These comments about Soga's were archived June 23rd, 2007 based on a change in management.

Food is good, but expensive. We tried eating there three times. Each time the service was abominable—worst I've ever had. We have not been back. —BevSykes

I ate there the other evening with three friends. Food was quite expensive; I wouldn't write home about it, either. The drinks were excellent (though also expensive). However I thought the service was excellent; prompt and curteous. I guess it depends on which server you get. —KayRide

2005-02-11 14:30:07   I went for lunch. Thought it was a pretty good value. Spent about $12 a person including tip. The food was good but not great. Cold chicken was indeed cold. Right out of the refrigerator cold. As was the bread. That's just bad. —JackHaskel

2005-02-12 19:28:51   I've had only positive experiences at Soga's. At any restaurant there is potential for signals to get crossed and food to sit too long. But Soga's has an excellent Chef, and their menu is very creative. Food prices have come down somewhat recently, especially in terms of increasing the amount of less expensive dinner items. Another alternative is to order from the Bar Menu, which features filling portions of things like calimari, fish and chips, hamburger, oysters, etc. Most things on the bar menu are around $6-7. —JaimeRaba

2005-03-18 23:18:07   My work took us there for a Christmas lunch thing. Pretty pricey, I think I got some pasta dish, it wasn't that great. Of couse I'm really simple and I hate fancy restaurants. —HeatherKlinger

2005-03-19 04:23:47   I've had pasta in almost every state. I frequent north beach. I just wonder what pasta that IS "all that great" is to most people. But honestly, I tend not to get pasta dishes when I go to restaurants. Basic rule of thumb: Only order things you can't make. —JaimeRaba

2005-06-13 16:59:55   I went with a large group and was able to sample several dishes. Overall, the food is pretty decent, but considering the portions(especially appetizers) its overpriced. I had no problems with the service, but the bar was noisy and ruined the atmosphere in the restaurant area. Also, if you sit by the window be prepared to watch inebriated men and women make fools of themselves(this can be very entertaining). —JillWeinstein

2005-07-26 17:23:29   The drinks were pretty good. The food, however, was mediocre and waaayyy expensive. The portions made it less worth it. —MindyYang

2005-07-26 17:38:58   I hear Soga's is on track to being sold to the owners of Katmandu kitchen, effective September. —jr

2005-07-28 11:37:26   Again, I believe the recipes are generally very inventive. Their bar menu is very inexpensive. I especially recommend their lamb medalions—absolutely amazing. —JaimeRaba

2005-08-13 15:46:15   I would disagree about the "meat market" comment. Soga's has a good bar and good drinks. The crowd dictates what the night will be. If you get a bunch of "meat marketiers" then it will be a meat market...you are in control of your own bar experience. Unfortunately as well..."grinding" does occur...i witness it..i do my best not to promote it..i am one of the dj's that plays there. i think it is a product of MTV..people mimic what they see. if they see grinding in music videos they grind. people request songs that they can "grind" to as well. i just want people to dance and have a good time/experience. —MichaelVanderArend

  • I disagree. I've been here only once but the experience was very close to "College Night at The Rage" ... which is a pretty deplorable event. Pretty much, in a nutshell, the crowd I see is mostly very preppy looking "breeder" type college bro's and ho's, to put it crudely ... it's like an exploded frat party ... and completely over-packed. It took my friends and I a half hour to squish through the people to get to the bar and another 15 minutes to carry our drinks across a very overcrowded room to a table we had to guard like hawks. Sorry to bag on your place of employment, but I don't see myself returning too soon and I don't highly recommend others do either. —SS

* I am sorry to hear that you didn't have a good time at soga's. I guess the "breeder" crowd and "exploded frat party" do not suit you. Did you take a survey of how many people were involved in the greek system or did you just make that assumption based on people's appearances? In regards to the wait at the bar...maybe it's busy because soga's is a popular place to go. i apologize that the efforts of the owner, bar staff, and dj's to make soga's a popular place were successful. if you don't feel like waiting for alcohol i'd suggest going to a less popular place or buying it from the store. —MichaelVanderArend * Definitely a meat market. A bad one too. Once you get past the unintelligent Philistines called bouncers at the door (who cannot tell a real from fake ID taking my real twice right after a friend skirted in with a fake) you get a bunch of Frat-tastic dudes trying to score with one of the many beezies. Dress code is cheap and tacky striped shirt or Lacoste polo for guys, seven jeans and sparkly top for girls. Drinks are priced low right with the quality, don't ask for more than a well and mixer or they will have to run to the bar book. DJ is pretty bad and the "dance floor" gets filled up quickly since its a walkway during normal restaurant hours. If you were at Bistro or Prague and lost your Friends in the Greek system pick them up here before going somewhere that can make a drink and offer more space than a living room. As for popularity So-gays as it is commonly called is like going to the same house party every week without fear of the cops breaking it up. Too bad. —JonathanNasca

