Food is so delicious. Staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful. You need to keep an eye out for…read morespecials which are always super unique and delicious. The kitchen is very creative. The location is nicely tucked away and easily accessible in the winter months. Absolutely recommend. The empanadas are delicious.

The best arepa I've ever had. WOW! The arepa itself is not too mealy, the "bun" is thin and…read morenicely grilled/crisped on the outside but still soft and moist enough on the inside. And both the beef and the pork fillings were oozing with flavor. The beef almost tasted like a french reduction or something, very rich. The pork was more traditionally flavored garlic, etc., but all the spices, sauces and such complemented each other and elevated the overall dish. GO HERE! Fast casual system is great, and prices are reasonable, especially considering the quality of what you get.

Our first time at Bar Sofia had us swinging by for a friend's birthday. There was a good dinner…read morecrowd although it ebbed before a switchover to the late night crowd. The interior design is fun and bright, with splashes of colour and fake plants, and on-brand for their target audience of millennial and Gen-Z women. The fully open kitchen is a nice touch, and I regret not having a view of it, but that's what happens when you show up last! The menu has an assortment of Latin American dishes like yucca fries, empanadas and tacos, as well as local/contemporary fare that gets a Latin touch like aguachile oysters, bravas Brussels sprouts and adobo-roasted cauliflower. My wife and I went for a mix of big and small plates, ordering the beef empanadas, Brussels sprouts, and the cauliflower. For an adult beverage, I had the Oaxaca old fashioned. It was adequate cocktail, although a smokier mezcal would have made it more memorable. Someone who I assume was a manager had spotted the gifts on the table and not only brought over a shot for the birthday girl and her partner, but for the whole table! While it was a low ABV liqueur, it was a lovely gesture and savvy business move. We must have arrived in between seatings, as despite a fairly full dining room, all our dishes came out surprisingly quickly and all together. I started out with the smaller plates. Some variation of fried Brussels sprouts has been a common sight on restaurant menus for a decade, but hey, it works! Bar Sofia's iteration gets a dose of savoury and tomato-y bravas sauce, and also gets topped with a colourful assortment of thinly sliced veg - radish, carrot, pickled red onion, jalapeno, and some sprigs of cilantro. The sauced-up sprouts lost a good bit of their crispness, but the bravas sauce was undeniably tasty, with a balance of richness and acidity. The veg accoutrements added welcome splashes of colour and texture. The empanadas come two to an order, so perfect for sharing with my wife! The hearty beef was cooked to perfection, and the olives and egg completed the traditional filling. The pastry itself was supple and flaky, with a golden brown and crisp exterior. When we swapped dishes, I was glad to get my hands on the cauliflower. The generous portion of half a head of roasted brassica came with rice, a cashew crema and the aforementioned veg toppings. The char of the cauliflower played well with the nutty sauce, and although a bit repetitive, the veg accoutrements brightened up the flavour profile. While Bar Sofia's origins as a Toronto-based restaurant company's idea to fill the commercial space at Queen's Marque isn't exactly a stamp of authenticity, they are bringing some dishes that aren't common in Halifax (other than the Brussels sprouts). I enjoyed my meal there and it's a fun vibe, but there was no 'wow' factor for me. I'm sure I'll tackle more of the menu and patio some day, but as I continue to catch up on the Halifax food scene, I'm not rushing back either.

Staff seemed very stressed and management was incredibly rude. Would not recommend. Long wait times…read moreand disorganized proccess.

Stumbled upon this quaint restaurant / shop while looking for brunch but unfortunately left hungry…read more As other reviewers have pointed out, the menu is chock full of Latin American eats but the portions are miniscule. For instance, tostadas are pictured in the menu resembling the size of a large fist but arrive closer to the size of a two bite brownie. The plate in my picture costs nearly $35! This place has potential, but you'll have to be sure to order lots if you want to leave full.

After having been in the west end of Halifax for a few years now, I've been meaning to try out this…read morequaint Latin American restaurant for even longer, and recently righted my past indiscretions and came by on a warm winter day. The interior is split between a small grocery section, and seating for the restaurant. The grocery section has a respectable spread of canned and packaged Latin American staples, as well as dried whole peppers like the ancho and chipotle peppers I purchased here once before. Looking for some Mexican sodas? Get your Jarritos fix here! The restaurant area sits around 25 at a selection of small, but cool, little tables that have glass-covered insets filled with different dried beans in each of four quarters. Lots of plants and Latino art gave the place a cozy feel. Their menu is pretty small, with nine non-dessert items to chose from. There's signs on the tables and windows with some other options like tostadas, their Mexican breakfast, and Argentinian empanadas, so figuring out what you can order is a bit haphazard. For what is on the menu, their are very helpful descriptions of the ingredients and pictures to match, with items coming from all across Central and South America. Everything is quite shareable and priced at $2-4 each, that seems to be encouraged here. As such, for our first round my wife and I ordered two Colombian empanadas, a doblada, an arepa, and a chuchito, as well as guava and mango juices to drink. Our plate of new-to-us foods was soon before us, and we eagerly split up the spoils. My favourite of the day were the Colombian empanadas - their cornmeal shells were wonderfully crispy on the outside, and the chicken, onions and olives had a mild but enjoyable flavour. Not being a fan of olives, I was a little worried at first, but they aren't over done and added just a bit of saltiness and olive-y funk. They came with chimichurri, a parsley-based sauce, which lent some herby tang to them as well. I found the doblada to be quite similar to the empanadas, but filled with beef and topped with salsa and onions. The flavour was nice, but I preferred the crispiness of the empanadas. A bit less flashy than the other items, the unassuming arepa is effectively a white cornmeal and cheese pancake. It had a somewhat gooey consistency like solidified porridge, but it wasn't as bad as that sounds. With a nice char from the flat top, I enjoyed it, but wasn't wowed. The churchito is another dumpling-like item, with chicken in a corn flour dough that's cooked in a corn husk, and topped with tomato sauce and a sprinkling of cheese. I wasn't a huge fan of the dough's grainy consistency, which is good in good ol' cornbread, but less so for something like this that just falls apart when you get into it. That said, it was tasty. We needed just a couple more things to get a filling lunch in, so we ordered two Argentinian empanadas, as well as a black bean pupusa - a refried bean patty topped with pickled cabbage and a tomato sauce. These empanadas were quite different from their Colombian cousins that we just had. The neatly braided dough was wheat flour-based instead of corn meal, and the filling had a much more pronounced flavour that made them my wife's favourite item of the meal. I was fairly indifferent on the pupusal; it had a bit of tartness from the pickled cabbage and tomato sauce, and the refried bean patty was fine, but not nearly as noteworthy as some of the other items we had tried. Oh, and trying all these cool foods put me back a mere $30. Cafe Aroma is an under-appreciated purveyor of some great food that is truly unique to Halifax, and really adds to its cultural diversity. I may not be able to come back with my limited time left in the city, but you definitely need to come here and load up on empanadas.