Sotto

A dimly lit, intimate atmosphere. Knowledgeable and helpful staff. Good wine selection. The pasta was good but honestly expected better based on reviews and price. The Italian bread was the best I've ever tasted: crunchy on the outside but melts in your mouth like butter. Don't miss the ricotta donuts either. I would recommend reservations. We ate here Friday for lunch and it was almost completely full. The staff asked about dietary restrictions and time concerns when we sat down so I imagine they would be mindful if you eat here for lunch during the workday. The food came out quickly. It's in the basement but there is an elevator.

Soto – Food’s a Hit, Service Just Missed the Beat Came for a birthday lunch with a reservation. They took a few minutes to prep our table, and service felt rushed—like they were closing the lunch shift. Two servers came at once, crossed wires a bit. Ordered a beer they were promoting—didn’t have it, and they took a while to tell me. Never got a replacement. But the food? Incredible. • Prosciutto salad: fresh and balanced. • Goat cheese + honey + warm bread: comfort and finesse. • Vodka pasta: creamy, rich. • Short rib pasta: next level—crispy pork + fried egg? • Salmon: solid, just overshadowed by the rest. Even the bathrooms are worth a mention—clean, stylish, on point. Verdict: Come for the food. It’s worth it. Just don’t come in the middle of a shift change. 4.5/5. Will be back—with my beer order ready

I absolutely CANNOT say enough wonderful words about this restaurant! Ariana was our bartender & server tonight. Every time we are here the experience is beyond amazing, but thanks to her, tonight was next level! My husband had the tagliatelle w/ boar & red sauce. I had the Gnocchi at her recommendation - both were absolutely phenomenal!!!! Incredible food, outstanding service & impeccable atmosphere…. We will be back every time we come to Cincinnati!

Our server was absolutely amazing, she went over the menu with us and guided us to the best food options. The drinks were delicious and the food was out of this world. I'm a pasta girlie and was not disappointed. And I loved the candle light and all the exposed brick.

Do not sleep on having lunch at Sotto! Our lunch was fantastic. We had a 2 PM reservation, which is at the end of their lunch seating time, but we were never rushed or felt in a hurry to order or finish up. Our table had the tuna appetizer and the honey cheese on toast and both were fantastic. This restaurant is impossible. It seems to get a reservation for dinner, but the lunch menu is very robust and so flavorful definitely a hidden gem.

My fiance and I had an absolutely amazing experience last night at Sotto. We both agreed that this is now our favorite restaurant in Cincinnati, and we will definitely be back! The atmosphere, the staff, and the food was way better than we could have imagined. If you are looking for a date night, while still keeping it affordable, Sotto is your place to go!

Food is definitely A+++ when ever I go. Atmosphere is lively and kinda noisy at times but not over barring. Great place for an early evening dinner.

We make a point to go here every time in Cincinnati. One of the best restaurants in the country. I will say you need to book at least a few months of advance to get a decent time for a table. Very much worth it.

sotto always delivers - great cocktails (spicy marg and italian stallion were fantastic), great ambiance, and the service is speedy and kind. the oil packed tuna is a must for a starter and the cappellacci and pappardelle were fantastic. we tried the gnocchi this time around as well and very pleasantly surprised. not like typical gnocchi but even better!

I really wanted to love Sotto, mostly because the staff here are literally the best I can recall. This is a tight ship - everyone employed here is well-trained, friendly, and they work hard. Dining here was a masterclass in how a restaurant staff should operate. That said, the positives are few beyond the exceptional staff. The restaurant is a speakeasy-style joint and difficult to find. You descend down steps into the restaurant, which is possibly the darkest restaurant I've ever visited. It took a while for my eyes to adjust. Rather than feeling intimate and charming, the lighting felt off-putting and oppressive. It was too dark; a few more lumens would do the place some good. (I brightened up the photos in my review for you.) They sat me at a bar top right next to the kitchen. On one hand, it was cool to watch the hustle and bustle of the kitchen staff. It's not an unattractive restaurant in general, rustic and woody. Unfortunately, though, my seat was in somewhat close proximity to a live grill and the ambient heat made for an annoyingly toasty dining experience; my shirt stuck to my torso on account of sweating so much. The food didn't impress me given the price point. The cocktail I ordered didn't taste at all like the flavor profile suggested by the description. And this would be ok if the cocktail tasted good - I like a lot of different cocktails, including some pretty adventurous concoctions. This one - pitched as a root beer/banana cocktail - was a bust, though. The chicken liver mousse appetizer - probably the highlight of my meal - was rich and satisfying. I think it would have paired better with a softer bread, which is unusual for me to say. I'm typically a sucker for crunchy bread! I think you'll be happiest with it if your palette skews savory. I think it would be killer if it had a sweet component, like perhaps an accompanying jam. The Cappellacci entree I ordered is apparently Sotto's most-beloved dish. And - as delicious as butter and salt tend to be - it was overbearing. The portion was too small, and there was nothing delicate or interesting about the flavor. I'm a middling cook, so when I feel confident that I could whip up something similar at home with marginal effort, that's a bad sign. The beignets were solid, but Sotto is so proud of them that I expected them to be better. Of the included sauces, I liked the caramel most. Sotto's food wasn't "bad," but any evaluation of an eatery has to consider the quality relative to the price. And Sotto is a little pricey. So if I compare them to other restaurants in the same price range, they frankly get outclassed. I may return to Sotto in the future to give the food another go - I'd love to try something else with some meat and a red sauce. I have a hunch that they'd do a good job with that. The great service and the attentive staff would be my primary reason for coming back. If the food itself elevates here and the lighting perks up a touch, Sotto could be a really great place.

