Soothsayer

I just finished a 9 course feast! So I feel good about saying the food is very good!!!
I attended a special event and the chef served up his favorites. I loved the food and would go back for dinner.
Taro tots — delicious
Spring rolls — good but needed a bit more flavor to bring it to life.
Beets– yummy
Morning glory — yes! Bring back the morning!
Chicken wings — good but a tad to salty
Mussels– dreaming about the sauce?
Smoke duck — delicious
Pork belly– perfection
Brownie with ginger ice cream — double yum!
Fried banana — delis

My husband & I kept eyeing this place after it opened on Avenue A and were excited to try it. Unfortunately, it disappointed, and the reasons why can’t be attributed to growing pains. The décor is nice and the service was fine. The food was ok but not great; and if it had been less expensive, I might have rated the restaurant a 3, but it was very overpriced for what it was. The taro tots were tasty, but it was a TINY portion for $ 6 — there were literally 6 tiny tots ($ 1 per tot!). Three times that many would have felt more appropriate. We shared two entrees: the grilled cod and the grilled beef with glass noodles. The cod was pretty flavorless, and at $ 25 felt very expensive for a plate with just a piece of cod (which wasn’t even cooked that well) and a small side of plain jasmine rice. The beef was ok, but we had to ask for more sauce, because it was also pretty flavorless without it. Better with the sauce, but at $ 21 still felt very overpriced. It felt more like something you would get as take-​out for $ 12. Then there was the wine. We were sitting at the bar, and the bartender kindly let us try a couple before making a decision, but then he poured what looked more like a half glass. And it was $ 14 per glass! We had to get two glasses just to make it last through our entrees, so we essentially ended up paying $ 28 per glass of wine that was fine but not even amazing.
Our total bill came to nearly $ 150, and we left hungry and dissatisfied. We were forced to get an ice cream at Big Gay Ice Cream just to fill ourselves up and feel better about our date night out. So, sadly, that was it for Soothsayer for us. I’d like to see this place do well, but we won’t be back unless the food drastically improves (and they figure out how to pour a full glass of wine).

I loved this place. The food was delicious and the restaurant is really comfortable. The chicken wings were to die and the small plate sardine dish was incredible. I found the flavors really sophisticated and well balanced and not overpowering. My only complaint would be that some of the dishes were too small. I could have eaten so much more of everything.

I stopped by for an early dinner after work on Thursday and pretty much had the place to myself. It is a charming place with great service. I started with the beef jerky. No idea it was curry beer jerky, which was interesting and tasty. Followed by the duck, one of my favorite forms of protein. This was nicely seasoned and crispy on the surface, as it should. Perhaps my only complaint would be that it was cooked a bit more than the medium level optimal for duck. Side of rice that comes with it was tasty and perfectly cooked. This food seems to be a bit anglicized compared to true Thai food, but it is really good nonetheless. Here’s a tip: get your wines from those available at the tap. A half carafe is good for two glasses at less than a single glass of anything on the list and they are quite good. I’ll be back to try the great looking pork belly.

This is a review about their burger.
As I entered the restaurant, I got hit by an overly strong smell of smoky cooking, that would stay on my clothes through the night. I went with a friend and we sat at the bar. We ordered two draft beers, which were both good.
Their Banh mi burger, however, was a disappointment… certainly not worth the steep $ 20 price tag. The mixed beef and pork ground patty came too cooked (I asked medium-​rare) and dry; the taste was very plain… beyond boring. Sure, it did have a spicy exotic twist, but it wasn’t working.
The taro tots were too starchy… They tasted like you were eating fried bread… Something went wrong with the recipe.
Overall, I didn’t taste much food (which I am happy about, considering the quality of what I did order and how much they generally charge), but what I had was enough not to have a concrete reason to go back.

I’ve been to Soothsayer 3 times, even though I don’t live in NYC. My fav is the Green Papaya salad, the flavors in this dish are so great, makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Even though I don’t usually eat beef, someone I was with ordered the beef jerky and I tried it and went back for a second piece. The fish is so delicious and just the right feel to it, in that it isn’t heavy at all but very satisfying. I’ve had two different wines on tap there and really enjoyed both. I would and will go back. Loved the dessert and the Vietnamese coffee too. The atmosphere is so friendly and makes you really feel like you’re welcome.

Food too salty. Service spotty. Didn’t even get napkins with food. Space clean but not worth it.

