Sofia VS Carbone

Sofia is an Italian restaurant with locations in Miami and Toronto. They have a pop up location in Vegas, at the Virgin Hotel from November 11-22, 2025, and I recently went to have dinner.

The management and staff, many from the Miami location, were clearly happy to be in Vegas with many of them expressing welcome and thanks to guests upon entering. I also got to speak at length with our server and a member of the management team. Everyone was very friendly. The meal started with some bread and olive oil:

The person who dropped off the bread did not explain the selection so I almost missed trying the bread which would of been regrettable. From a casual glance, the sliced bread looks like a typical sourdough, but as I looked closely, I saw it was more complex than that. I asked a passing server who informed me that it actually contained 4 cheeses! I had to try it, and it did not disappoint. I also tried the focaccia and breadsticks. The breadsticks at Carbone Riviera were better the night before as they were covered in sesame which elevated them.

Here was the menu:

We pretty much went with whatever our server recommended and started with the Norwegian king crab:

The presentation was stunning and the portion was a good size. Very meaty. The flavors were fresh and the temperature was perfectly chilled. The next courses arrived all at once which was a bit strange for an Italian restaurant. I prefer pasta first as is traditional. Anyway, we had the vodka pasta, cacio e pepe truffle, 8oz new york (bistecca prima), and the ora king salmon.

The cacio e pepe was the only disappointing thing we had so I’ll start with that.

Despite requesting it al dente to our server, it came over cooked. Also, this did not taste like a cacio e pepe. Not just because of the truffle which was a nice touch, but it just didn’t taste like a cacio e pepe. On its own, if it was called a truffle pasta, it would taste fine though. Next the vodka pasta which I was excited to compare to Carbone’s. Other than the pasta being overcooked also, the taste was really good. I am divided on whether I prefer this or Carbone. I would probably lean toward Carbone but this was still delicious.

For the main courses, the steak and the fish. The steak was cooked well and the sauce it came with was well made. The flavor was concentrated and the consistency thick like a good reduction should be. The salmon was also cooked well with a very crispy skin. The flesh was meaty and moist.

The dessert was also very good. It was their take on a tiramisu. It had an ice cream sandwich texture and I liked the thin crust of brownie on the bottom. I also like the fact that it was cold from the ice cream like middle, and flavors of coffee came through nicely.

Overall, this was a well done pop up. The service was an 11/10 and the food was very well executed except for the overcooked pasta which is a recurring theme, not just here, but at many Italian restaurants outside Italy. I would go back and try other things and recommend. Hopefully they open a more permanent location in Vegas though Italian restaurants are plentiful and competition is high. Other good Italian places on the strip include Mother Wolf.