Overrated. I came for restaurant week and was really disappointed in the food. I had the squid ink pasta and calamari which were nothing special. My friend had the Caesar salad for appetizer and it was just two mini heads of romaine lettuce. read more

Used to be a great place, but not any more. Been going downhill & today was a total disappointment (looking for a special Mother's Day brunch). For a 12:30 reservation, the menu had about 6 items (no kidding), all ordinary (pancakes, french toast, omlette, chicken salad, etc.) - no special twist, no Italian flare. No offer of coffee when we sat down, just stuffed the WINE LIST under our nose. No offer of powdered sugar, syrup, or fruit topping w/french toast. No bread offerred w/meal, no desserts offerred. No flowers on table, nothing special in the atmosphere. Don't waste your time for what they offer - go to Miss Shirleys. Chpeap but not even worth the trip into the city & parking. Ruined any sense of a special day. read more

Mangia, Mangia! I have never had a bad meal here. From the Pappardelle to the Squid ink to the fish I am always impressed by the quality of the food here. I would go here hands down over any place in Little Italy. Chef Riccardo is a class act. He came out and said hi to my friend Janet, as she just had returned from Italy. Servers always are knowledgable and you can always find parking around the corner or valet. Polished it all off with Podu Cream and Espresso. Thanks again Chef Riccardo! read more

Really cool spot, and they do an excellent job on most of the dishes I've tried here. Only knock is the size of the space. If there's a large group here, especially at the bar, the noise level gets intense. Otherwise a great spot - some delicious authentic flavors with modern twists read more

The food at this restaurant was delicious! I had the Cesar salad, seared salmon and vanilla gelato! Delicious! Also I tried the moscato here and it's hands down the BEST moscato I've ever had! read more

One of our favorite restaurants in Baltimore. Everything is so fresh and delicious. My husband and I have been many times and I have never ordered anything that was less than amazing. The drink and wine menu is great as well. Highly recommended. read more

For lunch on Saturday, we visited this place after a recommendation from a server at B&O, a fine restaurant a few blocks away. We were so impressed with the service and atmosphere and decor, and we're elated with the food. The appetizers - polenta and the cauliflower bisque - were so pleasing. The papardelle pasta was right on point. The salmon was perfectly cooked. The wines we ordered - Pinot Noir and Montepulciano - perfectly complemented the dishes. Good job, Sotto Sopra. read more

For the prices they charge, I would have expected exceptional service on a Saturday night. We were treated indifferently by staff, and every step of the meal was painfully slow (especially ordering and getting our appetizers). The food was good, but I won't be returning because the service was really that bad. read more

Besides the excellent REAL Italian food (read homemade pasta, etc), this place can be a lot of fun. Join the email fans and receive notice of the "flip a coin" night when the owner flips a coin to determine whether you pay or not - with surprises along the way. read more

I'm a fan of good food while I'm not a fan of formal settings. The food was indeed delicious, starting with the pear salad and ending with the creme brulee (that could take more fruit as decoration). However, the service was a little too attentive and not much fun. At our arrival, when we said we had no reservation (the restaurant was more than half empty, and remained so throughout the dinner), the server had to check her computer to see if there is a table for us! The server tried SO hard to be "perfect" and according to the etiquette (when serving wine, etc.) that it made us (a couple in mid-twenties) feel ridiculous. He also brought our salad twice since he confused us with another couple at a different table and he didn't notice until I told him that we just had our salad. So much for perfection! The restaurant is beautiful on the inside, very pleasant, and the food is top-notch. However, the servers still live in the 18th century when women were not allowed to leave the house without their husbands. If this restaurant wants to attract a younger crowd, they need to become a little more human and make dining a fun experience. A good dinner in my opinion doesn't mean three forks, three spoons and a waiter refilling my water every two seconds. read more

Excellent service, but clearly they needed some help. Long wait for just about everything. It was lunch time and only two people were working the floor. The lobster ravioli sauce was very flavorful, but the dish was not hot and ravioli could have cooked longer (chewy). Generous pieces of lobster inside though. The apple streudel was interesting. The apples inside were undercooked and not cored properly. Faster service and hot, cooked food would make this a 5 star. read more

Their food is good if you have a fancy pallet. Good wines to choose from and the waiters work with you. Easy to find on Charles Street. A nice place to have dinner with friends. read more

