw her salad at him, cussed him out loudly and repeatedly and then they all got up and walked out. Reportedly, the guest said her waiter cussed while speaking to her. Presumably, one less large party might have had the effect of speeding up our service, but no such luck. As for the menu, anyone remotely health conscious will be challenged. Every side dish is served «family» style and comes loaded with cream sauces or bacon or some such high fat component. The 30 oz steak entrée offering is similarly accessorized with saturated fat, and a variety of heavy sauces are options for the 14, 12 and 8 oz steaks.
Obviously, most people don’t go to steak houses for health food, but at least one item on the menu that was somewhat acceptable to people with dietary or health concerns would be nice, but with such awful service, it really wouldn’t matter.

Get the pierogies!

Our food tonight was fantastic, service was just mediocre (waitress made too many annoying jokes), we would definitely go back again. Bone in ribeye was huge and well prepared. My husband loved the flavor of his pork chop. Crab legs were good (however they didn’t have mini forks with the crackers? Strange). Chefs soup was a butternut apple squash and was yummy!

LOVE LOVE LOVE Sophie’s!!! Excellent food, service, and atmosphere. As locals, my husband and I go here as often as possible. The caramelized Brussels and bacon are to die for!

nice ambiance. decent wine. terrible service. waited over an hour for our food. as did all the tables in our section. server never asked if we wanted more wine when most of the tables’ glasses were empty. missed opportunity to make more money. kitchen was so slow that wait staff was probably too scared to come back to our table to offer us more drinks. salad was soggy. steaks were just okay. overpriced. look elsewhere for a decent meal at this price.

I don’t eat meat so I asked them to leave bacon out of the spinach that was served with the tuna-​they didn’t. Also, the bread was hard, the rice pilaf was dry and the tuna was nothing special. The service was confusing with multiple servers. My biggest regret is that I wimped out and didn’t send the entire meal back to the kitchen. Lesson learned: never go to a steak house for fish.