The Trim Shop

Company is out of business. Company is out of business. Company is out of business. Company is out of business. Company is out of business. Company is out of business. Stupid Unilocal no way to mark a company out of business.

Eli Soto may be a nice old man, but he should not be cutting hair. I was in town for a conference and wanted a quick trim, the trim shop seemed appropriate. Mr. Soto is a old man, hard of hearing with a tremor… Bad combination. Lets just say despite me yelling in his ear what I wanted he preceded to cut my hair how he wanted. Shaved off all of my sideburns, cutting random holes everywhere on my head. Additionally, I think the man has a tremor, as he is unable to make steady motions resulting in the worst haircut disaster I’ve EVER had! Please stay away!!! I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy!

I wish I read the reviews first!
The WORST haircut in my life — so bad, that I was looking around the corner to see if I was on candid camera to see what kind of reaction I would have when someone indiscriminantly hacked at my hair.
I was departing for a very important conference that day, and this old man cut «spots» out of my hair, and made cuts with a straight razor above the hairline which weren’t even straight and left awkward bald spots. He clearly had no idea what he was doing or perhaps he just wanted to be mean.
I went to another barber up the street immediately afterwards, shelled out another $ 30 while they tried — and mostly repaired — the unbelievable damage he did to my head (albeit with a much shorter cut). There was no way I could go in public with the cut he gave me, and no way I would trust him with anything sharp near my head to try again.
He may have been a great barber in his day, but now he’s just dangerous.

I would say that Brian C’s review is pretty much spot on. Not to diminish the mans accomplishments as a barber but maybe it’s time to stop cutting hair.
I feel bad writing a negative review however my haircut was terrible. Unlike others I told him exactly what I wanted, a #2 on the sides faded to a #4 on top. Pretty easy I thought, but no. I got the same bare skin border over my ears as Mr. C as well as a couple spots on the side for good measure.
To add insult to injury he charged me $ 20 when I get the same cut back in LA for half that. I guess I just picked the wrong barber shop. Don’t think I’ll need another cut before I go back to LA but if I did there is no way on earth it would be here.

Let me start by saying that Mr. Eli Sotto is a nice man, and this review is in no way intended to take anything away from his decades of experience in being a barber.
That being said, I was definitely disappointed in my haircut. As another reviewer mentioned, Mr. Sotto started cutting without asking any questions about personal preference or style. I could have easily interjected and told him how I prefer to have my hair cut, but I thought to myself, «He’s been doing this for longer than I’ve been alive, and he had great reviews, so I’ll just let him do his thing». I’m not terribly picky when it comes to my haircut anyway (I fully realize the irony of posting a review of a bad haircut and including this sentence… but I wanted to let people know about my experience to provide a contrast to the multiple 5 star reviews).
The main problem is that Mr. Sotto cut well above my natural hairline all the way around the sides and back. I literally have a ½″ border of bare skin around the tops of each of my ears. The back is over a full inch higher than my natural line, and the taper is pretty drastic.
The straight razor shave is indeed a nice touch, as others have mentioned. The only problem is, on a couple of passes with the razor he cut at a bad angle causing somewhat of a scrape, leaving me with a couple of dark red streaks where the skin was damaged.
I met a friend shortly after leaving the barber shop and her first words were «Got a haircut huh? New guy?». When I told her he had been a barber for decades, she was shocked. She agrees that it’s a bad cut.

After reading the reviews on Unilocal,I decided to give this place a shot so I walked in without an appointment about a week ago.
Firstly, I wish he’d ask how I’d like my hair cut before going to town on it. He probably has a ton of experience cutting hair, but I feel everyone has their preferences to style and how they’d like it cut.
As far as attention to detail goes, I’m not really sure about that one. I don’t think he was using a guard on his electric razor so when I went through my hair later, I found a good number of uneven long hairs poking out which I ended up trimming myself. The worst part was when I found that my sideburns were uneven… that was a bit more difficult to fix on my own.
In retrospect it certainly wasn’t a bad haircut, but I’m not quite sure he’s as phenomenal as all the reviews say he is. I do have to give him the shave/​lotion/​powder — that was a nice touch that I feel a lot of barbers don’t bother doing anymore.

