Soga's

Soga's

In June of 2007, Soga's went through some changes. New owners, new management, a new chef, new menu and new wine list. They still try to offer upscale dining, with items on the menu including organic salads and even organic beef (from Niman Ranch). The dessert menu is very tasty and definitely worth a try. It's currently managed by Cliff Mohr, much to the displeasure of most customers.

Wednesday through Saturday nights they offer a nightclub with music and dancing starting about 10 PM.

Soga's used to be located at 222 D Street, until the Mustard Seed took the spot. It was named after chef Matt Soga.

Comments:

Note: You must be logged in to add comments

Click here for comments prior to the change in management

2007-07-01 02:29:36   There is no other bar in Davis that more closely resembles a fraternity party. If you're a girl, only go if you like being 'approached' by random guys. The use of personal fans rather than industrial illustrates their lack of care for their customers and only helps circulate the humid, B.O. stained air. I find their Grey Goose rack to be a laugh riot. Since Cantina del Cabo closed, Soga's has gotten quite a bit more shady. —MichaelAWoods

2007-07-28 20:11:47   Several years ago Soga's used to be THE place to have a swanky meal with your significant other or an upscale lunch with colleagues, but now their food is consistently poor (though it is still expensive). I have eaten both lunch and dinner at Soga's in the past year and everyone at my table was unhappy with their food. Service has always been slow but now, combined with bad food and high prices, Soga's has really gone to the dogs. I wouldn't eat here unless the food was FREE and I was starving. —GradStudent06

2007-07-31 22:07:24   I actually HATE this restaurant. The service is horrible, I waited easily over twenty minutes for my salad and beverage and shockingly, over an hour for a medium cooked $36.00 dollar steak. My boyfriend ordered pasta that was over cooked and tasted like ocean. The manager was a sarcastic unhelpful rude man who tried to apologize (after i complained twice) with a free desert. To make things worse, after i waited out my order, i found a huge THICK black hair intertwined in my mashed potatoes and tucked under my dry steak. The place probably had at most 5 other tables to serve and they never came to fill my water. This was actually the worst most disappointing meal i've ever eaten. I left in a horrible mood. I wouldn't eat here ever again. Not even if it was free. The food tasted like pre-packaged "just add water" instant mush. I'm not a cheep person, and i'm more then happy to pay extra money for a quality meal. But there is absolutely no way you could ever get me to go there again. —zoe

2007-08-01 10:17:50   Soga's is a fun place to go out for the evening, but on many occasions I have waited for 20 + minutes to be served a drink from the bar. When is is less crowded, the bar service is great but when crowded the arrangement makes it difficult to get to the bar. —Furly707

2007-08-05 20:22:12   As far as the dance club goes... drinks are expensive and lines are long. I think they have professional dancers there a few nights a week now and when they do there is a cover for non-students. Sean and John are two of the best bartenders in Davis though, and a few of the bouncers (Josh, Sully?) are awesome. The others are dicks but I can see why with how people treat them at the door concerning the line and cover. It's a crazy place since Cantina closed, I'd go to Bistro or Sofia's instead but it seems like everyone just goes to Soga's to "make an appearance" anyways. —MCB2009

2007-08-07 10:23:47   We had dinner at Soga's twice before they changed owners and had the most memorable experiences. We don't eat at expensive restuarants very often, so dinner at Soga's should have been a treat. This was not the case. We should have taken a clue from there being no one else in the restuarant. Under the previous ownership it was tough to get a table without a reservation. The wine selection was excellent, the bread was stale, even though I was assured that it had been baked this morning. The rib eye steak was 40% grissle, the almond sole was good, but the rissoto was going. I would give the meal a b-. The bathroom was disgustingly dirty, any fast food restuarant has a cleaner bathroom and the manager would not even listen to my complaint, he just assured me that it was cleaned today. —stephaniesherlock

2007-08-18 15:09:01   Do not go to this place! The bouncer, Josh at the door is a jerk! My friend and I were both treated really badly on several different occasions. I was told that my id was fake. He put it in his pocket and told me to get the hell out of there. He had a scanner inside the restuarant but instead of scanning it, before making assumptions, he told me to get out of his face. I needed my id but he wouldnt give it back. My id was not fake by the way! I am 22 years old and have been going to sogas regularly to dance on friday nights. Also, when my boyfriend tried to tell him it wasnt fake and try to talk to him about it, Josh began to grab him pushing him away without reason. I will not be going there again and i suggest if you want to have a fun, no drama night to not go there either. —sarahm