Celebrated my sister's bday last evening. What a super cool place - Atmosphere was electric and alive. Heather, and her team, were spot on! Heather provided info and guidance in helping us understand the menu/options, and her team was seamless! We started with the primavera salad OMG so good, we also enjoyed the tuna appetizer (Wow). For dinner we ordered various pasta dishes and the branzino. The gnocchi and cacio d Pepe were over-salted - I feel like maybe finishing salt made it super salty (I did not send it back, but would recommend caution with that). For dessert we enjoyed the ricotta donuts - Wow...again! The panna cotta, and an affogato - all to share. We would love to go back! My brother-in-laws short rib ravioli was sooooo good!

This was a highly rated restaurant that is pretty popular in downtown Cincinnati so we were able to get a late reservation. The place is an old wine cellar so it's in the basement. The service was quick and the ambience is nice but a little dark since it was a late reservation we already had dinner. We came here for some appetizers and they're famous powdered sugar donuts. Unfortunately the appetizers felt short. We ordered the beef tartare, but it was not that great. Definitely not your traditional flavors 3/5. We also tried the chicken moose with olive oil and pistachios. There might've been a hint of honey or something sweet in the mixture. It tasted just okay 2/5. Probably wouldn't order it again. We had high expectations due to the reviews, but we're not impressed at the appetizers. Maybe we will give it another try for their pasta dishes. However, for the price point, this spot might be overrated. Their donuts were overall pretty good since it was freshly made. The dipping sauces of caramel chocolate, and pistachio was just OK. I really wanted to like this spot, but I think it just felt short.

After an elegant dinner upstairs at Boca, the perfect way to wind down is to head downstairs, literally, into the warm, dimly lit Sotto. Descending into Sotto is a speakeasy mystique. While the menu is certainly worth a full visit, Sotto also serves as a fantastic post-dinner drinks spot. The bar is small but intentional, and the Old Fashioned here is a favorite. It's smooth, well-balanced, and reliable. It's the kind of drink that never lets you down. The space is intimate and moody with exposed brick, candlelight, and it definitely has that sense of something secretive. It's a perfect way to cap off your night.

We came to celebrate our eighth anniversary, and we were given several recommendations to try from a frequent visitor. We were told that we should order something from each part of the menu, and then split them. His recommendations were: Antipasti - goat cheese and honey bread / Primi - pappardelle al cinghiale / Secondi - wood fired quail / Contorni - any. We added a black kale caesar and broccolini to the recommendations. After our meal, we topped everything off with panna cotta - a classic Italian custard. Out of everything we ordered, my favorites included the goat cheese and honey bread as well as the pappardelle al cinghiale (wild boar). We had excellent service from Sarah, and the ambiance was phenomenal as well.

The food, as expected, was impeccable. Simple, balanced, and exceptionally prepped. The mocktail and list was also top notch and well prepared. Cocktails were delicious. Service was appropriately delayed given how busy it was. What I would take away from my dinner is they Sotto has a bit of an identity crisis between a trendy speakeasy-y bistro and a high end restaurant. They clearly are busy enough to be objectively successful, but it would almost be better be served split into two locations, one mainly high tops serving instagrammable, trendy drinks and bites, and another as a proper, quiet, sit-down high end restaurant. The ambiance (and cocktail menu) was of a speakeasy, which didn't match the high end menu structure. The wine list was awkwardly split between extremely nice, expensive reds and cheap, high-throughput reds (on separate pages), but still all Italian, and without appropriate sommelier service to match.

10 stars. Amazing food. Amazing service. The ambience is perfect. We came from out of town looking to try a local spot. I stumbled across Sotto with great reviews so we gave it a try. We were able to get a reservation for 9 pm at a communal high bar table, which ended up being a whole lot of fun! We talked to people next to us, asked for recommendations, conversations about Ohio (we're from Texas) we ordered family style - starting off with the goat cheese on bread, kale Caesar salad, and for dinner we had the gnocchi and deconstructed lasagna, broccolini and ended with a cream dessert topped with berries. And end it on a good note, our server was exceptional and she told us many fun facts about Cincinnati (total nerd I love it) and recommended we check out Ghost Baby! If you're looking for a date night with delicious Italian food in a speakeasy like restaurant, this is it!