I went here with my boyfriend on New Years Eve before going to a party thinking that we would have a wonderful, special, upscale dinner and I was not nicely surprised. It is a beautiful place, with murals on the wall and friendly staff but the food was sub-par. I had the pasta ala carbonara and it was pretty good, but not as good as I was expecting. My boyfriend ordered the salmon which was dry, and had an odd fishy taste to it. I understand that it is NYE and they are trying to push people through but our waitress didn't even ask if we wanted another drink while we were eating and didn't ask how our meal is. I am not picky, but I expect more from somewhere that has such a good reputation and is so expensive. read more

I'm very easy going, not one to complain, yet I joined Yelp for this. Over the weekend I had a dinner here for my anniversary with my girlfriend. We had to wait 40 minutes after our reservation time to be seated. After being seated we were discussing leaving because it was another 15 minutes before our waiter arrived. He asked if we had been waiting long and we politely described the wait thinking things would move smoother. However it was another 15 minutes til we saw our drinks. The food was amazing that why it's at two stars but the experience was bad. It's unfortunate because I love this city and it was my girlfriends first time in baltimore and now it probably is her last. Honestly all I wanted was recognition that we had been waiting long/small effort to compensate it. Long story short, the food is great but experience was not. read more

It was a rainy night in Baltimore, but nothing could negatively affect our dinner and birthday celebration at our first (of many to come) visit to Sotto Sopra. From our greeting at the door to the table, during the meal, and at our departure, we received the friendly, attentive, "just-right" service you rarely get today. Though the tables became filled with other patrons during our visit, the noise level and music stayed at pleasant, not-interfering-with-enjoyment levels. The room setting with its subdued murals set apart with distinctly shaped mirror designs and subtly accented by table candle lighting provided an atmosphere of being in your own special place. Not to repeat other diner's praises, I'll just add my "must-have" menu item that is so unique and worthy of a "signature" label: Sacchetti di Zucca con Salsciccia, No finer disheverr came out of Italy! read more

I recently visited Baltimore for a convention and was searching on Yelp for restaurant options off the beaten path of the local waterfront. I came across Sotto Sopra and was glad I did! I made somewhat last minute reservations for a group of 9 from my company on a Monday night with no problem. The food, ambience, wine, and servers were all fantastic. We all loved the appetizers, entrees and desserts we ordered. And the servers were personable and knowledgeable. One person in our party could not have garlic (a tough order in Italian cuisine) but there was no issue here as all is made to order. If I had one slight criticism, it would be that the desserts took a bit of time from order to table. But once they arrived they were delectable. Highly recommend! read more

I just loved this place! The atmosphere was really nice, the murals on the walls, the candles, the music. And the food... delicious! The caesar salad was fantastic and the pork dish also a terrific choice. The waiters were all very attentive and accommodating. I was staying in Baltimore for a business meeting and was recommended to go here by the Hotel Monaco. I'm so glad I was referred to this restaurant because when I come back to Baltimore I will definitely dine here again! Great choice for a romantic dinner date, or for celebrating Valentine's Day with your significant other. read more

The place is lovely. The food was terrible. We ordered the Ravioli. It came out frozen!! And when we brought it to the waiters attention he took it back inot the kitchen popped it in the microwave and brought it back as if nothing out of the ordinary had happned. We didn't even get a free drink. For the price I say skip it. read more

My experience at this restaurant was absolutely horrible. I was given a gift certificate by a client, so I invited 2 colleagues to dine with me for an evening meeting. We decided upon three light dishes. The waiter's name was Scott and he was rude & condescending from the moment we entered the restaurant, and we have no idea why. For some reason he asked if it was my birthday and it just so happened that it was my birthday the day before. I told him it was, but that it was also my friend's birthday and that she and I have the exact same birthday.He then brought three glasses of champagne, but refused to serve my friend a glass. He then stood in front of us and drank her glass straight down and walked away. After we complained and asked him to bring her a glass he still refused. After some time we pushed the issue and he made her pull out three ID cards to prove her age and insulted her in the process, but It was more than evident she was over 21. Throughout this ordeal, he used a sharp tone and insisted that he order for us because we didn't know what to order. Upon making our decision, he then refused to take our small order saying the chef would not start cooking our food unless we put in our complete order. We'd told him we didn't want a large meal, and that this was all we wanted. He then snatched up all the menus off of the table and stormed off. It was surreal. We couldn't believe it was actually happening to us. After sitting for 10 minutes he eventually returned and took our small order. All of this happened over the course of about 2 hours, even at one point he just out of the blue asked me if I had ever been to many restaurants. The only reasons why we stayed was because I had a very expensive gift certificate and the weather was not the best. We also had to get through our meeting and handle our business. The 3 of us have dined all over the world and have never received such bizarre, rude service. We'd never been to this restaurant and our experience was so terrible, we will never go back again. The other waiters were kind and gracious. The food was delicious, but the memory from Scott was so terrible we just don't want to go back. read more