They were short staffed, both front of the house and back of the house. They had only two cooks in the entire kitchen on a Sunday night. It took 45minutes to get the Taro Tots (tasty), and the beef jerky (good, but prob wouldn’t order it again). We told them to cancel whatever hadn’t been fired yet, so the last two dishes to come out were the wings (good) and the fried rice (really dry).
Overall I blame whoever staffed the restaurant tonight. The food wasn’t terrible, but the service just sucked. I felt bad for the manager on the staff, since she was clearly overwhelmed trying to take care of everything. She was making drinks, seating tables, and handling whatever else came up. They apologized profusely and comped our dinner, which was completely unnecessary but very appreciated. For a new restaurant that has a little buzz, it seemed like they were being penny wise and pound foolish. Reading other reviews here it seems like I’m not the only person to have some service issues. Hopefully it’s just growing pains and they get it sorted out.

Really nice new spot. Great for a drink whilst working through some of the smaller plates. The atmosphere is great, not too hectic and the staff are really friendly. Great addition to east village scene.

3 ½ stars. I think this placed was hyped up by Unilocal.I was disappointed when I got takeout on a Thursday night. The place is easily missed during the nighttime, as they don’t have a sign. The place was empty when I went to pick up.
As someone already said, this is a fancy Vietnamese place. I saw no Vietnamese people while I was there. I got the glass noodles and the taro tots. The glass noodles were meh. It was small enough to fit in a pint-​sized plastic container. It would not have been filling if I had gotten it alone, and it cost me $ 13. The mushrooms in it were really good, but there are more toppings than noodles in the dish. Overall quite bland and nothing special.
The taro tots were good, but again nothing special. I feel like they’re not unique to this restaurant. It came drizzled with some kind of mayo. Seven tots came in the order, and considering they were $ 7, that’s almost $ 1 for each tot! Not worth that price.
This place is worth a try if you’re looking for a modern take on Vietnamese food, but I think they’re a bit overpriced with small portions, so I don’t think I’ll be back.

Great place! New in the neighborhood. Excellent food that takes Vietnamese cuisine to a new level! Try the classic spring rolls and the burger as a main, delish. Reasonable prices. Cool wine list as well out of the box. Nice addition to the area definitely worth a visit

Service — thoughtless. It took an eternity to get the entrees.
Appetizers — tater tots– airy, crunchy, well made the best dish of the entire evening. You cannot build a dinner around it though.
Mussels– What make this special or Vietnamese? Don’t bother. They chose the medium to small mussels and overcooked them. The mussel arrived shriveled down and tasteless. There were four of us at the table and we did not finish this dish. B O R I N G.
Hamburger-​better choice but what makes this Vietnamese?
Rice noodles– skip. Nothing interesting
The joke of the evening– a dollop of Cod in a mild coconut sauce for an outrageous price.
Overall– we will not come back. A skimpy dinner for 4, two of us chose to skip the entrees still cost us close to $ 200 with drinks and tip. Really? Really!

Soothsayer is the new neighborhood go-​to. It has my fave combo of relaxed atmosphere with sophisticated food (nothing like stuffy to ruin an evening).
The bartender allowed me to taste a few wines before choosing while he explained them which I really enjoy.
For appetizers, start with the Taro Tots and Beef Jerky.
As someone who has spent about a year in SEA, taro is near and dear to my heart. This under-​used root in the US, is a staple that is earthy, yet sweet with a texture that changes based on cooking length and style. This particular style was lightly breaded and drizzled with a light white sauce and fresh Thai (Vietnamese?!) chilis. We were a table of 4 and ordered a second order for the table.
The beef jerky app had a unique curry flavor. It’s the type of thing that I was wishing I could get 5 togo orders to replace my Luna bars for the coming weeks, for food on the go. Never had anything like this. Very special.
Ok let’s talk about this Cod. The cod dish has lemongrass, coconut and chili flavors that were well balanced. You could feel the chefs edit and restraint here, as one could easily go overboard and fill the bowl with extra herbs and veggies. The bold flavors that still felt light and bright takes technique and that did not go unnoticed.
In SEA, many beverages both fruity and alcoholic are made with sweetened condensed milk as fresh milk is often difficult to transport and keep cold. The ice cream dish lovingly reminded me of this and the toasted coconut added texture.
The blue-​doored gem that is Soothsayer is definitely a sapphire.

The burger was amazing! Great wine selection. Also tried duck fried rice and the spring rolls. There were so many things I wanted to order — excited to go back. The staff is friendly and the area is clean and beautiful. So happy this place is open!

The best Vietnamese food I found in NYC. We were four and tried 9 dishes from the menu.
The rolls, green papaya salad (with beef jerky) and the sardines were excellent tough a little bit too spicy to our taste. The smoked duck and the pork belly are must try as main dishes.
The food is flavorful, fresh and authentically Vietnamese. We will come back to try other dishes.
The beer menu is interesting and is a good match with the food (we have not tried the wines).
The price is little bit high for the neighborhood, the décor is minimalist but lacks some Asian touch. Overall, an excellent experience and addition to the restaurant scene in NYC.