Sotto consistently delivers amazing food, making it one of the hardest reservations to secure in the city. This visit was for a very special occasion, and while I reached out to the restaurant for help securing a reservation, I didn't receive assistance, but they did respond. Thankfully, I was able to book a spot the day before through the "Notify Me" feature on Open Table, but it was a bit of a stressful process. We started with the chicken liver mousse (mushroom, onion, pistachio), which was salty, spicy, and surprisingly not bitter--quite different from most liver dishes I've tried. The asparagus alla puntarelle (anchovy, garlic, ricotta) was served cold, but it had a wonderful tangy, garlicky flavor. For the main course, we enjoyed the branzino, cacio e pepe, and ended with the ricotta donuts, all of which were fantastic as always. The only downside to the evening came at the end when I tried to use a gift card with $20 remaining. Unfortunately, the management was unhelpful and it turned into a frustrating argument over the card's expiration date, which really soured the experience. While the food was exceptional as usual, the service was a letdown, especially for such a special occasion.

The food was superb, service outstanding, drinks balanced. It was a very romantic setting. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I would highly recommend the lamb chops and the linguine with clams!

I love the ambiance at Sotto. It's a maze of different rooms that seem to offer a quiet, intimate setting. While it is beautiful, it is anything but quiet and it is here that Sotto loses one star. Others have mentioned the noise level at Sotto is high. I hoped it wasn't true, but it is. The noise level made it difficult to have a discussion during our meal. I had an AMALFI - Vodka, Limoncello, Citrus, Mint, Regatta Ginger Beer, while waiting. It was very lemon forward, but it was tasty. Now to the good stuff! The staff was attentive, sociable and helpful. Everyone was top notch. The meal was outstanding. We started with the goat cheese - hazelnut honey, grilled bread. The flavor was slightly sweet and salty. The bread was toasted perfectly. I was interested in the tuna or the kale, but the goat cheese spread was a delightful start to the meal. For lunch I had the Cappellacci - short rib, shallot, thyme. The pasta was so tender and the short rib filling was exquisite. I was so pleased with my meal, but I had to taste Mark's. Mark ordered the tajarin con tartufo - black truffle, parmigiano. I had this picked out for myself, but once Mark ordered it I opted to try something else. I very much enjoyed the Cappellacci, but the Tamarin con Tartufo was perhaps the best pasta dish I've ever tasted. If we come back, I am ordering this dish. Jen had the linguine al limone - lemon, pine nuts, parmigiano. I tasted this dish too. I am pretty sure Jen enjoyed it, but I will say I'm glad I didn't order it. It was my least favorite of the three pastas ordered. We wrapped up our meal with ricotta doughnuts with house made chocolate, pistachio and caramel sauces. Ten doughnuts, a very generous serving. The sauces were great, but everyone's favorite was chocolate. We will definitely return.

The service is excellent - our server, Joey knew the process of everything!! He was helpful and informative The ambiance is dark, but not quiet. It has a speakeasy feel to it The food was delicious. Not huge portions, but everything we had was good. We had the black kale caesar, the goat cheese appetizer, the short rib pasta and the truffle pasta. GET THE DONUTS!!!!

Sotto easily makes the short list of must-go fine dining restaurants in Cincinnati. The underground, cellar vibe works beautifully here juxtaposed with the midwestern wholesome charm. Sotto boasts an open kitchen in the middle of the main level dining area while the servers are adorned with a smart casual look with flannel... totally gives a hipster feel. Love that. I've quite enjoyed every plate I've had here, having worked my way through much of the menu. This last visit, our server was notably excellent; I'm disappointment I don't recall her name. Lastly, I love that they offer lunch. Even the lunch menu was nice and NOT a poor attempt at lunch service with super limited, boring offerings like other restaurants.

We booked a table at 8:15, but we've been waiting for 15 minutes to be seated. The table wasn't ready and it was a huge disappointment, but the food was amazing! We enjoyed the chicken liver mousse, the pasta and so on. Drinks are also amazing but the size of these drinks are extremely tiny. So I liked the taste of food and drinks, but service could be better.

This place is romantic, clean fun and has great staff. The service is really nice and friendly and the food is super great for the price. We got the gnocchi and the short rib pasta. Both were fabulous.

Sotto is a must! The food is excellent and the dessert is phenomenal! Everything we have tried here is ridiculously good!

Great service, delicious food and cool atmosphere. My daughter made reservations four months in advance for my birthday dinner here last night and it was a wonderful evening. We started off with cocktails. The Italian Stallion for me and the non-alcoholic Sempre Soleggiato for my daughter. The Italian Stallion was perfection. An excellent cocktail. I picked the Tartare di Fassone as an appetizer. And we chose the Goat Cheese & Hazelnut with Honey Grilled Bread for another appetizer. Both were fabulous! The tartare was amazing! For the next course my daughter chose the Pomadoro and I chose the Cappellacci. We also ordered the Asparagus side to share. Both were very good but mine was the star. My daughter said while she liked the Pomadoro, that it was a bit boring. I can concur. It was basic and boring. We both thought the Cappellacci was so much better and she said she'd definitely order it on her next visit. It was fantastic! And the asparagus was just as delicious. My daughter said it was the best asparagus she's had and has to recreate it at home. For dessert we ordered the Ricotta Doughnuts. They're served with chocolate, caramel and pistachio sauces. They are deserving of the hype! Just go ahead and order them. I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

If you're searching for Sotto, you probably don't need me to convince you to come, but I'll do it anyway. The pasta dishes are phenomenal. Feels like home made deliciousness just like Mama Prego used to make. Don't even think about just showing up without a rezzy though. Scour the interwebs for a spot before you come. If you can't find one, be sure to identify someone who DOES have a reservation, and don't hesitate to offer them the most disturbing/disgusting favors in exchange for their time slot. It'll be worth it for your mouth in the long run.

