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| - What a letdown! I had heard from two friends in the area that it wasn't as great as I was making it out to be when I pitched Sunday brunch to them, but they were right. It's a hole-in-the-wall weekend brunch place (closed on weekdays) with uncomfortably close quarters and not particularly fantastic food, though it's plated well. On the whole, it just doesn't make much sense.
Expect a wait on the weekends, especially around 11. We arrived well before but still had a good 15/20 minute wait. The door opens into a packed room the size of my living room with its only path of egress also packed with counter orders. The orders apparently take longer than the wait, so they're queued up while you most likely wait outside (since five people are already waiting in front of the water/coffee self-serve and any remaining floor space). There is a menagerie of tables and chairs, so there's truth in that Sophia's is likely best for those dining alone, as there are many single chairs left in the overcrowded tables. Those seated closest to the wall are physically unable to leave unless those at the tables closest to the counter get up. When such a high price is put on ambiance, I wouldn't agree that Sophia's is homey as much as a fire hazard. I don't understand why such a successful place hasn't expanded.
The omelettes are the way to go. Sophia's pancakes and waffle were bland and somewhat dry on their own. I felt that even IHOP did them better. I found the cottage cheese pancakes uninteresting. My friend was leaving basically the whole dish over and it wasn't tasty enough to pick at. The berry syrup that accompanied it was almost sour. I don't think the cottage cheese pancakes are more than a managed risk--you have to really like either cottage cheese or pancakes in order to enjoy it. I had the banana walnut waffle and immediately regretted not ordering the asparagus omelette. Even with the banana, the waffle wasn't very tasty. My friend's breakfast sandwich (egg on croissant with fruit) was beautiful and definitely the best dish of the table, even with the fruit out of season. The eggs were not bland, and were cooked thin and appeared more oily than buttery. The kicker, though, is the syrup. Consensus at the table was that the the table syrup was awful, though "real maple syrup" is on the menu for extra. This is inexcusable for a brunch place, perhaps a deal breaker. Breakfast food has its off days, which can be excused, but when the refuge of syrup is also inhospitable, might as well not bother. If I were to come back, I'd try the coffee cake and choco croissant.
It just didn't seem to make a lot of sense--the insane popularity, the insufferable claustrophobia, the family-style tables with no one talking to each other, the inability to move once seated, the ordering way in advance and paying after the meal as an afterthought. There appears to be some tradition here, and it's likely the most sane way to manage the joint, but I can't help but feel that this was low on my list of better brunch experiences. Likely better off with Madison Sourdough or Eldorato. I expected much more from the top rated brunch place in Madison.
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