2007-08-18 15:17:20   If you want to be treated like a human being, DO NOT go to Sogas. The new owners and bouncer are young and inexperienced. They could care less about their customers and care only about making a profit. I've gone few times at night to dance and had horrible experiences every single damn time. The bouncer JOSH, is a total ass, and is on a powertrip. He has being disrespectful to me and my friends on many occasions, for no reason at all!! Save your money and go to clubs in sac..i refuse to go out in davis, if i'm treated like unfairly at sogas. PLUS..the go go dancers are just nasty and makes the place cheap and shady, and the place is too small anyways! —sassyf

2007-08-31 19:51:51   I tried Soga's for dinner tonight and was sorely disappointed. We arrived at 6:30 on a Friday night and no one was in the restaraunt, nor did anyone come the whole time we were there. I ordered the seared ahi which was mealy and tough, and my date ordered grouper-glorified fish and chips. The vodka tonic was sub-par too! When we paid, the server ran the credit card for $8 more than the bill, or roughly 15% of the bill. When we questioned her she said that she'd put a bar drink on our table. How does someone do that in an empty restaurant?? Seemed shady to me. All in all, I'd like to forget the experience. —MonicaB

2007-09-04 18:37:49   Don't order a salad here unless you want to get a pile of iceberg lettuce for $10. The Ahi tuna was not bad, however, we were ignored (while dressed up, go figure) when we ate here so we ate once and that's it. Food's better elsewhere, and drinking and dancing is better elsewhere too. —KarlMogel

2007-10-25 21:05:10   EEW. Sogas is gross. never been there to eat, but judging by the reviews, i don't think i will. i've gone to sogas at night to drink waayy too many times (victim of peer pressure), and ALL of the bouncers are powertripping assholes. they have no appreciation for their customers, and don't expect any breaks for being a regular or a hot girl. once inside, you'll be greeted with wet stinky air, girls dressed up for no reason (come on, it's davis, i go out in my sweatpants), creepy frat guys, ghetto people grinding on the makeshift dancefloor, broke looking gogo dancers (who can't dance) on certain nights (they dance on plywood platforms. i'd be offended if i was a go go dancer and was asked to dance on shit like that. i'd also be sad if the only place i could get a gig at was sogas :[), the place is crowded to the point of being stuck suspended in a sea of sweaty kids and bad cologne with no way to get out, and why it's so crowded beats me. the music is bad (top 20 songs over and over and over and over....) and it's near impossible to get a drink or anywhere near the bar in a timely fashion. the bar is always dirty, so remember not to touch it. long lines for the bathrooms, and hmmm, lets see, what else.... oh, the drinks have gotten smaller and smaller and weaker since i've been going, and they stay the same price. so it taks 15 minutes to get through the people to the bar, another 15-20 for a spot at the bar, 5-10 to order your drink, and all you get is a six ounce plastic cup filled with ice and a little bit of drink. two minutes later, you do the same thing all over again. don't be fooled by the "club feel" of this place, it's far from a club, it's a SMALL RESTURANT trying to be a club. very tacky. —Lisa

2007-11-08 19:02:50   This place is tolerable, but since the change in ownership/management, it's gotten horrible. The bouncers and bartenders are powertripping jerks no matter how you look at it. They think they're gods but they're just pretty pathetic. Service is horrible. I went in early one night to sit at the bar. I was alone sitting at the bar waiting to be served when someone else walked in. The bartender passed me over and went immediately to him and I got up and left. I tried again about a week later. It was busy but I managed to get a drink after standing at the bar being ignored for about 20 minutes. I ordered a martini (EVERYTHING in this place is expensive and low quality - that should be enough to keep you from coming here aside from the horrible service) and I got it in like, a SHOT GLASS! I wanted to turn around and ask what it was but I was already in the middle of an immovable group of loud sweaty drunks. I also ordered a Guinness and he poured it from the tall can into a little plastic cup and kept the rest behind the counter...I didn't even get the whole beer! Why compromise the dignity of your restaurant on something so ridiculous!? When I tried to complain (nicely) to the manager, he got defensive and didn't address the issue at all, just screamed about how they were too busy to concentrate on providing customer service to everyone. I was pissed but I kind of just laughed at him and left. Oh and the one time I ate here, the food was expensive and crappy (like everyone else said) but my friend got a caesar salad with chicken, and they didn't put chicken breast in it. Instead they put dark meat trimmings and fat! So sad for the manager he's obviously not a businessman and it's only a matter of time before management changes again. I hope this helps. —dvntboy