Sotto first timer here and it did not disappoint! As soon as you walk in you enter into a dark and cozy dining experience. The food was fantastic! We had several pastas, and the steak to share. The steak was cooked to absolute perfection, juicy and tender. The pastas were equally impressive, each bite was rich, flavorful, and expertly seasoned, a true testament to their Italian roots. If you get the steak, it's for sure a shared dish. It was massive. The goat cheese appetizer was an absolute highlight. Creamy, tangy, and beautifully balanced, it's one dish I'd definitely return for. Our server was great. She was knowledgeable and every recommendation she had for us was spot on. She made our dining experience fantastic. If you're looking for great food and a memorable dining experience, Sotto delivers on all fronts. Pictures are not the best because this place is dark and we dug immediately.

Wow! Give it a 10 out of 5 for Service, Taste, Options, uniqueness, atmosphere. Atmosphere is high energy, but private/personal and would be a home run for that special date night. Here you are in the middle of Cincy, but you feel like you could be in a wine cellar in Europe. The aesthetics were just unbelievable. Such a cool place and if you want to try it, release the reigns and do it Sotto Style (family-share). The hostesses were so friendly but our server Meg was the best. Gave us the run down, great recommendations, and then made it happen. We tried several dishes (all were amazing), but my favorites and must try are Oil Packed Tuna (w/egg) bread appetizer; Gorgonzola salad, and their Bistecca Florentina (Porterhouse) - perfect share for our party of 5. So worth it. And you cant leave without trying the pasta... Cacio a Pepe (simple but delicious), cappellacci (Pasta scoops with Rib meat), and Tajarin con tartufo (Black Truffle masterpiece). Seriously based on my experience - you couldn't go wrong......Unless of course you leave without trying their Ricotta Doughnuts for dessert. Thanks Meg, the Chef, and the rest of the staff for a great night. Can't wait to come back !!!

What can I say that everyone doesn't already know about Sotto. It truly is one of the best places to dine in Cincinnati. The ambiance of the restaurant starts with their underground entry. I think what I love most is the quality of the ingredients they use. You can tell it is made fresh daily. The only problem is how hard it is to get a reservation. One way to get around this is to try and sit at the community table or the bar.

THIS PLACE WAS AN ABSOLUTE VIBE. I felt like I was eating dinner in a beautiful wine cellar of a castle. The food was just as incredible. We got the goat cheese toast which was like a flavor explosion and unlike anything I have ever had. It had hazelnuts on top. The pasta was supe flavorful and it tasted very homemade. My favorite part was the hazelnut mousse which was so creamy. It had multiple layers and tasted like a Ferrero rocher but if you made it luxurious and 10x better. Our servers were all super sweet, knowledgeable, and very fast. If you ever find yourself in Cincinnati, make sure to get a reservation here.

Sotto- I didn't think you could live up to all the love and hype we had seen, but you did a truly 5 start experience in every sense. We were lucky enough to grab a 10pm reservation for a Saturday evening about a week before our trip to Cincinnati. When we arrived they were waiting for a few tables to turn before we could sit so we grabbed a drink at the bar. We were between a couple different wine options and they let you taste before you decide which is great. We decided on the 2020 Toscana Rosso. I was surprised my wife enjoyed it so much as it wasn't her style to have dryer wine. She loved it though. Bartenders were super nice, we were sat after 10 minutes or so. We had our 7 month old baby so they found us a spot near the back corner which was perfect. If had a slight view of the kitchen and a little nook for her stroller. The restaurant is huge from what you expect when you go down the stairs for the entrance from outside. (There is a plaque on the wall with a phone number if you need to use an elevator to get into the restaurant which is very nice). The ambiance in the place is next level, it's a place you could've ate at 100 years ago or in 100 years and it will be a cool, upscale but not too upscale vibe with so many little touches that you keep seeing more the more you study the place. The pasta making room on the way to the bathroom, the wine storage with the steps down to it, the jarred tomatoes in the cabinets outside the bathrooms, exposed brick everywhere, real flame candles on the tables, perfect amount of lighting, real hand towels for drying your hands in the bathroom. I could go on and on. And I will about our server she was incredible, super knowledgeable about the menu, had a full conversation with our 7 month old baby making her giggle, and great recommendations. We started off with the fettunta which is a grilled garlic bread, very very good flavor grilled with a nice crisp but soft center. Definitely get the garlic taste. Only thing I would consider is if it came with a touch of a house marinara could make it go over the top. I went with the tagliatelle con porcini which was great, heavy mushroom flavors and good amount in the sauce which evened out nicely with the white wine sauce. My wife was super torn and got the cacio e pepe which she loved, noodles were perfectly al dente, sauce was so good she was eating fork fulls after her pasta had been eaten. I really don't think you could go wrong with everything that came by looked delicious. We finished the evening with the ricotta donuts, this was one of the best desserts I've had in a long time maybe ever. They were served hot and fresh, the three different sauces all paired so well. I preferred the caramel, it had such a deeper flavor profile than almost all other caramel I've had. These are an absolute must I don't care how full you are order these and you won't regret it. The pricing is super fair as well for the quality and experience. Overall top to bottom just a magnificent experience if I could give it 5+ stars I would. Nothing lacks at this place and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We will be back next time we're in town, probably more than once!

