Soif

I really am blessed for choice near where I live, and this is just one of the restaurants I attend quite regularly. Best described as excellently cooked homely French cuisine, I think, and definitely one to visit if you haven't had the chance to do so! We started with the mixed leaf salad, with such fresh ingredients, which was drizzled with a warming mustard dressing. That was the start of things to come. My main was Mulard duck breast, truffled celeriac, red cabbage & artichoke crisps and my friend had Sea bream, leeks, ratte potato, chanterelles & vin jaune. If I could I would just stop there, that alone should be enough to tell you of the caliber of food they serve here. Duck so pink and tasty, the fat rendered perfectly. Celeriac puree was smooth and tasty and the red cabbage fresh, adding a nice contrast to the rest of the dish. I am assured the sea bream was amazing, but you already knew that didn't you... As for the wine, oh the wine... So good I actually bought a bottle of it to take home! A Domaine Plageoles I'd come here every day if I could. If I wasn't at one of the other restaurants that are nearby...

I live round the corner from Soif so I'm kicking myself that I haven't tried the restaurant sooner! I really loved our evening there.The staff are warm and friendly and it's a gorgeous space, really cosy and shabby chic. The menu is simple and delicious. Nothing is overly fussy, it's just really good French inspired food done perfectly. It's not often I really struggle to decide what to order but I really did here - everything just sounds so tasty. Starter was sardines with a aioli, main was onglet (slightly undercooked but not too much of an issue) and dessert a spectacular little chocolate cake with creme fraiche and raspberries. It's not cheap but worth every penny. We'll definitely be returning.

Having been several times and always raved about Soif, last night was a major disappointment. We arrived on time, were given water and the waitress from the bar disappeared before we could ask for anything else. we beckoned her over for drinks and again she took off before we could ask for some accompanying nibbles. We then waited whilst two others tables entered, were seated and their orders for food and drink were taken. Felt like we had a 'do not disturb' on our table as every waiter/waitress spent the evening with eyes on the floor rather than doing their job. Food was good, not brilliant, but good. Services however, utterly useless. A real shame as good service can make a good outing great, and it was always a place I took out of town friends to illustrate that SW11 had grown up a bit. Will swerve Soif for a while, as it is no longer my go to spot on that little patch of Battersea Rise. The Dairy, Trinity, Manor and Bistro Union etc. provide a more consistent quality. GBP140.00 for two with two 500ml carafe's of wine.

I'd been to Terroir previously and wasn't a massive fan of the small sharing plates and also generally not a fan of natural wines, but nevertheless the food was good enough there to warrant a trip to the sister restaurant, Soif. Also, Monday is BYO so we came armed with wine as not to risk the lottery that is picking a good natural wine. We were a bit late, but the staff were friendly and welcoming all the same. the atmosphere was good, nice lighting, informal and comfortable, with a barrel covered in wine bottles next to us - very atmospheric. All the staff had French accents (and I believe they were all French or else were genuinely doing a very good job of pretending to be so) coupled with trendy beards and busily patterned shirts worthy of Hackney. So far so good on the quirky front. We started with a selection of charcuterie, olives and almonds - all of which were excellent (the charcuterie was VERY good indeed - wafer thin and very tasty) and the quantities were generous. For the main, we had the onglet & chips and the beef cheek. Both were excellent in different ways - the onglet was brimming with flavour while the cheeks were exceptionally tender. Onglet came with chips, the cheeks with mash, some carrots and onions. it might have been nice to have a plate of veg with that, but there wasn't the option on the menu. Desert was excellent - the chesnut cake. considering it wasn't at capacity, it might have been nice to sit on a slightly bigger table (there were four of us), but that is only a minor comment. The level of noise was good so you could talk without straingin your voice, and felt that those on the next table couldn't hear you. The tables were a healthy distance apart - a balance between bustling and buzzy and not claustrophobic. All in all a good Monday night - although a little pricey considering we didn't have wine.

