Lovin' On Buffalo: Restaurant Week Recap #1: Soho Burger Bar

It's finally back! WNY Restaurant Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year in Buffalo. The week brings together close to 200 local restaurants offering lunch/dinner specials for $20.12. It is marketing at its best, and how I found out about some of my favorite hangouts and restaurants in the area.

I started my week of eating out at Soho Burger Bar on Chippewa. If I'm being completely honest, I was never a very big fan of Soho Bar. My late night fun on Chippewa very rarely brought me here, and I never had a great vibe from the place. I went there on Monday, a little hesitant about what dinner would be like, but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

I haven't been inside the bar in a couple years, and I really enjoyed the updated trendy decor. From the unique tables to the fun lighting and hip bar, there were a lot of unique touches that made my night. My favorite touch was the napkin holders: automotive hose clamps! All the unique touches were great conversation starters!

The restaurant week special here is absolutely outstanding. In all the years I've done restaurant week, this one was the biggest "bang for my buck". For $20.12 you received two signature burgers (typically ranging from $11-$15 each), one side (usually $4-$7), 2 drinks (either wine, well drinks or beer), and two desserts (ice cream cone in one of four flavors).

The burgers all sounded delicious but my boyfriend and I settled on the Steak House Burger (topped with mushrooms, caramelized onions, mixed greens and a horseradish cream sauce) and the Red Hot Chili Burger (topped with aged cheddar, roasted tomato and jalapeno compote). For our side we chose the Truffle Tater Tots (seasoned with truffle oil, parmesan cheese and parsley). We brought along the little guy Jacob, and while they don't have a kids menu online they do offer some options for kids; mini burgers, mini hot dogs, grilled cheese and chicken bites. Jacob ordered the mini burgers, ($5.50) which came topped with American cheese and a side of fries and a pickle!

The house white wine was good, a little on the drier side but a nice start to the meal. The music playing in the background was heavy on Dave Matthews (one of my favorite singers) and I was smiling from ear to ear.

Since we arrived early, right around 5pm, there were not many customers in the restaurant yet, so our meals came out quickly.

The presentation and plating of the meal was very fun, with a small basket for the chips and a huge deli style pickle on the side (see photo below). One bite into our burgers and we knew we found a new spot to grab dinner before (hopefully soon) Sabres games! My burger was extremely juicy, cooked perfectly and the toppings were perfectly seasoned and cooked. The homemade chips were tasty and crisp and better than anything Lays could put out.

The tater tots were a unique and updated take on the classic tater tots I've had before. They were seasoned perfectly and didn't feel greasy or "fake" like many tater tots do.

During our meal, we explained to Jacob what Restaurant Week was all about, and he asked where we were going next!! While his meal wasn't a part of the Restaurant Week specials, he was pretty excited we got such a great deal! Kudos to the entire Restaurant Week group for giving Buffalo another wonderful week to explore the local flavors of WNY!

If you haven't set a reservation up yet, Soho Burger Bar is a great spot for date night and a fun night out with friends. If you can't get there during this week, they offer great Monday Night Football specials, and Wednesdays are half price wine night (by the GLASS and the bottle!).