Great spot for delicious food, cozy but upbeat vibes, and helpful bar staff. I came here for an early dinner on a Thursday. I was surprised at how busy they already were by 5:30 but someone told me it is a tricky place to get a reservation. Folks, go to the bar! Seats might be available and the service is fast. The bar staff are very helpful if you dont know what to order, drinks or food wise. Trevor helped me get sorted for both. The played alt-j if that tells you anything about the vibe. Visually the place is romantic - low lighting, real candles, tucked away tables. The sound levels is not low. Drinks: Italian Stallion with Wellers - like a no-bite old fashioned. Loved it! Mine did not come with a cherry but honesty, I didn't notice! A shocker for me because that is usually my favorite part of an old fashioned kind of cocktail. Che Figata - more on the savory side of the fig flavor, which I like. It went very well with the hazelnut gelato. Food: Chicken Liver Mousse - 4 good slices of italian(?) Toasted bread. The mousse comes with pistachios on top. Personally, I ate those on their own. The Mousse was nice and light, not a heavy or oily Mousse like some paté can get. There is also plenty of mousse underneath the nuts, so go crazy when you apply it to the bread. If you try a bite of the bread without a topping, be prepared for salt! Woo! Tarjarin con Tarfuto (Black truffle pasta) - i waited some time for this one because the Mousse was great and I ate more than I planned. it was not black-topped like other pictures on here. I'm not sure if that is a picture quality difference or amount of truffle difference. The pasta was cooked al dente, so on the firmer side. The sauce was both light, citrusy almost, and creamy. I took half of this to go with me. Hazelnut Gelato - this is a single scoop. It was like a buttery nut butter. It went so well with my Che Figata, which gave like a fig jam side to it. Next time: I'll try the goat cheese bread and short rib pasta.

Sotto Cincinnati I had the pleasure of a dinner at Sotto earlier last week. The restaurant is located just below Boca in a nice area of Cincinnati. I did not have a reservation but I was able to sit at the Community Table which is located in the middle of the restaurant. Service was amazing. Tori explained the menu in great detail and provided lots of recommendations. I started a glass of Sicilian wine and their bread and olive oil. I followed with a Kale salad. Kale is not my favorite starter but as Tori promised it was excellent. Great salad dressing and flavors. For a main course I had the pasta with mushrooms. If you like mushrooms then it is the dish you should order. There were lots of other dishes she had also recommended. I finished with a homemade dessert. Overall, wonderful service with an excellent meal.

We sat at the community table. It was different but very nice. Luckily, we sat next to friendly people! Our server, Connor was amazing. He was attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu. He gave us great recommendations and we couldn't be happier. We'll definitely be back and will tell everyone we know about this gem.

Without a doubt, the best food in Cincinnati. The waiting staff was phenomenal as usual, we had Cole this time and he was such a joy and made the experience lovely. FYI to make a reservation WELL in advance, as this place will be busy even on a Tuesday at 4:45PM! They change their menus seasonally so whatever time of year you come, you will be able to enjoy culinary dishes that give you a farm to table feel with a beautiful ambiance.

We ate at Sotto for a birthday celebration and everything was absolutely fantastic! The food was amazing and our server was extremely well versed in the menu (including Italian pronunciations). The goat cheese hazelnut bread and the cappellacci were top notch. The atmosphere is moody and classy. Definitely wish we would have tried this place sooner!

Amazing dining experience. The atmosphere is dark & moody. Very northern Italy vibes. The truffle pasta was the best I've had! You could tell how fresh the truffles were. I had the Amalfi cocktail and it was great, just a little heavy on the limoncello. The bread from blue oven was perfect to sop up the pasta sauce. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and loved his rundown of the menu. Highly recommend this spot! Now I understand the hype!

Hard to get in. Reservations must be made months in advance unless you are okay with eating after 9 pm. Well worth the trouble though. Most items are small plates. Very dark and very loud. Not a place to take small children.

Sotto--"below" in Italian--occupies the space formerly occupied by La Maisonette's downstairs bistro, La Normandie. I loved both, but fish and chips, served in newspaper, for Friday lunch at La Normandie hold a special place in my heart, and likely the hearts of many [old] Cincinnatians. So, i entered Sotto with inherent bias for its predecessor. I left with devotion to the new regime. On a whim, we descended into that cozy old cavern with no reservation on a Friday. The joint was jumping, just like the old days, but the hostess was able to seat us at the chef's table overlooking the grill, Freshly grilled garlic bread from the grill master followed by an open-faced "sandwich" of oil-packed tuna with caper aioli, hard boiled egg, and chili oil. This is listed as an antipasto on the menu, but it was a perfect lunch portion for me. It was also DELICIOUS-- the tuna fresh, the bread crisp, the aioli pure magic. Sotto serves all guests a ricotta doughnut puff in a pool of sea-salted caramel for dessert. The corporate doughnut shop that shall not be named should take note . . . The king is dead, boys. Long live the king! (I look forward to more.)

