After a coworker kept sending me pictures of plates of chicken that he got for lunch for $7, I…read morefinally caved and decided to check out what Soho is all about.
--Food: "Soho Cafe Market" is a little misleading, because by and large, the place is a cafeteria. You grab a plate / take out box, go down buffet styles lanes, and fill your plate with whatever you want; it's all by weight.
I've been here 3 or 4 times in the past few weeks, which should give an indication as to whether I like it or not. Each time I've tried something new, but among the things I've sampled are grilled chicken skewers, BBQ pork, meatloaf, sweet and spicy chicken, grilled chicken, roasted chicken, watermelon, crab cake, baked fish, veggie sushi, mac and cheese, pasta salad, and more.
Alright, it's cafeteria food. But it's cafeteria food that has that little bit of homemade taste that makes it infinitely better than the stereotypical "angry lunch lady with a ladle, slopping food onto a tray" food. I've really enjoyed just about every item I've got, with favorites being the meatloaf (surprise, yeah?) and sweet and spicy chicken.
The one downside is that depending on the time you stop by, you might be getting food that's sat there a bit. I'm not saying it's days old, because I'm sure at the worst it's a couple hours, but a couple of the chicken pieces I've gotten before are noticeably dried out. Just look at what you get and if it looks old, leave it. That said, this doesn't happen a lot and even eating at 2:00 PM, most things were pretty tasty.
--Cost: To be honest, I would probably give Soho a 3 if it weren't so cheap. If you look at the pictures I've posted, I get a pretty heaping plate of food every time, and I never spend more than $7.50 here. I suppose if you filled up your plate with heavy items, you might pay more, but I have left completely stuffed for $7.50 every time.
--Atmosphere: Soho is located inside of BB&T, which I believe is a bank, and is in some really fancy looking towers. The eating area is pretty basic, but nice enough, and the outdoor seating is really pretty. It's been too hot to eat outside, but it's nice to look at.
--Service: There is a sandwich station that has employees, but for the most part, it's all serve yourself, like a buffet place. The staff at the register isn't very talkative, but always seems really pleasant.
--Overall: It's not glorious. It's not high class eating. It's essentially a buffet cafeteria. But you know what? The price is very reasonable, a lot of the food tastes pretty home made, there are a lot of options, it's right by my building, and it's open all afternoon. For what it is, Soho is a really good lunch option. Give it a try!