Sonny’s Bistro

Sonny’s Bistro is a gem, and I’m only thinking of withholding the fifth star as we’ve so far only had lunch there and not the full dinner experience. The big feature of Sonny’s lunches is that there’s a standard $ 10 main course charge across a wide range of entrées, from salads and sandwiches through fish (sand dabs) & chips, to pastas. Every one we’ve had so far has been distinctive and flavorful. The place is cozy and intimate, service is fast and friendly, the complimentary bread is always crisp and fresh… well, you get the picture. You know what? I’m going make it five stars after all!

Time for another overdue review. I’m back in San Pedro visiting friends, it’s time for dinner and Sonny’s Bistro was the place. We had come here a few times before when it was Think Bistro, but this was my first time here at «Sonny’s» since they opened about 2 years ago. It has a very nice, elegant but more casual feel to it, bright walls, nice art, dark table cloths, etc.
LOCATION: A small strip mall adjacent to the Vons market, on the East side of 25^th St & Western Ave. Parking is plentiful in the large, shared lot.
SERVICE: Very friendly, polite, helpful and attentive! Beverages were refilled often, our server checked on us regularly and if we needed anything, she was never far away. Our dishes also came out of the kitchen more quickly than expected as well!
FOOD: My friends shared crab cakes and a grilled salmon entrée, I ordered beef stroganoff with a dinner salad. Everything was fresh, delicious and beautifully plated.
Crab cakes w/​small salad (forgot the price). I didn’t try them but my friends said they were quite good.
Grilled salmon over sautéed veggies w/​lemon butter caper sauce ($ 12). Beautifully grilled and I was told it was very good.
Dinner salad — mixed greens with apple, strawberry and feta, delicious!
Beef stroganoff ($ 17) — Really great «stroganoff» flavor, but wrong choice of pasta in my opinion. The sauce was thin and didn’t «stick» to the narrow pasta very well. The shaved parmesan were a very nice touch.
OVERALL: A little gem in an unexpected location, with an elegant yet casual feel, great service, plus beautifully plated and delicious food. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Very nice intimate small bistro. Staff very friendly. We ordered Blacken Ribeye Steak 50%or more was fat. When we brought it to the attention of our server. Which he replied «RIBEYES HAVE A LOT MORE FAT THAN NEWYORK STEAKS». «He said he spoke with the cook and looked at the whole ribeye which was also fatty, but there was nothing he could do about our steaks».

I loved the roasted chicken, it was an airline chicken breasts witch is my favorite, it was cooked perfectly! The garlic mashed potatoes were delicious, my only criticism was that the veggies were a bit under seasoned but it came with bok choy (my favorite). The waiter was a young kid but he was great, he even gave me some extra bread to take home with my left overs. I wanna go back for that reason alone, I made a bitchin sandwich out of it for lunch the next day. Also he was knowledgeable about the menu, I like to ask details before ordering and he knows his stuff.
2 thumbs up on food and service

Ahhhhhmazing! Sonny and Carly, the owners, are awesome. We only live a few blocks away and frequent this place at least once a week– usually two or 3 and we always bring friends if we can. Sonnys an awesome chef and so are the others. Great wait staff as well. Food is incredible, you must try the sautéed mushrooms as an appetizer. We are pretty picky on steaks, and Sonny’s steaks are wonderful. Their house chardonnay is really good, and they have specials throughout the week. I highly recommend Sonny’s, it’s a neighborhood gem and we love it:-D

Friendly, courteous, attentive and extremely fast service. Was seated right away, got water and bread within minutes of sitting down. Their dip for the complimentary bread is crack in a little dish God knows what hey put in it besides olive oil, but I couldn’t stop eating it. I ordered the Sand Dabs with fresh veggies, comes with a side salad of mixed greens which was very fresh and of good quality. The fish was perfectly cooked and the veggies underneath were a great mix of carrots, zucchini, spinach and Brussels sprouts — cooked perfectly as well with still a little bite to it. Ambience is bistro style like the name says, but it’s clean and cozy. Definitely coming back here and recommending it to friends.

Went there for family birthday dinners. Tomato soup was watery. I ordered Crab cakes, very small for the price, one bite, sent them back. Didn’t taste like there was any crab in them and very dry. The wedge salad was OK. My daughter and stepson had the supposedly Wild Alaskan Salmon. Both sent it back. Definitely not wild and not seasoned, tasteless and they know their salmon. My daughter replaced with Shrimp Scampi, shrimp were tasteless and rubbery, the pasta rubbery and the sauce tasted like they just poured a bottle of lemon juice over it. Stepson replaced with the Chicken Champon??? It was OK. Husband and son in law both had bone in New York steak which they enjoyed. Desserts were nothing special. The bottle of wine was great. but the how do you mess up what you don’t make? Don’t ever need to go back, unless Robert Irvine comes to the menu rescue

This bistro is simply charming! Tucked away in an unexpected shopping center, Sonny’s is a treasure. The service was spectacular and the food was exceptional. I ordered the Roasted Tomato soup which was amazing. I also got Rib eye which was cooked to perfection! Wednesday’s has wine bottles half off! I recommend everyone trying this amazing bistro!

