Please note, since this review was published Sophie's Steakhouse & Bar has been renamed Sophie's Chelsea. Time Out Food editors, MARCH 2020.
This highly successful steakhouse with a ‘New York warehouse feel’ opened in 2002. Sophie is Sophie Bathgate, who is co-owner of the restaurant with Rupert Power. Sophie's has an approachably buzzy, accessibly upscale ambience.
The menu is shorter than those at many a steak restaurant, with just a handful each of starters, salads, and 'classics.' Here that word means everything that isn't made of grilled beef: tuna steak, ribs, etc. But of course steak is the star, a short selection of cuts, some served in two different forms (e.g. fillet steak and Chateaubriand). The beef is all native breeds, and the rib for the Sunday roast comes from the 'family farm' in Oxfordshire. It is aged and butchered on the premises in a meat hanging room.
The wine list is short and dominated, not surprisingly, by reds. The no-booking policy may force you to wait, as this place is very popular with locals, but there are more painful places to do it than the bar, with a 10-ounce Gibson or Chilli Martini in front of you.