Considering the area's plethora of exceptional Italian restaurants (I hail from Calabrian immigrants), I had high expectations for the newish Sogno in Woburn. We made reservations for 6pm on a Tuesday, and nine of us were excited for our first visit.
Let's start with the physical space: the restaurant's design is open and modern, located just beyond Woburn CC on the Winchester line. I loved the shiny red Vespa positioned at the door entrance. There was live music, though overall acoustics make it difficult to carry on a conversation without shouting. The bar sits in the middle, there's a back glassed "room", and all the details (glassware, artwork, monogrammed napkins, tufted leatheresque booths) would all seem to indicate a fine dining experience worthy of the RatPack.
Here's where it all goes wrong, and it simply comes down to level of service and overlooked details that, with some tweaking, could propel this establishment to the highest level. You've gotta get past the sticker shock of the prices (C'mon! I'll pay for great food, but pasta dishes do not warrant extortion). We are not in Manhattan, nor are we at The Capital Grille (whose service is unparalleled and my benchmark). I enjoyed a very tasty Italian Margarita while others had the Sogno Sippers. The pistachio martini arrived without its whipped cream garnish (stated on menu) but was delicious. More later on bar garnish snafus.
The bread service is wholly underwhelming. Sliced crusty (almost stale) white bread with EVOO. We were starving but asked for a bread refill. Another staff member removed the baskets and never returned with the additional bread. Our server, Jesus, was lovely; friendly and helpful in selecting which fish to order, but not sure where he disappeared to several times during the meal. Management should assign servers to one area instead of spreading staff all over the floor; these kinds of oversights are due to lack of training by management, IMHO.
With lack of bread, I ordered arancini to share with another friend. I will say that the serving bowl was hotter than the actual center of the arancini. What I did enjoy was the lemony pesto accompaniment. Now if they can get those rice balls piping hot and perhaps a bit larger (for the price), they'd have a winning appetizer. Our entrees included the Branzino, Cod, short rib tagliatelle, ravioli, and lasagna. Everyone seemed to enjoy their entrees; my cod was delicious; I enjoyed the corn ragu; the mashed potato base was a bit runny, but fine; my friend wasn't impressed with the lasagne, made from very thin pasta sheets rolled into spirals and baked off in a cast iron dish--she said there was not enough actual pasta and too much ricotta; I tasted it and I enjoyed the flavor, but I got too much sauce, not enough ricotta; I tasted the short rib tagliatelle, which friends enjoyed; felt the short rib was dry; Our entrees were delivered by kitchen staff-no one knew who got what, and hadn't seen our server in awhile; there was no offer of fresh pepper grinding or cheese grating, and no one came to ask about refilling cocktails or water bottles. It is unacceptable not to check back after dishes are dropped.
Another round of cocktails ordered: The Drunk Cannoli arrived without the scoops of mascarpone gelato, requests for "dirty rocks" were forgotten. Jesus ran to the bar to get the gelato, but no one had any spoons to plop the scoops into glasses. Two cappuccino were ordered. One had 4 inches of foam atop, the other had ¼ inch. The proclaimed expert on cappuccino said it tasted of instant coffee. Either they don't have a real espresso machine, or there is user error in making the drinks. I blame management for lack of training.
Our tabs started to be settled up without ever being asked if we wanted dessert. The table ordered the tiramisu, which was a layer cake served with coffee gelato. It was tasty but certainly not traditional for die-hards. The order of zeppole (fried dough balls) came with chocolate dipping sauce and an orange cream "dip" and were well received. Jesus noted that they added an extra zeppola so that all the dessert eaters could have one. This was a nice touch. I would like to see Sogno do a few things:
1.Have your servers watch The Bear, S2E7 "Forks", when Carmy sends Ritchie to train at a premier restaurant, then offer your staff training that aligns with Sogno's mission and price points. #IYKYK
2. Customers who don't like their money can continue to patronize Sogno, but I sadly predict it will not last if it doesn't tweak the corner-cutting
3. Pay attention without hovering and anticipate needs; wouldn't hurt to see the manager walking around talking to patrons
4. Serve drinks from a tray! Nothing more basic than a server walking a martini across the floor by hand, sloshing it around; this isn't Applebees.
I tried to be honest but fair; spend your money as you wish, but if Sogno aspires to the luxury market, there's work to be done. read more