Dallas Morning News
March 19, 1999
Dottie Griffith
 
Good food and good service just aren't enough in some restaurants these days. SOHO is one of several eateries, new as well as established, where music is an important part of the menu.
 
Jazz livens up the place seven nights a week. Hard to believe there's room for a trio in the front corner, but the musicians and a singer squeeze in, even when the restaurant's crowded. Although the setting is close, diners keep cool because the jazz isn't too loud.
 
SOHO also has a walk-up bar. Sitting at this bar, on a patio at the side of the restaurant, is a mini-vacation experience, cool and breezy on a recent spring-like evening.  
   
A large window opens into the indoor bar and the restaurant behind it; bartenders wait on customers inside and out. It's very nicely done, as is most of the remodeling by owner Hamid Moallem. He's created a metallic industrial interior with Euro-tech cable lighting accented by motifs that reflect the menu.  
   
Executive chef Chad M. Burnett, formerly with Nana Grill at the Anatole, is getting a chance to spread his culinary wings. Considering the sophistication of many of the primarily seafood dishes, the menu is very reasonably priced.  
   
An appetizer of soft shell crab ($9) got an A. Of the entrees, we liked delicately flavored sea bass ($24). The fish was fresh, and the dish worked well. Another A.   
   
Service is pleasant. And the wine list, like the menu, offers some nice selections with reasonable prices.