Soif Wine Bar & Merchants

I was treated to dinner here for my birthday, and what a treat it was. We sat at two stools next to the kitchen, which gave us the prep for each order. The staff is very professional, and I appreciated the care that they took to compose each dish. We got there right when they opened, at 5pm, which is great, because you can see how they organize for the night, which was very busy. Service throughout was professional and knowledgeable.
We are not wine drinkers, but had a delicious champagne, and and even better sparkling cider that lasted us through the meal. We started with beignets, light, fluffy, puffs of goodness, the grilled octopus with a nice, smoky toasted aroma (the potatoes contrasted with the octopus, and were nicely seasoned); and a small plate of two dayboat scallops which were lightly seared; I loved the pickled lemon peel! The bread was delicious with a deep olive oil and balsamic. We had one of the best caesar salads: kale and smoked cod! Entrees were gnocchi in the french style with veggies, and a perfectly cooked (med rare) burger, thick and rich, but not fatty, with crispy edges on a great bun. Working through the meal, we just appreciated the care of each plate, especially the little details. No room for dessert in the end, but a satisfying two hour meal, with a great show (and great company).
The only pause, for me, is that this is locally sourced restaurant (the veggies were great!), yet it had octopus from europe, and scallops from east coast… A little inconsistent, but apparently the scallops are very popular item…. I heard that they have local pork and lamb from time to time, and mussels and clams too, so next time…

I debated whether to rate this a 2 or 3 star review. Given this restaurant is one of our faves & even though the meal was an anomaly to their usual excellence, I’ll give them the benefit.
The apps were excellent-​oysters, Brussels & octopus.
The meal however, mezzo-​mezzo. My wife’s steak was bloody rare and it took forever for us to flag someone down. They recooked it and it was still too rare.
CMy fish– the halibut & shellfish, was a pathetic small piece and was overcooked and not worth it. Lastly, the service was the worst we’ve had there. The waiter took forever (our wine arrived in the middle of the meal) and he was not attentive at all. In short, an extremely disappointing & expensive evening. Since we dine here every few months, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that this was a fluke …