Sofiya

This place is pretty new—the staff mentioned it reopened as a restaurant just three months ago. The food has a lovely traditional touch, and the service was warm and welcoming. The plov was super flavorful, and the lamb shank was absolutely amazing—I’d highly recommend it! For appetizers, we had the beef tongue salad, which was also really tasty. Definitely worth a visit if you’re looking to try some new dishes and experience authentic flavors!

Loved it 😍 Great food, ambience=nice decor, quick service. Perfect way to experience Central Asian=Uzbek cuisine. Definitely get the fruit tea, if you love tea=served in a cute set. You can’t go wrong with Plov or borscht and I loved the pie with cheese and egg, it was freshly made and heavenly

Overall, great restaurant, very good food, amazing service (the staff were all very nice!). There are only 2 small downsides: 1. The lighting has a blue-tint which gives it a harsh office like vibe (even though the rest of the interior design is great) 2. The price is pretty average for the places in the area and the food and flavor profile was very good, but I wouldn't say exceptional (no really unique presentation and no boundary-breaking flavor profiles). So an average priced food that is good but not exceptional fits a 4/5 IMO. Anyways, I still definitely suggest trying them out!

Best Plov in San Francisco. Perfectly cooked rice, beef and quail egg — amazing and purely comforting. In-house dining, an exotic treat when seating on carpeted platform. Various grilled meat dishes, dumplings and salads for sharing. A menu that tours the former Soviet republics, with a focus on Central Asia and the Caucasus.

I came excited and wanted to like this place. Growing up in Russia, I ate a lot of these meals and I’m intimately familiar with most of these dishes. I even published a cook book with many of these dishes. My main concern is that their ‘beef’ dishes had lamb fat in it making the dishes have a strong lamb flavor. My wife doesn’t like lamb or goat so she is very sensitive to the flavor and when ordered their beef ‘Manti’ dish she immediately recognized the flavor of the lamb. I, on the other hand, like lamb and cook it all the time. So after taking a bite of her Manti I immediately tasted lamb. Upon inspection of the meat there were rather many pieces of lamb fat which is traditionally called ‘kurduk’ and used in many dishes in Central Asia religiously to add flavor and to make meat juicier. I mean it’s unmistakable and strong flavor. However, here in States, you can’t add lamb to the beef dishes and then tell me it’s beef. Also their ‘Chicken Tabatha’ wasn’t a chicken tabakha (which is typically chicken cooked under heavy press till crispy perfection) but some boiled chicken with a sauce. Their ‘chebureki’ was ok. The dough was a bit tough and didn’t taste fresh, which happens when you cook frozen, not fresh chebureki. The beef inside also had lamb flavor. The staff was nice, however, they had this weird ‘disappearance’ act when there is literally no staff at the restaurant for 5-10 minutes. So you just wandering whether they went to pray or something. Again perhaps I ordered the wrong dishes. But I wasn’t impressed at all.

Absolutely amazing experience! This Central Asian restaurant truly captures the authentic flavors and essence of the region. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with warm hospitality and a cozy, inviting atmosphere. The dishes were incredibly flavorful, with fresh ingredients and perfectly balanced spices. I highly recommend the plov and samsa—they were out of this world! Each bite transported us right to the heart of Central Asia. The staff was attentive and knowledgeable, making great recommendations for our meal. If you’re looking for an authentic Central Asian dining experience, this is the place to go! Five stars!

We enjoyed an amazing meal at Sofiya during the new years holiday. Our large group was warmly welcomed, even without a reservation! We were excited to be seated traditionally and every dish we ordered was absolutely delicious! We selected an assortment of items so we could have a sampling of the menu. The first thing that arrived at the table was the warm housemade bread. Amazing! The Borscht, manti, plov, a variety of kebabs, and salads, all were flavorful and delightful. All the staff made us feel at home and made our evening so enjoyable. We ended our meal with strawberry panna cotta and it was creamy with a lovely strawberry topping. We can’t wait to return, and highly recommend this restaurant!

This restaurant is a special for anyone who loves Central Asian cuisine and of course HALAL FOOD! The food is authentic, delicious, and served on time, making every visit a delightful experience. The prices are very affordable, which is another great plus. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, thanks to the friendly employees and the kind-hearted owner. A special mention goes to the owner for maintaining such high standards of cleanliness. If you're a fan of Central Asian food, this is a must-visit spot! Highly recommended!