Best meal in the city. We tried the pappardelle this time and I'd for sure order it again. My favorite is always the cappellacci and breaded pork. They also go so well together the lemon, butter all amazing flavors. We also tried the gnudi this time and it was basically a large flat gnocchi. It was fun! Not as easy of a dish to share with a group, but the sauces paired well with the dense "pasta". Always must get the donuts for dessert, but a "hidden gem" is the budino. Think mouse, hazelnut, lighter dessert. Can't go wrong here! Everything on the menu is a hit.

Two words: Ricotta Donuts!! You must try them. Honestly, everything was amazing. The wine, my cacio e Pepe, and my husband's meal (the mushroom one) were all fantastic. The vibe is so romantic and pretty. The waitress, bartender, and hostess were also so wonderful. Would definitely add Sotto to your list of must eat in cinci!

I really liked the food. This is probably the best Italian restaurant in Cincinnati. I have tried a lot of different restaurants all around Europe including Italy and it can definitely compare. Service was great, a small minus for getting seated after our reservation. Ambience was great, perfect place for a romantic dinner. Will definitely be back.

Everything was amazing! We started with the grilled bread with hazelnut honey and goat cheese, and black kale caesar salads. For the main course, my husband ordered the tagliatelle al prosciutto. I ordered the breaded pork loin and broccolini. For my three year old, we ordered the kid's buttered linguine. We were a little nervous to bring her because it's obviously not the normal "kid friendly" establishment. She loved the noodles, pork loin, and broccolini. Adding a photo of the kid's menu because I couldn't find any photos prior to our visit. The kid's pasta was $13. We finished with ricotta donuts and blood orange gelato- which were both great choices. We can't wait to go back!

Been awhile since we been in. So obviously came back for quality check annnnnd yep they are still on point. All the food and service by Molly was Amazing as usual. Tried the pork loin for the first time and it was delish. Also the Tagliatelle with the mushrooms soooo yummy and lastly the Ricotta doughnuts with chocolate, salted caramel and pistachio sauces... the salted caramel and pistachio sauce was my favorite... The Amalfi drink was so good I ordered two. Id have to say the only downfall was we were charged for a Ginger beer that we did NOT order but didnt notice until after we paid the tab. Other than that spectacular as usual!!

Second visit! First was 11 months ago. Great food and the server was impeccable with service and his recommendations. Love the, what I would call, classy basement atmosphere and the real table candles add a romantic touch. The host tried to set us in the bar area again this time in the booth area but we said no. When had made reservations 90 days in advance and driven from Columbus (75 mins) and wanted to dine in dining room. After that was corrected it was perfect. For food we enjoyed: -Chicken liver mousse - mushroom, onion, pistachio ($14) -Polenta - fried egg, speck, parmigiano ($19) -Breaded pork loin - caper, lemon ($29) wood-fired branzino - zucchini, lemon, calabrian pepper ($34) -Ricotta Doughnuts ($12$ -Affogato - salted-vanilla gelato, espresso, pirouette ($12) Definitely would recommend. Pricy if you do a bunch of courses and drinks but there is nothing like the dishes here. Everything We attend was delicious.

On a business trip to Cincinnati recently, we decided to try our luck walking in at Sotto. I almost missed this fantastic dining experience, not only because this ultra-cool, speakeasy-inspired restaurant was hopping on a Wednesday night and we didn't have reservations, but also because I literally walked past the door at first, tucked discreetly as it was under a small flight of stairs on a downtown Cincy street. After cracking open the heavy wooden door and descending an intenal staircase, tastefully lined with basket lighting, we checked in at the hostess station. Alas! "No reservation...no luck" was the message we first received. To our rescue came Dana and Amiah, both kind and professional, who offered to check availability one more time before we left. Happily, they found us a table and a fabulous culinary adventure began. Thank you, Dana and Amiah! Our server, Jason, was equally helpful. He guided us in choosing everything from apps to cocktails to our shared porterhouse preparation. The short rib cappellacci, goat cheese, hazelnut, and honey grilled bread, black kale caesar, and bistecca fiorentina were stand outs, but everything we ordered came from the kitchen exquisitely prepared and plated. I'd return for the vibe-y ambience alone, but Sotto delivers on all fronts--food, drink, service, and setting. Don't miss Sotto!