Took my parents here after a hike… We were the only patrons in the restaurant (that should have been a clue). The place had a faint garbage smell near the kitchen (another clue). The food was overpriced, bland, overlooked mushy fish with-​no seasoning, and veggies (the highlight of my meal). The meal might have been acceptable if half the price. Also the ambiance of the restaurant was sad and depressing… I wish I could get my hour back, and my money. A blah experience.

I really wanted to give this place a chance. Went in and got seated right away. After that, it all went wrong. Service was pretty much none existent. But not because the waitress wasn’t capable, but it seemed like she was the only one there! The seating is not very well planned. I felt like I was sitting with the party next to us. People couldn’t get out of their tables easily to exit the restaurant. They kept bumping into the tables next to them. We just decided to leave and eat elsewhere.

Great little hidden Gem!

I absolutely recommend this Bistro.
It’s very lovly and has a good atmosphere.
The service is A+.
Went here for my Anniversary yesterday, I had the halibut, my husband had the rib eye and my daughter had the Angelhair pasta, all 3 Entrees were amazing…
Be back very soon.

We had dinner with a couple who wanted to eat there. They said that the restaurant is much improved — They were correct. Service was prompt. Three of us had the chicken, and it was excellent. It comes with a small salad, potatoes, and a small veg.

Went here with two girlfriends last night who told me how much they love this new restaurant. I have to agree, we had a delicious dinner! We split the halibut and filet mignon entrée between the three of us and it was plenty of food. Corkage fee was only $ 10, so we brought our own wine. Atmosphere is just okay otherwise I might’ve got five stars

Came here for my anniversary.
The waitress was awesome and the food was so delicious! This is my second time here and I think it is my new favorite.

What a gem tucked away on 25^th. My 1^st visit and won’t be my last. The service was friendly, informative on wine, and non-​intrusive. I ordered the ribeye which comes with garlic potatoes. I don’t like the garlic version and it was no problem getting mashed potatoes without the garlic.
My steak was cooked exactly as ordered. The seasoning and quality were top notch. Even the vegetables were excellent and fresh. I tried hard not to fill up on bread and it was a challenge. Soft and fragrant… gotta love the bread. The salad was fresh, in gently torn bite size pieces with a delicious vingarette that was perfectly seasoned and light.
Okay, so I also had the crème brûlée. I couldn’t finish it, but only because my entrée and the bread filled me up. I wouldn’t say it was the best crème brûlée, but it was certainly very good.
The décor is understated, clean and fresh. I hope Sonny’s is around for a long time.

It’s a nice small place in the middle of a strip mall. A nice candle lit dinner. I ordered a medium rare New York Steak with shoestring fries and house salad. I got the house salad first, it was ok a little over dressed. The dressing was a little too sour and overpowering for me. I’m not much of a salad person anyways so I only ate about half of it. Gave the rest to my Dad. The steak and fries were perfectly cooked. My Mom requested some ranch to go with my fries which made them perfect. I had a piece of my Mom’s ahi which was sliced really thin which gave it a melt in your mouth texture. Cute little place, good service and good food.

Went there for lunch today and it was super yummy. I will definitely be back for lunch. The chicken piccata was so good.

My husband took me here for a night out. Nice atmosphere. dark, but not too dark. cozy. and at the time, not many people there. I was sort of nervous when I saw that most of the tables were empty, especially on a weekend at about 7:00 pm. I’m not sure why the house wasn’t packed, especially after tasting the food. So good! Now, granted, my husband knew just what to order. The Sand Dabs. I had mine grilled, over vegetables and he had his fish and chips style. Both, excellent. I liked mine so much, all I said was «mmm… mmm.» for about the first 5 minutes we started eating.
Salad was also nice. Fresh, carefully cut vegetables on crisp lettuce with a light dressing. Husband polished off every bite of split pea soup, which I rarely see him do. I also had the House Cabernet, which was very nice.
Good service, reasonable prices. I would definitely recommend for a date night.

Solid neighborhood-​close dinner house.
Tasty food with a good selection
Some sidewalk dinning.
Friendly service.
Good date night place.
Beer and wine bar.

If you’re a savvy local, you would recognize the owners of Sonny’s Bistro as the same owners of downtown San Pedro’s Think Café. I was lucky to try the couple’s new location on opening night, and it was only moments from arriving at «The Bistro» that I knew it would become my new favorite go-​to restaurant for all the right reasons.
It’s tucked away in the corner of the busy Vons shopping center behind big black windows. Once you get passed the façade, the interior ambiance becomes light and romantic… You feel like the closest stores are dozens of miles away.
The menu captures a certain familiar feeling — it resembles Think’s extensive menu and borrows some of its classics, like Sonny’s signature steaks and delicious seafood dishes.
As a personal favorite of mine over the years at Think, I was curious to try the Bistro’s remastered version of the Grilled Vegetarian Sandwich. It had hummus and other flavors new to my tastebuds. The new corn and black bean salad (served on the side) was an instant hit, as well.
I’m looking forward to the many new things on the horizon for the Bistro (the grand opening is rumored for April), and to discovering the new menu here. I’m sure I will be coming back quite often!