At Soho’s, a very thin pizza can arrive scattered with cupped pepperoni and red onion, while another table may be working through caprese, a bowl of minestrone or a plate of pasta in tomato-basil sauce. The menu is broad enough for a proper Italian dinner, but casual enough that a sandwich and a drink at lunch make just as much sense.
The restaurant is connected with Charleston’s Capitol Market, giving the meal a setting that is more interesting than a standard roadside stop. It can suit a Friday-night dinner or a celebratory family table, but it also works nicely for travelers coming off the interstate and wanting something more substantial than a quick chain meal.
Thin pizza with plenty of directions to go
Pizza is one of Soho’s calling cards, handmade with an extremely thin crust. That crisp, slender base keeps a pie from becoming a heavy commitment, which is useful when the table is tempted by salads, pasta and dessert as well.
Pepperoni fans have a few routes: one pizza combines cupped pepperoni with red onion, and another brings pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms together. The spicy shrimp pizza takes a different turn, while the Filet-Gorgonzola pie sounds built for diners who want a richer, steakhouse-adjacent combination.
A gluten-free crust is also available for pizza, with a reasonably varied selection of gluten-free choices among the options that have been offered. It is a welcome detail for a mixed group, especially at a restaurant where sharing a pie is an easy way to start.
The pasta-and-sauce side of the menu
Soho’s has the familiar comforts covered: pasta, meatballs, chicken dishes and lasagna, with the kind of made-to-order pacing that asks for a little more patience than fast food. Homemade sauces are a notable thread through the menu, and they give the Italian standards their depth.
Spaghetti with meatballs has a deep tomato character, while cheese tortellini comes with tomato-basil sauce. Lasagna has been served in generous layers of meat and cheese, the sort of plate that can turn a cool evening into a stay-a-while dinner.
Minestrone is more than an afterthought here, flavorful and substantial enough to make a good opening course or a lighter meal. It pairs naturally with a salad when pizza and pasta are not the plan.
Chicken dishes, salads and a few curveballs
Chicken parmigiana and Chicken Marsala give the dinner menu some classic red-sauce and wine-sauce territory. The Marsala chicken has been notably tender, a small distinction that matters with a dish that can too easily become dry and overly sauced.
For a fresher order, the Undecided Salad has been carefully presented and full of flavor. There is also a chicken-and-artichoke salad and a salmon salad, plus seared tuna for diners who want to move well outside the usual spaghetti-and-pizza lane.
Caprese is worth pausing over. Simple tomato, cheese and basil plates rely on the ingredients being treated with care, and this one has made a particularly strong impression.
The menu does not insist on a traditional Italian-only reading. A crab cake and tuna melt widen the possibilities, which can be handy when a family or road-trip group has different appetites.
Lunch has its own appeal
The grilled eggplant sandwich, Italian wrap and meatball sub make Soho’s a credible lunch destination rather than merely a dinner restaurant open at midday. A chef’s-special chicken breast sandwich has also been accommodated with a request to cut it into portions, a small but telling bit of flexibility.
Brunch adds Bloody Marys and a croiffle, the croissant-waffle hybrid whose name alone tends to invite an order. It is a playful detour from the Italian comfort-food core, and a good reason not to assume the restaurant is limited to one style of meal.
Leave room for sweets and a drink
Dessert carries the menu toward a pleasantly Italian-American finish. Tiramisu is the familiar choice, while crème brûlée cheesecake combines two restaurant dessert favorites into one richer proposition.
Lemon-berry cake offers a lighter-sounding counterpoint after lasagna or a pizza dinner. With a glass of Pinot Grigio, an Amaretto sour or a Bloody Mary earlier in the day, the meal can be as relaxed or as celebratory as the occasion calls for.
A table inside, at the bar or outdoors
Soho’s has indoor dining, a bar area and outdoor patio or terrace seating. The patio is especially pleasant on a cool evening, when the surrounding market setting gives lunch or dinner some extra motion without turning it into a production.
The dining room can be lively. Sound levels appear to vary with the crowd and where you sit: at times conversation is easy, and at busier moments the room can be loud enough to make hearing across the table more difficult. The patio or bar may offer a different rhythm, depending on the day.
Make Capitol Market part of the stop
A meal here can stretch naturally into a Capitol Market stroll. The outdoor area includes fresh vegetables and bushels of flowers for purchase, so it is easy to leave a lunch with more than a takeout box or dessert craving.
The location is convenient to the interstate, with free parking mentioned both in a lot and on the street, though availability can vary. Because dishes are prepared to order, Soho’s is best approached as a meal worth settling into rather than a fast in-and-out stop.