On Saturday night we took a trip to Raleigh to eat at Sono Sushi. Leandra ate here back in October when she attended the NC Center for Non-profits conference nearby and liked the experience, and Eric wanted to try the flat-iron steak on the menu, so we decided to make the drive into downtown for our dating-versary.
We had a reservation for 6:30 and a table was waiting for us on arrival. As with our lunch on Friday, Eric knew what he wanted to order before sitting down. And once again he was foiled, this time by a new menu that had been introduced on Monday as explained by our waiter. So we ordered a bottle of Barth Rene Gewüzrtraminer while we both perused the menu. When the waiter came back, Eric ordered the bulgogi quesadilla.
“Oh, we don’t have that yet.”
Come again?
“I should probably tell you that we don’t have a few things on the new menu yet.”
Yes, yes you should. Of course, it would have been even better timing during one of the three previous trips you made to the table. Perhaps after telling us about the new menu even…
Eric ended up ordering the filet with a balsamic reduction and wasabi mashed potatoes, while Leandra ordered two sushi rolls (the Hard Rock and tuna/avacado) and yellowtail sashimi. Eric’s filet was tasty, but undercooked in the middle (Leandra, who likes her steak mooing, enjoyed the remainder for lunch the next day). The potatoes were only lightly dusted with wasabi and lacked flavor, another disappointment. Leandra’s sushi was good, no problems there. Finally, we split a chocolate torte for dessert. Once again, it was ok, but the whipped cream was clearly from a can, and the hazelnuts on top were soggy, indicating that it was pre-plated.
In the end it wasn’t a bad experience but rather a series of small things done poorly, and there are a lot of other restaurants around the Triangle that have done better. When we made the reservation, Leandra made a note that it was our anniversary yet no mention of this was made to us. Not that we were expecting anything, but a “thanks for spending your anniversary with us” would have been nice.
We both agree we would probably give them another chance, but we won’t make another special trip just to go to Sono.