Sobo Restaurant

AMAZING we just ate there twice in two days. Had the Thai chicken with a margarita… Perfection. Also, you have to get the polenta fries… Sooooo good. Second day I got the tofu pocket (smoked salmon) and the Asian salad… where has this been all my life?! And then… At the end of the road… There was a flourless chocolate pecan cookie… oh, and an ice cream sandwich… Can’t go wrong with either!!!

The Huevos Rancheros was flavourful and delicious. Great portion, don’t forget to order extra jalapeños on the side!

Sobo is casual, rustic food PERFECTLY done. I wish we had eaten all our meals at Sobo.
I was skeptical when we first walked into Sobo because it is so plain and casual inside, but dinner could not have been more perfect.
The salmon taco didn’t look like anything special, but the spices were surprising and amazing. The Halibut Ceviche is light and fresh and perfect to share. All the fish entrees we had were beautiful pieces of lightly spiced perfectly cooked fresh fish with great sides.
The pizza was also good, but there are so many amazing dishes using the fresh local ingredients that it seems like a waste to order pizza there.
The only bad thing is that Sobo doesn’t take reservations and there isn’t anywhere comfortable to wait (especially if the weather is bad).

Really wonderful dinner place. I had a great halibut dish, my wife had seafood stew and kids got brisket, everyone really enjoyed their meals. Great appetizers, too, with ceviche and the beet salad. A little pricey but worth it.

We started coming to SoBo when it was just a food truck. It moved once and then made a pretty successful transition to a restaurant. All the way along we have been faithful customers as the food has been excellent. We even bought the cookbook!
This visit was like all our first visits (we usually come at least twice while I’m Tofino). Seafood chowder killer fish taco and polenta fries. It’s almost sinful it’s so good! I might give a half mark off on the chowder as the base was a little thin and could have been more heavily spiced but it may have been a fresh batch. And it’s the first time I can make any kind of non-​positive comment in over 10 years of eating here so the chef has earned her 5 stars many times! Thank you and we will be back — again!

Dined here twice on our recent trip to Tofino. Service was excellent though a bit slow-​they let you enjoy your meal. Salmon was excellent as was beef brisket and the pizzas are delish. The cerviche was phenomenal! And the dessets… wow to die for! Key lime pie, ice cream sandwiches and blueberry pie were all perfect. We even bought a bag of granola to take home and it was super. Highly recommend and excited to return!!!

The «killer fish tacos» on the menu really are. Killer. Amazing. Fresh blueberries on a taco. So simple. So unexpected. So delicious. Meanwhile, my husband said SoBo’s chowder was the best in Tofino (he also had it at Wolf in the Fog and Shelter). And while the Asian salad I had as my entrée was way over-​salted, it was still good in concept (I want to believe the dressing was just a one-​time mistake). Midway through dinner we decided to buy the cookbook (which actually seems accessible for very unpracticed cooks like myself, unlike all too many cookbooks from great restaurants). And that was before we got to the cookies: massive and perfectly baked chocolate chocolate chip and salted caramel. While the bar is limited, the bartender (who also served us dinner) was fabulous. oh, and did I mention the killer fish tacos?

We really enjoyed our dinner at Sobo, starting with refreshing Ceviche and a spicy salmon chowder. The mains were delicious as well, profitting from local produce and fresh fish as well as culinary skill and an innovative spirit. The key lime pie was a dream come true and so were the Italian espressi!
Room for improvement? Yes, heat the plates for the main courses so the food stays warm longer!

Five stars all the way. The food was fantastic. The smoked seafood chowder was delicious, the best I have ever had. Not one of these thick support creamy ones where you can taste no seafood whatsoever. Light and creamy with lots of seafood and a sensation for the taste buds. Same goes for the fish taco. The seafood stew was worth every penny as it came packed full of mussels, clams, fish and scallops with a delicious broth. All seafood cooked to perfection. The pizza was the best we have had during our holiday on Canada. They definitely sourced some very good Italian ingredients for that. The service was very nice and attentive. I also like the interior with lots of local and aboriginal art.

I ate at Sobo twice in my three days in Tofino, once for a three course dinner, again for a one-​dish brunch. Both times I was pleased with the exceptional service and the menu options. I highly recommend the in-​house desserts

Great place. Scores on all key factors. Special note: they even know how to do music and lighting… as in pleasant and subdued. Very rare these days.

