My family and I went to dinner with a 5pm reservation. We arrived a few minutes late and the service was amazing. Thankfully we ordered my kids meals relatively quickly because we waited over 1.5 hours to get our soup and salad. We had to get our Entree to go because it took sooooo long to get the food out. We fortunately ordered apps so we had that because otherwise we would have been waiting. I'm glad my kids were fed but 1.5 hours for entrees is unacceptable. We told the manager on our way out how terrible the timing was and she didn't really care. I've been a fan of the Sole for a long time and this was by far the worst experience. read more

The food is okay. The service is fine. The management treats the employee unfairly, underpaying them, most of the illegal staff. Be careful with the raw fish sushis, the fridge of sushi bar and kitchen always having problems with the right temperature. read more

This place is a must. The menu has so many wonderful choices. Our daughter has to be gluten free, they have an entire menu dedicated to gluten free. Everything we had was tasty and the wait staff very attentive. read more

Great Seafood done right One of favorites local restaurants.been here a bunch and have never had a bad meal. 2 servers at a time has always provided good service. If you want good fresh seafood in the Worcester area, this is the place to go. Also, if you come during one of their "fest" times, you can great food for less read more

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I've been a customer of sole proprietor for over twenty years and the quality of the food and service remains outstanding

Food is good but that's about it noise,overpriced and slow service. There are a lot of places that are better overall

Had a work dinner here so we had a table of 10. Service was a little lacking and the food well we can break that down... Oysters, well the one I got had a piece of meat that was so small my fork couldn't even get it out of the half shell... I ordered the black and blue swordfish. Was alright.. Fish was a little bit too charred. My side broccoli was overcooked. The lobster bisque, had incredibly large pieces of lobster but the bisque itself was overly saltly and well had some separately liquid ontop... I hope it was water? Lemon sorbet was overwhelmingly large and definitely the best part of my meal other than the beer. read more

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10 STARS From the moment we called to make a reservation, we felt so comfortable and welcomed by the hostess. We were seated outside under a tent with heaters. The tables were spaced far apart for everyone's safety! The ambiance was just so lovely, we stayed dry and cozy even on a cold rainy evening. The service was EXCEPTIONAL!! Our servers were beyond attentive and courteous. We ordered the lobster roll and steak with stuffed shrimp which both had the option of salad or clam chowder and of course we both added the clam chowder to our meals. The clam chowder was perfect! The steak (a tad salty for my personal taste) but the shrimp was terrific! The sides it came with were Asparagus and mashed potatoes which were perfectly seasoned and cooked. As for the lobster roll- OMG!!! Definitely order this. I can't describe the deliciousness of this sandwich. We ordered it with the cold mayo (which was not overbearing at all especially because I don't usually like mayo) This place was so awesome I'm writing this review as we're paying the check! Make sure to tip your servers! Enjoy! read more

Kudos to Beth, my server. She was awesome. Little things, like new flatware and plates and folding of napkins, make a huge dining experience. Why no photos? Because the food was so good I couldn't stop myself from digging in. Warm rolls and soft butter to start. Crispy, perfectly fried calamari, followed by Welfleet oysters on the half shell. Lobstah roll--1/2 lbs and stuffed Sole for my main meal, and a classic 1970s Grasshopper cocktail for dessert. Thank you Sole Proprietor for such an enjoyable meal. read more

A $17 lobster roll at a $$$ restaurant?! Unheard of! It's true though. Along with the 1/4 pound lobster roll (your choice of butter or mayo mixed with it), it comes with coleslaw, french fries and a wedge salad. The lobster roll had big chunks of meat in it and was delicious. The roll was buttered and toasted to perfection. The french fries were soggy by the time we brought them home. They were still okay. The coleslaw was creamy and delicious. The wedge salad was just okay. It came with an interesting french-blue cheese dressing that I hated. The fries and salad was pretty much a washout but to be honest, I had no idea they were included anyway so I'm not too heartbroken that they were subpar. The lobster roll was certainly worth the $17. We ordered over the phone for curbside and our to-go order was brought right out as we arrived. Impressed with the roll and service. Will be back during the summer! read more