2006-01-13 15:06:25   While Sogas has a great bar, I don't think I have ever had a good meal there, and for the prices they charge, their food and service should be much, much better than they are. Hopefully the new owners will turn it around and make it a good place to eat. —ToNils

2006-01-19 17:42:08   Soga's is actually the best during happy hour. All the drinks are cheap and they also have a selection of fancy drinks that are not that pricey. Also, there is a happy hour menu that offers a bunch of dishes for about 5 bucks, which is great considering you can get a restaurant quality burger with fries and a cocktail for the same price as a jack n the box meal. —PhilPeyron

2006-06-13 14:18:57   I took my boyfriend here for his birthday a couple of years back. It was soon after a negative review was placed in the Aggie regarding their service. Perhaps because of this, their service was excellent. Our server was very attentive. I wasn't too fond of the way they cooked their meat, but everything else was excellent. The dessert we had, a caramel custard, was delicious. Pricey, but nice for a special occasion —AndreaStewart

2006-07-17 16:24:12   Sogas is a totally fun bar. The only thing that sucks is that you can't take your drinks outside on the patio. I suggest hiding it behind your purse or cupping it behind your hand. If you're a guy, just file in behind some hot girls to avoid the bouncers. —SlutMan

2006-10-02 17:36:27   I ate lunch at Soga's recently. The food was mediocre, as well as the service. My boyfriend ordered a Sprite, which was flat and had a chlorine aftertaste. He then asked to change it to a lemonade, which had the same problem. I guess their machine was messed up or something. Anyways, this place has a great atmosphere and looks nice from the outside, but I wouldn't actually eat there again. —KseniyaIshina

2006-11-14 23:25:38   Bar sucks...takes you an hour to get a drink due to all the frat bros and STD infested Ho's camped out in front of the bar. Beyond that, most of the bartenders aren't really familiar with any drinks beyond your typical teas, and a few shooters. Bouncers are ok...they're usually nice about putting up with shit from all the spoiled pansy ass greek people that think they can act as idiotic as they want. Good place to pick up some sluts, just make sure you wrap it up or else you'll be peeing out green sludge for sure. —DavisDavis

2007-01-30 14:48:51   I hate this bar. On a busy night they pack so many people into the place that the walls literally sweat, forcing people outside onto the patio, where drinks are not allowed. So if you want to drink, assuming you can get a drink, you have to deal with the oppressive heat inside the bar. But, Happy Hour here is enjoyable, and the staff is excellent, some of the best bartenders in town. Never had a bad staff experience here, the bouncers are usually pretty cool, plus Frank is one of the better bartenders in town. —RussellAnderson

2007-02-08 22:47:43   I went to Soga's a few days ago and I must say their service is horrible! The food was alright, nothing that special. We waited 30 mins for appetizers and almost an hour for our food to come. The waitresses don't seem very professional as I saw them crowd around each other and always heading to the back, I only saw the bus boy doing his job. When our plate wasn't empty, the waitress asked to take it away. The only time they were actually waitress-like was when the check came. The girl in the front desk didn't even greet us or say thank you when we left. This restaurant has potentials, but for the price we pay, it is definitely not worth going to. —KirbyCartman

2007-02-21 11:53:15   I don't know how this place stays in business. The food is awful and overpriced and the bar is horrible. Just horrible. But for some reason my girlfriends always want to go here because we never have to pay for anything. I'd rather pay for a good experience than have a shitty time for free. It took at least 20 minutes to get a drink, and when I ordered a Cosmopolitan, the bartender rolled his eyes at me despite the fact I was dressed just as slutty as the rest of the girls there. The place is like a sauna, the guys are beyond sleazy, and the girls reek of low self-esteem and desperation. (No wonder the place is packed!) Too bad the staff is robbing the place blind or else the owners might be able to make improvements. I probably saw the bartenders ring in 1 out of every 4 transactions, opting instead to put cash directly in their tip jar. Shady. —BriannaBetancourt

2007-04-11 21:05:08   I had a bad experience when I visited here about a year ago and somehow I ended up there again, recently. The food is completely different and really quite good. There are paninis now, which is great ever since chef's market and their amzing sandwiches got closed down. Service was good but I'd return for the food. Delicious! —rebeccap

2007-04-17 21:05:30 I had the worst Caesar salad of my life. I sent it back - the lettuce was limp and bug-eaten / holes in it. I had asked the server, a nice but clueless Jessica ( I had to explain to her how the pepper mill worked - loosen the nut at the top and get a coarser grind ! Duh ! or, from Mencia, Dee DeeDee ), if they served the hearts, because I like the crispy inside. She said they did, but it was all nasty -limp brown lettuce - unusual for romaine. They brought another - just like the first. I also had the misfortune to order the grilled Portobello mushroom pasta. It was also uncleaned, and wasn't grilled, but burnt under a broiler and came out looking like a big brown turd on a bed of pasta. It was supposed to come with zucchini, which was diced into such small pieces you could use it in salsa ! Stay away from this place. I hated it so much I looked for a website to comment on, so I could warn fellow humans away from this lousy excuse for a good restaurant. There's plenty of other places to eat at in downtown Davis - look around !