Sofiya is a restaurant in Lower Nob Hill that opened a few months ago in September, and I wanted to try it after having it heavily recommended to me! I've never had Uzbek cuisine so was especially excited to check them out. We came in on a Wednesday evening and were able to get seated immediately; the restaurant is super spacious and brightly lit. We ordered the Plov and Qurutob--both dishes were phenomenal. The beef in the Plov was super tender, and the rice was incredibly flavorful. The tomatoes and onions added the perfect level of freshness to each bite. I also really liked the Qurutob, which felt refreshing with the labneh and variety of vegetables. I honestly really enjoyed combining the Plov and Qurutob together in each bite, which was just a burst of flavors. The service was also super friendly! My only thing was that it gets pretty quiet with not that much white noise, so I feel like my conversation with my friend could be super easily heard by everyone else. However, I highly recommend this restaurant and am so happy to have tried it.

Great newly updated Central Asian cuisine restaurant in San Francisco. Place itself, service and food - everything is top notch. My favorites are plov, samsa with beef and green tea with lemon. Highly recommend if you want to try a new cuisine.

The space is quite large with two levels! We made a reservation though just in case. I got the chicken kebab and was absolutely obsessed. It was super juicy and tender, and it was just the perfect amount of food. I did feel like overall it was on the pricier side, but would still come again just for that juicy juicy kebab!

I need to write this review now so I remember to try and get my friends to come here for this coming week. Lol The Plov was recommended by the server and I love it! The meat is super tender and the dish tastes homemade. I will definitely be back!

Growing up in Russia, Uzbeki cousine has always been my favorite. This restaurant reminded me of childhood and I brought all of my friends to try it out. The food was amazing, really good sizes of portions, the staff was so nice and so helpful. The picture clearly shows that the group really enjoyed the food!

We tried Sofiya last night and all in all we liked it and will come back. The food is indeed delicious, however the service is a little sporadic with only 2 servers trying to manage every table, walk ins, and phone orders, so they are stretched a bit thin as a result. They manage to be as attentive as possible, but our food came out in individual servings. What I thought would be appetizers of fried potatoes and pumpkin samsa came out at the very end. By then we were so full we had to ask for to go boxes. We definitely ordered too much food so we will reduce that next time. A few reviews on the food: - Bread: Very good fresh baked homemade bread. Only comes with 2 small butter cubes in packages. Fresh butter would be nice. - Creamy mushroom soup: Came out warm, not hot. It also had a slightly strange taste to it. Not like American mushroom soup but it must be ethnic and authentic so we can appreciate that. - Ajabsandali: Eggplant stew: We thought this would be hot but it is served chilled. I am not a fan of eggplant however my wife is and she enjoyed this dish. - Plov: I had to try it given the reviews. I did like it but not totally sure I'll order it again. It was mostly rice but everything was seasoned and cooked beautifully. - Fresh broccoli with garlic sauce: It's broccoli so not much to dislike, however I was halfway through the dish when she brought the garlic sauce out. I didn't realize it didn't already have it. - Fresh potatoes with garlic: These came out at the end of our meal. These were definitely the hit (for me). They are seasoned and cooked perfectly and served on a hot cast iron skillet. I wish they were served at the beginning of the meal though. - Pumkin samsa: Didn't come until the end of the meal. We were too full to eat it so it is in the fridge and awaiting the skillet or air fryer. I'm sure it will be tasty. Last but not least, I understand this is a restaurant from a part of the world that does not drink alcohol. I have no problem with that but it would be nice for those of us that do enjoy it in moderation to be able to enjoy some wine. I asked if we can bring some in next time and was told no, so do not plan on drinking any alcohol there. They have a small offering of teas and soft drinks. While my feedback may be construed as negative I'd like to reiterate that it is not negative. The restaurant is brand new so it's inevitable there will be a few things to work out. They seem to be doing very well which is great to see, likely fueled by a lot of positive press, which I think they deserve. The menu is vast and diverse and there are plenty of options for excellent food that will please just about any vegetarian or meat lover. It's a great addition to the neighborhood and I look forward to my next visit.