The Sole Proprietor - Bars Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

Sole Proprietor offers seafood, sushi, and raw bar. I visited this spot a few times in the past, and I always had a good experience with food and service. BUT, sometimes, good things end... or, you simply get unlucky. The server was very friendly, which was nice, but overly talkative, to the point he was just talking and talking instead of working... It also took forever to get our orders taken, we had to ask for a staff to get our server. I ordered Blackened Tuna Steak Sahshimi. The sashimi was nice, but for the amount of rather thin slices of tuna I received, I would say it is over priced. Especially, the sushi rice was HORRIBLE. The small amount of rice was really, very sweet, and it seems like it has been sitting out there for too long, since half (or more) of the rice was already dried up and super hard, making it non-edible. I think it should have been called "dried up, old sugar rice" instead of sushi rice. It was that bad. Other entrees delivered to the table in a less professional way, it was all shifted to one corner of a square plate. We believe the whole thing was shifted because of the way the server took the plate from the kitchen. So, how bad was our experience? It was so bad that we had to get another server to help us, and she offered free cheesecake (to share). It really was too late to turn it all around at that point, but at least someone made an effort to make us feel a bit better. At the end, we were all disappointed for the first time, as I mentioned, we have dined here a few times in the past, and we always enjoyed the food and service. Hopefully, it was just a one-time thing, and that we just had a really bad luck. read more

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Table tops in bar area were worn and dirty. Service was terrible, we left after having one drink and an appetizer. Appetizer was whole belly clams that were subpar and gritty. Filthy, disgusting, and service was poor. This is not what I had expected out of the Sole. read more

Lunch Jan 28 Great service by wait staff, very knowledgeable and professional. Loved the free bread that came out early! Had the lobster roll with fries and an appetizer of Fried Clams. Clams were very tasty, lightly breaded, but smaller than I would have expected for being whole belly clams. Lobster Roll was perfect and the fries with it were okay. Would have almost preferred potato chips. This is a VERY nice, upscale restaurant, which was shocking for the area. Plenty of free parking too. I would 100% go back there again! read more

Have always had good meals and service here but this day was a slight exception. Service started off slow, waitress seemed to have forgotten us. After a while the waiter started coming around and things were slightly better. All meals were fine except fine haddock meal which was laden with bones....that meal went uneaten. This doesn't usually happen here but it must have been one of those off nights for my group. read more

The food was amazing! Everything tasted fresh and delicious. I can't decide what I like best. From the calamari to the sushi to fried sampler. It was all fantastic! The waiter was very kind. I will definitely be visiting again. read more

Decent food, ok atmosphere, service a little dicey. I ordered the sole meuniere, pretty good, a friend got a seafood saute'. read more

Great oysters and seafood. Good drink options and staff is attentive and friendly. Haven't tried steak or other meat options

I've been going to the Sole for decades and have yet to be disappointed! The food is always fresh and delicious, the service impeccable, and the ambiance casual and relaxed. It's my go-to place for special occasions! read more

A true seafood gem, in proximity to WPI in Worcester, MA in short proximity to I-290. Parking is hit and miss and street parking is even worse for weekend dinners, happy hours and Thursday and Friday lunch. I would highly recommend making reservations for dinner to avoid the up to 2 hour wait. The lunch menu is good in comparison to most seafood restaurants but if you want the full experience go for dinner. My recommendations would be the following: Lunch: Trout with a Potato Crust Honey Chipolte Bacon Wrapped Scallops Shrimp, Tomato, Garlic (Shrimp Scampi) Appetizers: Lobster & Ravioli Rainbow Maki Entree: Shogun Sushi Combo Land and Two Seas Salmon Fillet and Jumbo Shrimp with Hoisin Wasabi Drizzle Desert: Chocolate Tulip Don't get me wrong, all of the dishes at the Sole are good but these dishes are head and shoulders above the rest and could easily become a person(s) 'usual' dish when visiting. I would avoid dishes that are primarily Chicken or Steak, these selections would be good but not great and not worth getting at the Sole. For dinner your meal comes with a salad or soup. The Sole used to have a house dressing that was a French and Bleu Cheese mix but now there dressing selections are pedestrian. When given the option get the Seafood Chowder in lieu of the clam to avoid a half bowl of potatoes in your soup. Typically of most restaurants I would not recommend getting the boiled lobster, for the price of one you could get 2-3 in the grocery store. Dress is business casual, jeans, t-shirts, flip flops and shorts are not recommended, unless you want to feel like a fool. Average price per person reflects drink, appetizer and entree. Not great for large parties based on how busy they get. We tried to make reservations for a wedding party and were given a lot of ridiculous stipulations for our reservations so we ultimately booked at another locations. Best for intimate dining and parties greater than 8. read more

Great service, great food. The cold slaw was amazing. The mojito was delicious as well. The waiters were fun and friendly. We had a 45 minute wait time, but was only 15 minutes. read more

Decent food. I've never loved anything from here though to be honest. Crab cakes were decent.