Last night I thought the $30 special "restaurant week" in Baltimore will take me a nice place like Sotto Sopra, the place is nice, not formal, crowded, but food portion is so little that makes the food very expensive. I am not in favour huge amount of food but there should be a moderation of portion that you don't see at this place. read more

I live in the neighborhood and have been wanting to go to Sotto Sopra for awhile. Finally said ok will go for Restaurant Week. The ambience and décor is really cozy and cute. Now on to the food. Ordered the crispy Polenta which looked like toaster French toast sticks with schmear underneath which was actually aioli which really didn't have any flavor except for mayo. One down. Next ordered the pumpkin ravioli which everyone raves about. The ravioli was overcooked lifeless and limp with really no depth of flavor not to mention under seasoned. The sauce was watery and bland and the sausage was WAY too salty. I didn't even finish it, was that bad. For dessert I ordered the bread pudding which was really a block of bread. Was dry and boring. I sent that back and ordered the pistachio brulee which was better but still not worth finishing. Was thinking to myself well maybe it was all the hype and you were letdown. And then said Nope you were right the first time. Just bad :( I really wanted to like you Sotto Sopra read more

i was not impressed- sotto sopra has a respectable reputation, so i was disappointed with my dinner there. in their defense, i went on valentine's day, so the place was packed- i felt like couples were sitting on top of each other (i know most restaurants are similarly crowded for valentines dinner, but this was ridiculous). moreover, i felt the food was overpriced for what you got. i am hesitant to try them again. read more

4 of us went for a special occasion that just happened to be during the Grand Prix weekend and they were doing a Prix fix menu with many choices. We started off with a wonderful Pinot Bianco that was crisp and refreshing; an all around crowd pleaser for 4 people with very different wine preferences. We had the mushroom crostini and the prosciutto appetizers which were done to perfection. We also had the insalata nostra and the ceasar salad which were presented beautifully and were also very good. (I just didn't personally try them). 2 people ordered the delmonico steak which for both of them was one of the best steaks they had had in a looonnnggg time. A large cut of meat that was perfectly tender, moist and flavorful done with a mild barolo reduction and broccolini. The fettucine bolognese with oxtail had handmade pasta, a beautiful rich sauce that was lightened with a touch of lemon creme. The depth in this dish was fantastic. I ordered the duck confit with fava beans and celery root puree. The duck was moist and tender with a flavorful crisp, yet light skin. The fava beans lightened the flavors and was fantastic. For dessert the apple strudel was a crowd favorite as was the pistacio creme brule. Very light and not too sweet with an interesting delicate flavor permeating the perfectly done custard. My personal favorite! We also ordered the tiramisu which was light, but heavily coffee flavored. We greatly enjoyed our time and had a fantastic waitress named Irene whom was helpful, friendly and attentive and very honest in terms of her opinions. The atmosphere was romantic but not too quiet which is perfect for having convesation without being overly stuffy. We really enjoyed our experience and will surely recommend this restaurant to many others. read more

I would like to comment on the recent reviews for Sotto Sopra. My first question to people, " how many other restaurants do you wait no more than 15 minutes before being seated with a reservation time?" It's a fine dining restaurant.....if you are looking for fast service, fast food....then I suggest you go to a restaurant that accommodates that atmosphere! I know the staff very well and the owner has a remarkable staff and does their job very well! Unfortunately, credit is never given when due and it's only the one-sided stories or complaints that are acted upon! And, I do not believe the staff (Mallory - manager nor the servers, Scott and others) were rude by any means. They are people as well and should be respected and not snapped at, cursed or belittled. It seems the complainers of this party was making more of a scene than anyone and no apologies were required from anyone as they were accommodated; although I am certain Mallory was attentive to their table as she is with all tables and customers. With regards to large parties, perhaps if you relished in the moment of the party's company and conversations and not focused on the miniscal faults of the staff and restaurant the evening would have been much more enjoyable. After all, you made dinner arrangements to "get together" and enjoy time with those people! Honestly....with regards to the servers were not in synch!!!! Wow...I forgot to ask what was the age of this group/party? Because it sounds like 5 year olds whining the other party members got their food before them!! Unremarkable! Sotto Sopra is well managed and again the staff are hardworkers and deliver excellent service and this is what makes Sotto Sopra a great place to dine! read more

when i was in college, i could only afford lunch. however, this was one of the first places that stepped up the food game in my life. when it comes to food, service, and decor - these guys pay attention to details. read more