Absolutely delicious! We ordered the Sofiya's Special Soup, acharuli khachapuri, qurutob, and fried lagman. Every dish was 10/10. My favorite was the qurutob. So flavorful, juicy, and layered. Each bite was something different. The restaurant itself was decorated so nicely and very clean. Staff was very friendly. I can't wait to go back again.

Normally I give small businesses serving interesting ethnic food the benefit of the doubt, but this spot certainly doesn't need it. We, my wife's central Asian as well as my parents who are from Iran thoroughly enjoyed our meal in what was the former halal dastarkhan space. The prices were reasonable and everything we ate tasted fresh and had a good amount of flavor. That being said it also didn't have too much oil. I recommend this spot for anyone wanting to try central Asian food for the first. As someone who has traveled extensively in Kazakhstan I can attest to the originality and taste of the cuisine. Also the fact that this is the bay areas only existing Uzbek restaurant makes me like it even more. The homemade bread is a must and the qurotob dish is also quite interesting.

We had the pleasure of having dinner at this restaurant. It is definitely an update from the previous restaurant that was at this place. It was super cozy and nicely decorated. Service was great despite there being only two servers. While the servers were friendly, the food did take a quite long time to arrive. We were told that there were lots of orders and that's why. Honestly, the food wasn't the best. First of all, the presentation of the food wasn't thoughtful at all. There was no obvious effort to make it look nice. I feel like when you are eating at a restaurant, the presentation of the food carries a lot of importance because you don't want to feel like you are eating something that was just thrown on a plate. As for the taste, I was a little conflicted. I felt like there were too many onions in the meat and in the manti. I could literally taste more onions than meat. But the soup was delicious. Would recommend that one. Since this is a new restaurant, I think there are probably gonna be improvements as they go. Recommend checking it out if you are in the neighborhood.

Fantastic restaurant! The lagman, manty, plov, and Tashkent salad were all delicious and authentic. The place is very clean, and the service is kind and welcoming. Highly recommend!

excellent and distinctive foos. good atmosphere and service. met friends here for dinner and it was very good.

Beautiful decor of ceramic plates and lanterns. Deliciously prepared Uzbekistan cuisine. Brought back memories of my time there last year.

Not sure if it's a brand new restaurant or under new management but no matter, the place is bright and clean and well decorated. Service is very friendly and we had excellent food. Some of the dishes I remember from my childhood. I'll definitely go back and take others. I hope they keep it up.

Everything was great. We really enjoyed to be there. Food are delicious. Service are very good. The atmosphere was very nice, We felt at home.

Really enjoyed the food. Went to a show nearby and needed some food options. I've never had Uzbek cuisine and it was very good. The waiter suggested the compote tea. Not too sweet! Perfect balance. We ordered the manti, plov, salad with smoked salmon and chicken kabobs. The chicken was so flavorful! Beautiful decorations too!

Delicious food and wonderful service. Will definitely be returning. So glad we checked this place out.

If you never tried Plov , then give it try here . It's the best one you can find in SF . Delicious food, great ambiance, and excellent service!

Tajik Food :) Finally. I was waiting for this place to open . The food is great and the restaurant has a great atmosphere. Hope they stay in the business for long time. My wife tried Kurutob and she loved it. I tried lamb Kabob and Tashkent salad. Halal food and amazing. I would recommend to anyone who likes middle Asian food .

We got takeout from Sofiya and got the beef samsa, beef cheburek, sizzling lamb, and plov. We also got a tomato salad that came as a side. The samsa was my favorite as the beef was well seasoned. Definitely recommend trying as we finished everything and want to try the other menu items!

This place is pretty new--the staff mentioned it opened as a new restaurant just three months ago. The food was very traditional, and the service was warm and welcoming. The plov was super flavorful, and the lamb shank was absolutely amazing--I'd highly recommend it! For appetizers, we had the beef tongue salad, which was also really tasty. Definitely worth a visit if you're looking to try some new dishes and experience authentic flavors!