I have been eating here for 35 years and never did l have an experience like l had today. To start off, my glass had a Crack in it, no big deal so they made me a new drink. Ordered oysters, and shrimp, $40 , oysters were small and 2 of them were rotten and smelled. Ceaser salad was dry , and so bland l had to add salt . To a ceaser salad. Unheard of. Not cold and crisp. I ordered seafood Paella. They should be ashamed to call it Paella. It was raw. Had to send it back. Scallops and calamari were grey. Asked them to crisp it in A frying pan. Which it should be cooked in a paella pan or cast iron.. Came back, still terrible. They took it off the bill. They should take it off the menu, or cook it properly. So disappointed. The best thing was the strawberry cheesecake. I am sad that l am reporting this. I think they would want to know and all of u out there who frequent the Sole. read more

When we moved to Worcester we were told the Sole Proprieter was a great restaurant. So we made plans to go. When we got there, it was dark and not as clean as I would expect a top rated restaurant to be. We got our salads, nothing special. When my entree came out, there was a long hair mixed in! I of course sent it back. The server immediately took it to the maître d′. I awaited the maître d′ response for more than 15 minutes. He looked at our table 3-4 times but never approached. I requested our check. After escorting my wife to our car I went back inside to voice my displeasure to the maître d′. He attempted to make this right by buying me dinner on a future date. I explained that I do not voice my displeasure in order to get a free meal. I would strongly discourage any visit to this restaurant...they are simply posing as a good restaurant, but charging classy restaurant prices. read more

We really love when restaurants offer a happy hour. It shows that they want customers in the seats, but can't necessarily afford the regular fancy menu. The happy hour prices and the menu were not that great, but we ordered 2 sushi rolls - a firecracker roll with lobster and a veggie roll. The bar was very busy but didn't match the rest of the restaurant which seemed very fancy. The service was pretty good and we were hopeful when we received our rolls. At first glance, they seemed to look ok, but once you take that first bite, one word comes to mind. STALE RICE. The sushi was not fresh and tasted like you got it from the local supermarket, which would have probably been fresher. The fillings were sparse and flavorless. In this place, even the happy hour is a rip-off. If you invite people into your restaurant, you should put your best food(t) forward. We will not be back here. After inspecting the bill, our "happy hour" prices were not that happy. $9 for a glass of wine and $7 for a beer!! And the bad food...priceless. (our valued time is worth more) read more

The Sole Proprietor - Firecracker roll - Bars Near Me - Worcester, Massachusetts

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Very, very disappointing. My swordfish came out underdone and had an awful, funky taste to it. I took one bite and got nauseous. So I sent it back. After a few minutes I called the waitperson over and told her to cancel it. No way could I look at food after that. My wife got halibut and it was so tough it was like chewing gum. She didn't send hers back which I now regret. It's a shame because the steamers and the sushi we had for appetizers were great. Two stars for that. The service was OK, just OK though. They weren't as concerned as I would have hoped after serving us 2 inedible meals. It was over $150 for the three of us and that was AFTER they took off my meal. Deserts were sub-par. Skip the pound cake and strawberries. The cake tasted stale and the strawberries were soaked in sweet goop. The chocolate tulip cup was OK but nothing special. There is a strong, fishy odor when you first walk in and, yeah, what did I expect for a fish restaurant. Well not that odor, that's for sure. Overall it was a bad enough of an experience that we won't be giving it another chance. read more

Gave another try for a birthday lunch. Had two waitstaff enthusiastically start us off. Steamed clam appetizer was delicious as was the grilled swordfish, I had Boiled lobster dinner and it was just ok. Cold and flavorless. Took so long between courses we ordered more drinks which also took forever to get one of our waitresses to come over. Had a dead bug in one of our drinks and again waited to get someone's attention. They comped us one of our desserts big deal when you spend over 200 for lunch. read more

I've eaten at The Sole many times over the years and I'm sad to say the value for the money just doesn't seem to be there anymore. The last few visits have been iffy but I have fond memories so we kept trying...last night was probably the last try. Pros: The service was excellent. Our server was friendly and professional and she (well, they) did check back with us and we declined to let her know that we weren't thrilled with our food. I do not want to speak to managers at the table; I find that embarrassing. I had the Flirtini to drink which was perfect, and Kung Fu Girl Riesling with dinner. My husband had a Stella. I think the beverage program is great. Cons: all of the food. None of it was great. The sushi was just okay. The Buster Roll for $15 should have wowed me but it was mayonnaisey and sliced too thick. Not great flavor or balance. Tuna poke app was outrageously over salted. The wedge salad was really weird. It was just Catalina dressing, sesame seeds, lettuce, and tomatoes and had almost no blue cheese at all. The shrimp and salmon entree was a disaster-- the hoisin green beans were limp and too salty, the salmon overcooked and underseasoned, and the shrimp were overcooked to dry gritty oblivion. The side of lobster risotto had no lobster flavor and was gummy and pasty. Two little chunks of claw meat and that was it. Check was $120 with tip, and we felt ripped off. Will not be back for anything other than drinks. Can management please return this place to its former glory? I'm bummed out. read more