Have been to Sotto on so many occasions and definitely one of our go to restaurants when someone comes into town. Darker atmosphere and everytime we enter I worry I am going to trip and fall given the limited lighting. Always packed. After successfully navigating down the stairs we are warmly greeted. Service is always nice. Timely. Kind. Great attention to detail, with one exception of our very first visit. Food? Great! Fresh pasta with some difficult to find ingredients. Example being pasta with shaved white truffle. We recently enjoyed a chicken dish that had potatoes and artichokes. Very pleasant and perfectly cooked! With regards to dessert, it's really hit or miss. Would much prefer some variety. The ricotta donuts are certainly delicious but gets repetitive. Go for it. Pricey, but, delicious!

Man, I don't know when Sotto went downhill and it makes me sad but here we are. My husband booked months in advance online for my birthday dinner tonight. I tried to inquire about a private room but my voicemail went unanswered. My husband tried to update our reservation to add a couple of people but it tried to change the time of our reservation to no avail on OpenTable. When we arrived, we had booked for 4 and were sat at a 6 top. I was quite annoyed that no one would answer the phones for the past 4 days and then we were sat at a table with 2 extra seats, which is exactly how many we had wanted to add to our reservation. The goat cheese and tuna breads were good, as usual. The capalachi and black truffle dish were not as good as they have been previously. The donuts were barely even warm, not hot and fresh but BARELY warm at all. I ate one and was done. I can usually eat half an order of these easily and still want more. It's been a birthday tradition for years, but this one was a huge letdown.

I have been here twice now. The first time I had to wait 3 months for my reservations and the second time I had to wait another 3 months for my reservations. That's how in-demand this place is! I guess you can go to the bar and be seated without a reservation but you probably have to get there before 5:00. After 5:00 it starts to fill up so it would be difficult to get bar seating. So that is the key to going to this place if you don't want to wait for months with the reservations. Our service was awesome! Meg was great and she was very attentive to our needs. The food here is spectacular! I can't remember exactly what it's called but it's this pasta dish where all the little pasta half shells are filled with this meat mousse. It was just spectacularly delicious! I had it the second time as well. All of the other dishes are just as good. The appetizer with bread and different jellies was also really good. I think the pasta dish with the meat mousse is my favorite and I'm going to have to work to get some other stuff next time I go. I literally just made another reservation 3 months out right before we left. That's what you have to do in order to be able to get to this place! Ambiance is very underground and dark but really cool and romantic. Highly recommend it!

First of all, make reservations WAY in advance!! Currently, there's a four month wait if you want a Saturday at 6pm. We celebrated our 35th anniversary here and enjoyed our dinner immensely. Since it was our first visit to Sotto, our server went through the menu in detail, which was helpful. I told her I like sweeter cocktails, so she recommended the Amalfi, which was very refreshing. We ordered two appetizers-the bruschetta topped with whipped goat cheese, honey & hazelnuts and grilled octopus over white bean shishito ragu. They were both very good but the octopus really stood out as the best we've ever had. They braise it for hours and then grill it, so it was super tender. For dinner, we both ordered pasta. My husband got the mushroom tagliatelle and I got the short rib cappellacci; both were delicious. We wanted to get dessert, so I brought half of mine home for lunch the next day. We had planned on getting one dessert to share but after our server went through the dessert menu thoroughly, we decided to get two! Sotto is known for their ricotta donuts with 3 dipping sauces (chocolate, pistachio, and our favorite: salted caramel) so we knew we wanted that. But when she described the chocolate budino with chocolate mousse & candied hazelnuts on top of chocolate polenta(!) we knew we had to try that as well. Both were very tasty. I probably liked the donuts the best but the budino was very interesting. I will say that Sotto was not what I was expecting. I asked for a quiet table and we were seated next to the bar with fairly loud music. Not super loud, but not the quiet, romantic vibe I was expecting. The servers wore jeans and plaid shirts which was a little odd for a high end restaurant as well. We will absolutely return but now know it's not a quiet, romantic restaurant with white tablecloths like we envisioned.

Booked a table 2.5 weeks ago for dinner on a Tuesday night, then could only get a 4pm reservation. Now this city is a ghost town compared to NYC at this time but people were waiting to get in and by time dinner was over, the place had a large seating but saw plenty of open tables. Place is dark so bring a light to see the menu noting you should work on your Italian to pronounce the selections which I guess makes the food more authentic or there are lots of Italians living locally? I love Italian food and spent my share of time in NY Little Italy and Patterson NJ. They only had 1 craft beer and wasn't into a $15 Glass of wine since I have been drinking nice bottles of wine all week 3 to be exact, oh well... ANTIPASTI- goat cheese, hazelnut honey, grilled bread. Was ok, Goat cheese was creamy, bread was sorta crunchy but prefer more 3 rating. PRIMI- cappellacci - short rib, shallot, thyme, nothing to write home about, like an expensive wanton soup without the soup. Rating 2.5 SECONDI- breaded pork loin - caper, lemon, patate - This was enjoyable, nice crispy breaded crust the caper and lemon flavor was excellent sided greens that accentuated the dish. Rating 3.5 Ordered a side of fingerling potato, salsa verde, - ok, crispy but dry without a sauce to complement. 3 rating. DOLCE - peperoncini ricotta doughnuts- three sauces chocolate budino- gianduja mousse, candied hazelnuts. This was the best part of the meal, both were great with my preference being the Budino, clearly a 5 rating. Service was excellent, waiter was attentive, understood the menu and offered directions on to get the most out of sharing the meal experience. The ambiance was cool, basement dining reminded me of the speak easy in NYAnd Jersey. My overall is 3.5 as the cost of 200+ did not match the complete dinner experience.