Serving Eurasian Steppe / Central Asian cuisine favorites like Cheburek, Khachapuri, Uyghur Lagman cooked by helpful friendly folks fresh from the region, and served in a beautifully remodeled serene space, an oasis in this neighborhood. Will be back for more

This place has amazing food. Last week, I had the privilege to meet the owner, who is a wonderful man from Uzbekistan. The artwork on the walls are part of the insignia of heritage from back home. The food is so amazing that I had to come back for second time. Fruit tea is served in a style of French press, with a little bit of sugar this is incredibly tasty. It is like a hibiscus style of tea with berries and mango to make it sweet. This is a must try drink to have with your meal. Beef Plov is an entree with rice, carrots, onions, garlic complemented by quail eggs and a pepper. The rice is very flavorful and well seasoned. It is very delicious to try it with tomatoes, onions in a single bite with beef, carrots and rice. This is the ultimate scoop. Mante is a style of dumpling filled with meat. The meat is juicy and the dough is very easy to eat because it is melted together, and comes with a dip. Samsa is a wonderful fried - must try dish with mushrooms, and cheese. It is advised to cut it in half when it comes out because the cheese is warm and delicious. Similar to an Italian Calzone, but the dough is much more crispy & fried. How they get the dough to be so crispy? It's a secret recipe. So try it! Treat yourself! You deserve it. Come here with your family. Come here with your spouse on a date. Come here anytime. It is a very beautiful and peaceful atmosphere surrounded by artwork and culture. The workers are very nice and welcoming. They treat every customer as a guest in their own home. Thank you Ben!

Great food and ambiance. No idea how authentic it is, but it was good for an American and a Russian. The lamb was especially good. We'll be back.

If you want to dive into the Central Asian cultural food, this is the exact spot to be. Delicious food and great service!

Very tasty Central Asian food. Service is very warm and friendly. Interior design reminds me Uzbekistan.

Loved this restaurant! The fried lagman was so flavorful, and the compote was perfect--just like homemade. The service was super friendly and made the whole experience even better. Definitely coming back!

TD;LR: 5/5 because it's new and different. Delicious. Glad I did a random internet search for "unique/uncommon foods" in San Francisco and came across this. Would come again to try other stuff. THE FOOD: - CHEBUREK W/ MUSHROOMS AND CHEESE | Reminded me of a very light empanada (or something). Would have liked more mushroom flavor, but I enjoyed eating it. - MASTAVA (soup) | It was cold outside, so this was the best part of the meal. Not too light, not too heavy. Just hearty beef, sweet pepper, tomato, and rice soup goodness. Would eat again. - LYULA KEBAB | Probably wouldn't get this again. It was on the drier side; there are way more interesting things on the menu to get than kebabs. - QURUTOB ("National Dish") | Honestly, did not know what to expect when we ordered this but we did it anyway because it said it was the "National Dish." It is essentially a bread salad with a combination of labneh and an assortment of herby greens (there is no lettuce for people who like traditional American salads or whatever). It was tasty and I'm glad I tried it. I actually mixed the kebab meat with this (since the meat was on the drier side) and it was also tasty! SETTING: - The interior is clean and the ceiling lamps are so pretty. I loved admiring them as I was waiting for my food. VERDICT: - Would come again; will bring a few friends and try more items on the menu next time !

Good service, nice ambience, food is tasty but the portions weren't as big as I had expected for the Polov (rice).

Food is awesome and I ate here today and I'm happy about it so give it a try! I ordered beef samsa

I recently visited this place and I liked it . The food called Kurutob was good and I also tried the Pimkin Samsa which great. My friends tried the Pilaf and they said that it was good too. We used to go there when it was a different restaurant called Dastarhan and now we go there to try their foods . Recommended

Finally we can have our Uzbek (Central Asian) cuisine here in San Francisco! Beautiful, impressive decorations! Food is delicious, great customer service, clean tables, every dish presentation is amazing! We are planning a big birthday party in Sofia! Can't wait!

First time I ordered food it was 2 fried lagman and samsa I paid for it but they forgot samsa

My first time at this restaurant. We ordered soup, bunch of kebabs and peluv. All amazing and delicious. The staff was so sweet and friendly. Even started to put some persian music when noticed we are persian. Enjoyed everything. Definitely recommended.

So glad that Sofiya opened! When Halal Dastarkhan closed for remodeling I feared the worst. Excellent food with a varied menu, attentive service, and nice tableware. Will definitely be back.

Great service, atmosphere and food. We are so happy to see a restaurant with food from that region in San Francisco. Definitely a must try!

great food! Enjoyed my time here, love the customer service aswell. the place looks great aswell and great vibe