Soif

Had a girls' night out here with my South London girl friends – having enjoyed a similar soiree at Terroirs a few months ago. No sign outside made it a bit tricky to find (sandwiched between Tesco Express and The Merchant on Battersea Rise) and seemed strangely arrogant for a new establishment. However, once inside, the staff couldn't have been more charming. It helped that we were an early booking so we weren't vying for attention with too many other tables – at least to start with. Food offering was perfect – a good selection of small bites, appetisers, entrees and main courses, with a variety of meat AND FISH – which was a welcome surprise. Reasonably priced and portion sizes just right. My monkfish with mussels and braised fennel was delicious – and perfectly cooked. I was the only white wine drinker in our group so tried a glass of the Sauvignon as suggested by the patron – and was delighted with it's richness and mellowness. The girls were equally happy with their acceptably priced and very quaffable Gamay. As the evening progressed and the space filled up the servce became a little less attentive and we were surprised that they left us with empty glasses for such a long time – if they'd come and offered us another bottle we would surely have said yes! Overall a great find and definitely on the list for a return visit – soon!

We went to Soif on a Saturday night with quite high expectations as I am a Terroirs fan. In brief Soif has a great buzz, good menu, nice wines, service pretty poor. I was a little disappointed but am still intending to go back.

Food-wise, Soif is heavy on charcuterie, cheese and hearty French food. We had the pork belly, fennel and mushroom salad, the chicken liver salad and charcuterie for starters. We also ordered padron peppers but these never arrived. For mains, we had the monbaillac and choucroute (bratwurst and sauerkraut, very Alsace), the kidneys, the hake with mussels and the braised beef. The braised beef was a bit fatty, but everything was really tasty – big gutsy flavours and really fresh. Starters are mostly around £7, and mains are about £12, so the food is well priced.

The wine list was a good mix of comfortable classics for when you just want something reliable and some unusual varieties for adventurous days. Wines started at about £25, but there wasn't much below £35. The wine is definitely where your spend goes in Soif.

In terms of service, Soif is a busy, buzzy place, but the staff need to focus on the table they are speaking to at the time, not gazing over your shoulder while half-heartedly listening (which is what two members of staff both did to us on Saturday night). We arrived ten minutes early for our table for 4 and were shown to a table down the back beside the coat rack and practically under the service area. As the two guys in our party are both large boys I said we would need to sit somewhere else. This caused total consternation, even though there were 3 other tables for 4 empty. Hilarious. In addition to the missing padron peppers, I also asked for the parmesan to be omitted/on the side on my starter, and it wasn't. Our wine took forever to turn up and we had to ask for menus 3 times.

Having said that, Soif is still a great addition to the Northcote Road area and I will definitely be back.

Looking for a restaurant for our annual Christmas work dinner somewhere local we thought we would try SOIF as we'd heard good things and have been fans of Terroirs for many years. We couldn't have been more impressed, so much so that within days Charlotte from the office was already there again taking her husband.

We had amazing service from start to finish which was accompanied with delicious food and fantastic and unusual wines. The chicken livers with dandelion was a hit with everyone as was the rabbit, hake and all of the other delicious food that was put in front of us. The staff had a thorough knowledge of all the food and wines and made some fantastic suggestions as to what we should drink and they were spot on!.

Ignore reviews about having to wait for tables, this is a new restaurant that is well worth the wait, when we went we had no trouble and will be sure to be back very soon.

Honest food, superb cooking and a warm, friendly and knowledgeable staff coupled with a fantastic atmosphere make this the new best place to eat in Battersea!!

Whilst this is definitely the best thing in the area it is not as good as the original Terroirs.

I really though the kitchen let the place down, my Pork Belly and beans was really average and was only made better by the wine.

The beans were undercooked and the belly skin not crispy enough. The sauce had not thickened and it was as if they could not be bothered. We went at about 7 before it started to fill up. All a little pricey for the quality

Whilst I am a girl that likes her meat the menu is not balanced in any way. Too heavy and meaty. The wines are very good as you would expect. I am a little bit over whole ‘natural’ wine thing but hey that is a la mode.

The decor is you know french wine bar retro reclaim chic. a little bit predictable.

Will probably go back again as everything else in around is bad, but next time probably just for a drink and some saucisson.