2007-05-18 16:26:53   My husband and I went to Soga's for Valentine's Day this year. We are new to Davis and thought that Soga's was a great place to go. WE WERE SO SO WRONG. The atmosphere is great, but the service was terrible, the menu was preset, and most importantly, the food was worse than some cafeteria food we've eaten. We were served the "rice pilaf" which was dry, greasy rice with the peas and carrot mix in it....no kidding. The salmon had a great crust, but was so over done I didn't finish it. My husband's steak looked like it came out of a Perkin's ad...not what we were looking for. This was not a case of holiday rush...the place was almost totally empty when we got there. We could not believe it! We thought that maybe the chef got sick and some waitress was trying her best under the circumstances. It was difficult to pay the bill considering the quality of the meal. What should we say "Everything was sub par?" We will not return. So sad. —Bekah

2007-05-23 14:29:56   I have only been to Soga's a couple of times, but I must say I was impressed with the bar scene. I havent ever been here to eat, but it is a great place to dance and drink because they actually play some legit music and have a DJ some nights. Lots of college students come here to drink, dance and have a great time. Lots of hot girls go here also, and although it can be a little tough to get to the bar when crowded, it is well worth it. —MikeJones

2007-06-09 21:22:41   6/9/07: We had 12 people in our party and it took about 45 mins until the first 6 dishes came out then another 15 mins for the next 4...then another 15 for the next 1 and then the final one came when everyone had almost finished their plate. It is nearly impossible for their servers to serve a party that is larger than 3 people. The food wasn't that great (um fish isn't supposed to taste like fish right?) and it is expensive. The air conditioning barely works (according to the manager "it's because the building is old") Right. Not worth your money or time sitting around waiting for 1/2 of your party's dishes to come out. By the middle of dinner we were talking about what other better high scale restaurants to check out in Davis...and Soga's did not make the cut (but Season's did). —achsu

2007-06-10 14:46:49   I went there for a celebratory dinner and let me tell you that this place has the worse service I have ever experienced in my life. Some of the orders were taken incorrectly, some people did not get their food, and others did not get their food until everyone else in the party was done. They seem incapable of serving parties more than 3-5 people, and I think that the money you spend on the dinner is definitely not worth it. You would get better service at Mcdonald's. The atmosphere was very uneasy between our party and the staff at the restaraunt and it would not have been that bad if the manager or anyone would have apologized or made an attempt to smooth the situation, but no one did. The food itself was below-par to adequate, but the service was just horrible. My take home message, STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!! —ryugyu

2007-06-10 14:59:24   Despite some bad reviews, a large group of us (14) decided to splurge and come to Soga's as it is supposed to be one of the "fancier" restaurants in Davis. Everything about the meal turned out to be horrible! It took an hour for the food to start arriving. One dish was not what was ordered, and the waitress asked if my friend would just eat it instead. One dish arrived at the end of the meal, after everyone else's plate had been cleared. We asked to have that meal wrapped to go as there was no point in even eating it anymore! One dish never arrived at all! Some of us lucky ones got our water refilled. We asked for more bread, which, surprise surprise, never arrived. The waitress never came back to check on us. The manager never came to apologize. We were even billed for the entree that arrived at the end of the meal (until we physically had to find the manager and ask to have it taken off). Please, save your money and eat elsewhere! —batana

2007-06-10 15:13:46   The last two negative comments were made from the same IP address within 15 minutes of each other.

Seriously.. Are you two members of the same dining party? If so, consider combining your comments.

—— — I second that notion of combining them, you are obviously the same person or sat side by side writing the comments. if it is from the same IP address, you had to have known that you guys were both commenting on the wiki at around the same time. It seems strange that all three comments above seem very similar (language, complaints, recommendations) and did the same thing to the Noodle Express page. I think you guys should state that you are together in the same party in your comments in order to be fair to each establishment.

2007-06-10 21:33:02   yes, actually we were, although we didn't realize we were both venting at once until we read your comment. are we not entitled to our own opinions and comments? —batana

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