While Mr. Sotto is a very nice man and parking is free, I’m sorry to say I think he’s a bit past his prime. I’m sure in his day he was probably the best barber in Atlanta, but not so anymore. I told him what kind of cut I wanted and he said «ok» and then didn’t say anything else until he was finished. When he was cutting my hair, I could tell that it probably wasn’t going to be a good cut by the way he was doing things out of order. My hair ended up being too short and had places that were longer than others. I would not recommend getting your hair cut here.

Eli Soto is an incredible person and great barber! Who could boast cutting the hair of a Nazi officer in a concentration camp while being watched by a soldier with a gun? Not only is he is a surviver of six Nazi concentration camps, the Greek-​Italian war, and the Greek revolution after the II World War, but he raised a family in the US, all his children boasting a college education. The peace and inspiration Eli offers to the soul, is the Elixir and Ambrosia of life. Simple and friendly of mien, the Guru like simple observations he makes, have the potency of a man that has lived those truths, etched in his soul by the cruelest and base deeds of other human beings. In short, if you want to meet a rare, unique, paradoxical, comforting man, go and have the privilege of having him cut your hair while you ponder how a human being could hold such a friendly disposition having walked through the roughest patches of earth in this globe. HE may not be around much longer, his voice may be stilled. No kidding!

Mr. Soto is a super nice guy, and parking is super easy (street parking). Haircut wise I wasnt that impressed. I came in and he told me to sit down and just asked «regular haircut»? Didnt ask how short or any other questions. The razor shave in the back was interesting, but more of a novelty as my neck was irriated for the next two hours. After the haircut he didnt have me look at it or ask if it was short enough (which it wasnt), just told me the price and thanked me for coming in. I would say if you are an older guy and want a very traditional haircut this would be a good place, otherwise there are better.

Being new to Atlanta, I wanted to find a great independent barber shop, and I sure found one! Personable proprietor, excellent haircut, comfortable chair, and easy parking.
Apparently Mr. Sotto used to be a few blocks away with a storefront open to the sidewalk, but the medical center his shop was attached to was sold. (He had been there for 53 years!) He gets less foot traffic, but people think it may be expensive because it’s inside the hotel.
My cut was $ 15, took a little under a half hour, and he cleaned up the sides and back with hot lather and a straight razor– a perfect finish.
Thanks, Eli!

This Barbershop and Old Guy Mr. Sotto may be an Atlanta piece of history, but I could NEVER recommend this place.
As I type this, I look in the mirror as all my hair is shaved off. Mr Sotto chopped up my hair so bad I stayed home for a week. Literally I think the guy is just too senile to cut hair anymore.
My hairline in the back was raised 2″ inches. — made me look retarded.
I said trim it up and he saved it down to about ½ inch tall.
He used a razor and shaved up the back of my neck completely bald
My hairline was higher than my ears. Read that AGAIN!!!
My hairline was higher than my ears.
If you go, you’re going to look like complete garbage.
I logged in and created a Unilocal profile just to post this to make sure no one else gets their hair dominated.
If you need a good haircut for the SAME price, go up the street to American Haircuts. They are normal people and won’t ruin the next 3 months of you life as you walk around with a trashed head.

You with the fuzzy neck. Get in here. Mr S could cut your hair in his sleep. Shave, lotion, powder. Only thing missing? Girly mags and more guys sitting around.

This barber shop located below the Biltmore Hotel has apparently been an Atlanta institution for decades. It’s never been crowded when I stop by (and I’ve never made an appointment), but I’ve never been disappointed with my trips here.
The Barber, Eli Sotto, is a true perfectionist who’s willing to put in a little extra time to make sure you come out of the shop looking great. Between that and his friendly nature, I’ve never had reason to consider another Barber since I’ve moved down here.
Note: If you stop by on Saturday the Biltmore’s entrances may be locked. Just wave from in front of the window and he’ll let you in.

Fantastic. Best place to go in Atlanta if you want an authentic barber shop experience.
Eli Soto, the owner, has been doing this for several decades, and will give you a neat, classic look. No regrets.
Cards are not accepted, but there is an ATM there.