Tasted the love at Sobo and recommending it. .. .
A casual bistro setting with a din and «back alley» like window views — not necessarily romantic — is the only downside. The menu, locally-​sourced foods and gourmet preparation make up for that.
The house-​made biscuit ($ 2 each) was fresh, warm and creamy in flavour, a good accompaniment to the shared hot and sour clams ($ 14). The broth was neither hot nor sour, but it was umami with white wine, butter and lemongrass right to the last sopped up drop.
Seafood risotto ($ 30) was outstanding with buttery sablefish, tender scallops, and sweet tasting spot prawns, topped with delicious steamed nettles. I found the risotto was perfectly creamy and flavourful, although my partner opined it was too wet. His rabbit two ways ($ 32) was a special creative treat that he ate eagerly, with a minor note that the rabbit was a tad dry. I wanted more of his spatzle with the braised reduction.
The chocolate bomb ($ 11) was an overload of chocolate and berry bliss.
I’d come back as there are more interesting and creative entrees, sharing plates and pizza to try, and I like how they care to source locally and use what’s available in the given season.

Went for a quick lunch. Overall good but not super impressive. I had the soup of the day, winter vegetable, very yummy but lukewarm and the Asian salad had amazing greens in it, fresh and crispy, I think local grown and even sunflower sprouts which I love. But it was very small and a bit pricey. He had the fish tacos, great idea but I think it was a fail. Salmon was too fishy and it was topped with a fruit salad. Literally. Blueberry, pineapple, apples. Pretty, but not well put together.

Definitely not the best fish tacos on the island. And the seafood chowder was good, well — portioned, but nothing to recommend. Not at this price, at least.
Polenta fries were alright, and the key lime pie was delicious. So I’d come here for dessert, but not for a meal.

We had local oysters, halibut and seafood stew. Food was very good and very fresh. Seafood stew was cream based (I usually prefer the cioppino/​tomato garlic style) but was still good. Loaded with scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams. Yum.
Overall it was spendy but was one of the best meals we had in Tofino.

I have been eating at Sobo regularly during my visit to Tofino this summer (2014). The food is excellent as should be expected from and award winning chef. The seasonal fare can be described in one word. Rare. Ok, 3 words, West Coast Rare. From wild picked mushrooms to fresh ocean harvest, the foods are all gathered into one exacting kitchen and prepared by hand all the way through to the plate. Divine Dining! Smoked Tuna pizza anyone?
PS — Fresh sprouts grown right in the back add a nice accent to the salads and the deserts are look very enticing though I do not go for that sort of thing. All hand made as well by the full time bakers they have working.

Great place for lunch and dinner. Go early, it’s popular.
We ate at Sobo 8 years ago when it was the purple food truck, and was pleased to see the salmon tacos and polenta fries still on the menu. But of course the menu has grown and matured considerably. It’s clear this has become a Tofino institution, in a town with a disproportionately high number of great restaurants, even for a seasonally busy town of its size.
There’s something for everyone on the menu; emphasis on fresh and local.

Catch of the day was really fresh, side veggies were tasty too dipped in their creamy red pepper sauce~ the Mexican dish looked amazing but tasted bland. Desserts were 5stars! (U must get their giant cookies!!!)

We had a good dinner at Sobo, but it wasn’t cheap. 6 oysters, a couple of buttermilk biscuits, a fall vegetable curry, a duck confit pizza and 2 beers: $ 85. Not high end or gourmet, but pleasant enough.
Sobo’s exterior greeted us with a real wood-​burning fire, which I was so ecstatic about that I spent several minutes back outside there enjoying its warmth before our food arrived! The atmosphere was cozy charming, with a small bar upfront for drinking and dining. The dining room was long rather than wide, so you couldn’t quite see just how big the place is when you first walked in. We did make a reservation a few days in advance.
The oysters were good but nothing special. Our server was good but unmemorable. The buttermilk biscuits were very large and had wonderful texture — crisp on the outside, moist and buttery on the inside. They tasted warmed up (maybe baked earlier that day or the day before), but still delicious all the same. I really enjoyed the fall vegetable curry, particularly all the generous portions of fresh cauliflower and hazelnuts. I had to look it up, and apparently hazelnuts are indigenous to parts of BC and the NW United States. Never knew that! So THAT’S why they’re in everything on Vancouver Island! The duck confit pizza was also delectable with the right amount of blue cheese to add pungency without obfuscating the entire dish. The duck meat was a bit dry. The crust was crisp but somewhat bland.
Overall, a nice meal and a comfortable, convivial atmosphere for a great date. I wouldn’t say it was spectacular, but if you choose Sobo, you’ll likely have a pleasant meal at a moderately expensive price.

If you come to Tofino, you have to come to Sobo.
Legendary hearty, real food that comes along rarely. It’s a shame we have to drive for 6 hours to have Sobo and tie it to a relaxing getaway… Or is it?
Highlights:
Polenta fries are creamy, crispy and bursting with flavors.
House Salad is fresh as can be. Like you picked the greens from your garden and made the dressing that hour.
Fish Tacos are a staple at this locale. A must have.
Bison Enchilada was the special and if you are lucky you too can enjoy this delightful dish.
Not cheap, but quality. Our service was quaint. We liked it!
come to Tofino, go surfing and then come to Sobo to fuel up!
Lovely!
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