With style

Restaurant: Sophie's at Saks Fifth Avenue

Address: 120 University Town Center Drive, The Mall at University Town Center, Second Floor, Sarasota, 34243

Phone: 941-444-3077

Website: www.sophies.com

Lunch guests: Patricia Courtois and Heather McLain with C-Suite Communications, a Sarasota-based branding, marketing and public relations firm. Courtois is president, CEO and a principal at C-Suite; McLain is a vice president and director of public relations.

Reservations: Accepted, not required.

Parking: Parking is ample, but spots up close are hard to find during lunch. Valet parking is available at the mall's main entrance for $5.

One-hour lunch test: Passed.

See and be seen: Not many business executives or public officials have discovered Sophie's, which opened in October. So the networking quotient is low. The clientele, says General Manager Mark Resnick, is 85% women and many of those are shoppers at Saks and the mall, not regular lunchtime guests.

Privacy: Several tables are good for private conversations and deal making. Tables are spread far apart, and there's also a private dining area that can accommodate 18 seated and 20 for standing events. The outdoor terrace bar and lounge is also a good spot for quiet conversations.

Ambiance: Sophisticated and elegant, much like the department store with which it shares space. The decor is minimalistic, modern and sleek. Service is attentive and friendly. Atmosphere is relaxed, with a mix of you-know-you-are-in-a-nice-place.

Food: Several lunch entree items cost more than $20. That includes wild-caught gulf shrimp salad, house-roasted turkey Cobb salad and three-grain risotto. Sandwiches include a house jerk roasted turkey and brie for $16; a bacon grilled cheese on country bread with cave aged cheddar, grayson and fontina chesses, also for $16; and the Avenue Cheeseburger, for $17. Starters range from a garden salad for $8 to veal meatballs for $11 to seasonal squash soup, with pumpernickel and honey roasted pumpkin seeds, for $9.

Ownership: Resnick says the first three months, from opening day in October through Christmas, exceeded expectations for lunch. “It was ridiculous crazy,” says Resnick. “We had lines that snaked out of Saks.”

Resnick says the “best-kept secret” vibe has since gone away, but lunch remains strong. The restaurant offers convenience for Saks and mall shoppers, but there's competition from a few other eateries at the mall in similar price points.

The restaurant is one of three Sophie's at Saks locations. The first one opened in the Chicago Saks in 2014 and another one opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico earlier this year.

The name Sophie's stems from Sophie Gimbel, who oversaw fashion for the department store chain for more than 40 years, according to the restaurant's website. In 1947 Gimbel became the first American fashion designer to make the cover of Time magazine.

Review date: 2015

About
Power Lunch columns are occasional reviews of restaurants recommended by executives in cities on the Gulf Coast, from Tampa to Naples. To read reviews of other restaurants, visit BusinessObserverFL.com.