Cincy's Best! Service is always top notch and one of the best dining experiences in Cincinnati. Cappellacci is a staple and a MUST. Had a new dish this time which was the grilled octopus over a white bean ragu; it was amazing and will order every time it's on the menu. Finish the meal of with the ricotta donuts and life will be good!

** MUST ORDER: Goat cheese hazelnut honey grilled bread, Ricotta donuts ** Any place that requires a resi 2 months in advance certainly perks my interest. Just graduated college so me and the lady figured we check the place out before the beginning of the inevitable rat race. Starting with the vibe, it had me thinking I heard Joe Pesci saying something about a funny guy. Hospitality was exceptional. Molly was an especially pleasant server. We started with the grilled bread with goat cheese and hazelnut honey. The flavor had be feeling like a Neanderthal eating a Cool Ranch Dorito. Molly recommended this pasta with wild boar ... a more astute man than I may refer to it as delectable. Took a couple bites of the lady's short rib ravioli and that was something to write home about as well. Finished the meal off with the ricotta donuts. Forget the donuts, that caramel sauce was something special. I wouldn't mind being doused in it. The chatter you hear about this fine establishment is well founded. Book it.

Sotto has been on my list of places to try for a while now and I finally got the opportunity to dine here tonight with my girlfriend. The restaurant is dimly lit with candles at the tables. Very intimate atmosphere. Perfect for a special occasion, date night, or if you just want great food! Our reservation was at 4:15, so shortly after opening and the noise wasn't bad. Once more folks started rolling in it did get a little louder, but that didn't bother us personally. Our waitress was AMAZING. Along with all the other servers who brought dishes to our tables. Top notch in that department. Some of the best service I've ever had. She took the time to explain everything on the menu and checked in on us often to make sure we were enjoying our food. We started with the goat cheese and honey bread, which was divine. Super creamy with a touch of sweetness from the honey. I can see why this is considered a staple for the restaurant. My girlfriend got a glass of moscato and it was exquisite. You can't go wrong with the long list of wines, cocktails, and they even offer mocktails! Along with coca-cola products for those not interested in alcohol options. For our primi dishes, we both went with the cappellacci. This was delicious! The short rib and cheese mixture just melted in your mouth. The sauce was really good too. We also got a side order of patate which is fingerling potato's, salsa verde, peperoncini. These were sooo good. Our waitress recommended them and I'm so glad we got an order with our pasta. You get a huge portion and can easily share the patate. Lastly, we finished off our dinner with two of their desserts. Chocolate budino and of course the ricotta doughnuts. The chocolate budino was reminiscent of ferrero rocher (comparison by our waitress) and she was correct! It was a mousse dessert with candied hazelnuts on top. My girlfriend loved this. The ricotta doughnuts were my favorite part of the meal. These are SO GOOD. They melt in your mouth and all three dipping sauces that come with are equally as delicious. These are a MUST get after your meal, so make sure you save room! I thought everything was reasonably priced for what you get. A quality meal with everything being freshly made to order. We will definitely be coming again. We made reservations 4 months in advance. This is a hard reservation to get - just keep that in mind. We used OpenTable. It is worth the wait if you plan ahead. As far as parking, street is available but hard to come across. There are several parking garages around the area if you look before heading to the restaurant. (We parked at 580 Walnut Street. Just a 2 minute walk from Sotto)

Sotto is amazing on all fronts. The setting is very unique, cozy, and cool. The staff was attentive, very knowledgeable of the menu, and thoughtful, and the food, just wow!! We tasted our way through the evening with a group of five. The bread service was amazing, the goat cheese preparation was especially crave-able. The pastas were dynamite and perfectly al dente. The wild boar pappardelle was outstanding. We finished with the Florentine Porterhouse and let me say, sometimes an ingredient gets treated in just the right way and it feels elevated . This steak was amazing and the beef shines while being simply and deliciously prepared. Think you are too full for dessert? Think again, the ricotta doughnuts are feather light and a must try. Sotto stands out! I can't wait to go back!

Visiting Ohio my Daughter and Son-in-law brought us here to Sotto for dinner. It was a unique experience just walking in. it is great atmosphere the menu had plenty of selections. I would suggest ordering a variety of dishes and sharing them on your table. The pastas are made in-house it is a low lit restaurant perfect for a night out. It has a wine cellar that looks cool the bar area is nice too. the food was fantastic. great place to bring friends Will I come back YES ! Make reservations ahead of time I hear it is booked way ahead.

Quite not what we expected. Despite all the glowing reviews, the restaurant feels tired and uninspired. The food was bland, and the menu seems stagnant--no specials, no creativity, nothing seasonal or exciting. It feels like they're coasting on their reputation rather than trying to offer a memorable dining experience. With so many great spots in Cincinnati, this one just isn't worth your time.