2007-11-12 10:08:15   After returning to Sogas after my previous visit, I must say that the bouncers and bartenders are definitely one of the low points of the place. They are all hyped up on muscle milk and roids and seem to think they are god's gift to the earth. It would be nice if they showed a little more customer appreciation, because after all, the customers are who will determine the success of the business. Acting like you are doing me a favor by letting me drink at your bar is not a good approach; mind you there are several others to choose from within walking distance. The fact that you can dance at sogas is the only thing keeping me coming back, because the service is terrible. If Cantina was still open I would go there, and the Grad is too far out of the way, so Sogas wins my bueinss by DEFAULT. - Jeremiah —Furly707

2007-11-27 09:29:29   This place has the worst service imaginable! Mainly the Manager, Cliff, he is a despicable creature and I have no idea how he ever got the manager position at what is supposed to be an "upscale" restaurant. He is more suited for Plainfield Station or the graveyard shift at Denny’s in West Sac. The last time I went there with my sister on a Saturday night and we both ran tabs at the bar, at the end of the night they charged both tabs on my card as well as charged my sister. When I called the manager to explain my dilemma he immediately became defensive and hung up on me. So we went in to try to fix it, he again was rude and didn’t help us at all. A week later and they still had not reversed the charges and by now I had noticed that the sneaky little bartender had illegally added $10.00 for a tip on one of the tabs. I finally went down there and patiently waited for 2 hours to get these charges reversed while Cliff told me to wait and then completely ignored me. When I finally stood up and asked him what the hell was going on he started screaming in my face and kicked me out. Finally the professional and nice head bartender John came and explained what was happening and reversed the charges no problem. I will never, never, never come back to this establishment again. I suggest that you keep a close eye on your bill and steer clear of the white trash manager who was obviously born in a barn to convict parents. This was worst experience I have ever had at any place of business ever. Make sure to tell your friends. —desmqh

2007-12-15 02:07:14   ugh. there are the most disgusting guys ever at sogas. some guy tried to put his hands up my shirt and i was barely even dancing with him. i wasnt even giving him a hint of wanting to dance with him. they put water in their drinks and charge the most. there should be a screening for the people they let in there! —JackkiCox

2007-12-19 06:40:58   You know…Its too bad when Matt Soga SOLD Soga's Restaurant which he had to almost 18 years the new owners kept the same name of the Restaurant. Now that he has left and pursued business elsewhere, judging from your peoples reviews looks like it has gone way down hill. And so would most any establishment in a college town like Davis that has a full bar and lets in any drunken Frat boy that just discovered the effect of alcohol in to spend their parent money (remember the Paragon bar incident?). In its day Soga was the top-notch California Cuisine Restaurant to go to and catered to many of Davis’s professors, lawyers, doctors, and anyone else that wanted to fine dine. So before you go and bash the name of “Soga’s”, check yourself and recognize that this is under new owner ship that has obviously dropped the ball and direct your complaints to them. —Dirk-Diggler

• The notification that Soga's is no longer under Matt Soga's management went up in version 64 of this page (2007-06-23 18:48:42), and several of the comments do refer to the quality of the establishment since this change. Comments from before the change in ownership were archived; around the same time the entry also reflected that the restaurant was named after Mr. Soga, though I think the entry was altered to reflect it's new beginning and reference to him was removed. Regardless, I believe people are bashing the business as it stands rather than it's previous owner. —KevinChin
  

2007-12-30 22:22:34   I used to frequent Soga's regularly. Back in the day it was a fabulous place to eat, drink and hangout with friends. It was also an excellent date spot. At any rate, I ate there a few nights ago with some friends. I was expecting the worst from all the negative reviews, but it was not bad at all. Service was courteous, prompt and attentive. The drinks were great. Food was excellent. There were six of us at dinner and everyone enjoyed their meals. My only real complaint is against the bread. Soga's used to have tasty bread. I mean ridiculously awesome bread. Now they serve dry, stale, tasteless rolls. New Owners: Please bring back the rockin' bread! —CurlyGirl26