My vietnamese friend, Pham and I had bookmarked this restaurant for a while now and we had to chance to dine there a couple days ago. What. A. Disappointment. You would think a restaurant with such modern and minimalistic design would have delicious food to go with it. We were so wrong. One word to describe this place: Blur. From the restaurant’s name to the food to the ambience… nothing seems to tie in together.
We went in for dinner and it was towards the end of the night so there were only a table or two besides us. We sat down and enjoyed the atmosphere for a while but were quickly shocked by the prices of these dishes. All the entrees doesn’t come with rice… and let’s be honest, even a white girl like me knows asian food goes best with rice. To our further dismay, the restaurant charges $ 3 for a small bowl of Jasmine rice. We ordered the Taro Tots as an appetizer to share, Grilled beef for my girl and I settled with the mussels. As much as we hated the fact that we’re getting charged $ 3 for rice, we each ordered a bowl.
The appetizer came out pretty quickly but I have to say, it did not taste good at all. The flavors were very surface value… once you bite through the salt/​pepper/​chill coating of the taro, you don’t really taste a second layer. My mussels came out shortly after that. I decided to wait a little bit for Pham’s grilled beef to come but 5 minutes led to 10 minutes. I decided to go ahead and eat it first. It was flavorful and delicious and you obviously needed rice to go with this dish. Eventually we had to remind the server that we were still waiting for Pham’s grilled beef and I guess they weren’t really paying attention to us to know that she’s not eating anything from my plate. They thought we were sharing.
Anyways, when her dish came, we were surprised the grilled beef actually came with noodles. We did look at the menu and yes it was our fault to not realize that noodles came with the dish, but it would have been a nice gesture for the server to say, «just so you know, the grilled beef does come with noodles. Are you sure you wanted rice?» …I mean, quick glance at the menu, grilled beef as a dish is pretty self explanatory… some consumers are not going to read the fine print right under because we were simply expecting grilled beef! Not to mention, there was nothing special about that $ 3 bowl of rice!!!
Overall, it was just an OK experience. Service was great but you can’t run a restaurant with just good waiters and mediocre food. The dishes varied from meh to pretty good… but one thing they all have in common is they are all definitely overpriced. Pham is from Vietnam and she literally said she’s had better versions of the food in the night markets back home. For me as a basic white girl, these dishes did not satisfy me either. Sorry, Soothsayer, I bet you didn’t see this review coming. :/

A chic new Vietnamese restaurant with friendly service and lots of potential to be a «best seller». The menu selection was not huge but it actually helps not to have pages and pages of exotic listings. Everything we had was super and especially the beef jerky, green papaya salad, Vietnamese style fish, and lemon beef. Great place for dinner in a fun neighborhood.

This place is terrific. Went here with my wife and the food is incredible and the décor very nice. It’s been a while since a good Vietnamese restaurant has been in this area. And this place takes the cakes I will definitely be back often. Thank you for a wonderful evening and I look forward to this place getting the recognition it deserves! But for now, I’ll keep it as my secret spot.

I don’t get the concept, the food just doesn’t go with the décor/​ambiance. The setting is minimal, formal and rather bland. The hit and miss food, even at it’s best is more like flavorful street food that you can get in many other Asian cafes in the areas, and it would taste much better in a fun and casual setting. There is a good wine list but it doesn’t match the food — good luck pairing a $ 16 french red with anything on the menu. Most wines by glass/​cocktails cost more than any of the dishes so you end up paying much more for the drinks.
The food itself is mostly solid fusion Vietnamese but some dishes totally miss the mark– like the over-​salted, dry and bland glass noodles. Shrimp chips and mussels were by far the best dishes, flavorful and perfectly executed. Also good (but not even remotely Vietnamese) were marinated sardines. Sticky rice desert was just plain bad — slimy, watery and lacking any flavor. I had many sticky rice deserts but this tasted like diet baby food.
I wanted to love this place because I crave Vietnamese cuisine, but the impression is unfortunately negative — the food though mostly tasty is not refined or interesting enough to be served in such a formal, boring atmosphere with such an expensive wine list.

The food at this fancyish new Vietnamese spot in Alphabet City ranges from just ok to really excellent.
The wings and the glass noodles were decent, while the Banh Mi Burger was the real must order. It tasted just like a Vietnamese sandwich in burger form, even down to the slightly crunchy bun.
Skip dessert — there was a rice pudding which we passed on, but the coconut frozen yogurt, which in no way had any coconut flavor, came as a single, sad, melty scoop in a bowl.
The décor is very nice and other than the server forgetting to put in our burger order until we finished the rest of the meal, service was very friendly and excellent throughout.