Their lobster roll and baked mixed seafood platter are my favorite. The seafood is always served fresh and is served fast. This place is always crowded, make a reservation in advance to get a table. read more

What a let down. I invited a group of friends to join me for a good time here at The sole proprietor. The oysters the were the only thing worth your time. The food is WAY overpriced. They are just trying to keep the doors open with those prices. The sushi sucked, OVERALL THE FOOD SUCKED. The drinks we ordered were beer so they couldn't screw that up. Heck. The service was SOOOO slow. Very nice people, but we tried waving them down to take our order before happy hour ended and they kept walking past our table. This is a let down. I came here as a second try just incase my first time was a flook, but I WISH I NEVER HAD MADE A RESERVATION HERE. Dont waste your time unless you want to waste your money too. It's good for the oysters but that is it!! read more

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I went to the Sole for lunch with my cousin for restaurant week. I've such a seafood lover, and I have to say this definitely hit the spot! I did the dinner deal for lunch which is similar to chop 111, but instead of lobster it was crab cakes. The crab cakes was crispy with the moist crab pieces compact together although compactly dense, it still tasted fluffy and light. The steak was perfectly cooked, medium rare, but smoothly and melted in my mouth with each chew. The pricing actually is pretty affordable even prior to restaurant week. Highly recommended read more

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Great seafood, awesome server, easy parking and an unbelievable gluten free cheesecake!

Always a 5 star experience! I've been going there for over 20 years and they have never disappointed. Every special event we have we end up at the sole. Management always makes sure you feel special and the food is superb. The new layout of the restaurant is great and roomy. Would recommend this restaurant time and time again! read more

Just awesome! A wide selection of quality food. Been here many times and I am just now correcting the egregious mistake of not writing a review. My apologies. This place is always busy so get a reservation. Reservations are not hard to get, but if you don't have one you will be disappointed. We have had the sushi, lobster, fish n chips, and much more. All good! We usually take a bunch of swimmers here after a WPI meet. Everyone always has a good time. read more

Fresh seafood with a fabulous sushi bar. Reservations strongly recommended as they are always busy. Service is good. Love their oysters on the half shell! read more

Rude and pretentious is the style here, overpriced and overrated. If our server were any ruder, I would have reported her to management. Never again will I grace The Sole with my presence. How's that for pretentious? Right back at ya. read more

Sole is such a nice, CLEAN place, with GREAT seafood!!! The staff is extremely friendly. They knew their oysters and what was fresh/sweet to taste! We arrived at 4:30 on a Tuesday. They hade HH specials to offer. We sat at the bar. By 6:00 the place was full. It was so good we decided to go back on Wednesday!! Same time, same place. By 6:00, it was completely packed at the bar as well as the dining area. It seems to be very popular establishment. I really liked how clean and well painted/decorated the place is!! It just felt like a great place to have a couple drinks and dinner. They did not disappoint!! read more

Service was great, super friendly and attentive. Food was "OK," but when you expect better - food might be "great" if you don't. Either way, this place could elevate. Don't price at $0.99. Round up. Blame it on inflation. read more

I don't understand how anyone can give The Sole a rating of anything less than five stars. We have been coming here for over 25 years and have never had a bad experience. It is our go to restaurant - we travel an hour to dine there without giving it a second thought. We have spent many wonderful anniversaries/birthday celebrations there. The staff and service have always been top notch. I highly recommend the Tuna Barcelona entree! I am addicted. We also opt for oysters on the half-shell as our appetizer. Again, the restaurant never disappoints. However, I do wish that they would bring back the smoked bluefish appetizer as well as the white chocolate tartufo dessert. read more

Food is good ... DRINKS SUCK and OVERPRICED for the shot you receive ... do not even bother

When we want fresh high quality seafood we head for The Sole. It's also our go-to for special occasions. Service is great and beer & wine selection is really good. We went recently for lunch. My wife had steamers, a beet and burrata salad and a stuffed tuna dish and loved them all. I ordered fish & chips, which was a full pound of hot and perfectly done pollock. You can get fried haddock, of course, but why would you at an $8 premium for less fish? So here's the rub; they use those battered fries you get at the inexpensive chain pubs. FRENCH FRIES MATTER - DROP THE BATTER! read more