I've been to its sisters restaurants, brawn in Colombia rd and the green man and French horn ( which are two of my all time favourites restaurants) , I think I was expecting too much from soif. The table was booked for four people for 9.15, we didn't get to our table until 9.30 and when the manager came to take us to our table he stopped half way to speak with a diner so we stood in the middle of the restaurant not knowing where to go… I spotted a empty table by the kitchen so we just went there. The manager acknowledged us and shook his head like who says “ yeah that's your table”. Then we had to wait a good 5 to 10 minutes for our menus to arrive. I asked the waitress for a recommendation on wine ( when you go to brawn of the French horn the seem to know everything about their wine) and she was like “ this is really nice and the … Is very good as well ”. Zero confidence. I ordered a bottle of red and I came cold! I say to her but she said all their wine in the cellar was cold because of the weather. Wow. Nothing that a 15 minutes decanting it would help. So we''re there for 40 mins and not much have happened yet. The starters were good, very good. Grilled tiger prawns and duck rillettes. Delicious. For my main I had pork chop with anchovies and veg. It was just about eatable. There was so much lemon juice that I couldn't taste any anchovies, just it's saltiness. Lemon pork with lemon veg with and edge of sea salt, that's what they should have called the dish… One of my friends had the same as me and we both agreed on the taste profile of our super lemony pork and veg. My girlfriend and my mate had the stake hache, overpowered with pepper corn. One of my friends didn't even finish it. For desert my girlfriend had apple crumble which was good she said. £230 quid between 4 people. Did we make our money's worth? No. I just think that I have so many options for that sort of French food around London that I'm not rushing back to soif anytime soon.

A perfect evening in the buzzing bar area. The warmest of welcomes to start and good advice on both the food an wine fronts. Soif do half a dozen whites and the same number of reds both by the glass and 500cl carafe, always a winner in my book if you're after both and don't want to crawl out of the restaurant. The food ranges from the unexpected to the unusual but with consistently good quality. One's taste buds need to be open for a few of the offerings; e.g. the Sopressata and Lardo, but all are executed with finesse and passion. The pan fried duck livers were truly sensational. The team are inspired and obviously enjoy working there. The clientele range from locals to Euros, young to old. In all a happy place to visit and a proper reward for the tummy too. Highly recommended, especially given the paucity of real quality in the area.

I had been to Soif on a few occasions but with my family and in the evening for dinner. The restaurant then was full, the service was good and the atmosphere lively but not excessively so. My most recent visit was the second time at lunchtime. It was a Friday when I would have expected the restaurant to be more crowded. I went with a Luxembourg friend whom I had not seen for years. We really wanted to catch up on each other's news. It was therefore ideal. No hassle from the waiter. We had light starter of cold Tuscan cooked meat (Capocollo) which was as usual very fresh and tasty. For main course, although it was really a starter, I had cold fresh cooked salmon (plenty in relation to the size of the dish) with fennel, mache and lemon – it was meant to be hot. It was nevertheless very tasty. My friend had tuna tartare which was certainly to his taste. He drank a couple of glasses of white (I do not recall what he had but he had a second glass) and I had 2 glasses of a red Spanish wine (Bierzo Brezo) – very acceptable. A couple of coffees to finish. The atmosphere was quiet which suited us fine. I was not disappointed. It was up to the standard I expected. I would return.

We ate at Soif last Friday evening. The food was excellent and the service attentive and friendly (without being intrusive). This was our first visit and definitely not our last. A bit on the expensive side, but the food and wine were good quality. I would rate Soif much more highly than Entrée (across the road).

Soif was a great experience and is a nice new addition to dining around Clapham Junction. An uncomplicated atmosphere, great food, however, the wine was fairly expensive and not very good quality. Definitely worth going for the food though!

Four of us went, ate, drank and loved it! We shared a charcuterie board for starters, then had rabbit, cod, skate & crab for mains. The ladies had deserts and we had some very stinky cheeses which were gorgeous. The dishes were exactly what you'd expect to eat in France, simple, well cooked & full of flavour. The waitress was happy to go through the menu and the cheeses on offer. Would definately go again. Prices were around £7 for starters & £12 for main.