Soul Gastro Lounge CHARLOTTE 86

I was very excited to check out Soul the other night because it's walking distance from my apartment, and I've heard great things. If you're planning on going over the weekend for dinner; plan on waiting. Soul is always packed with people dining and drinking alike on Friday and Saturday night. While we were told there was an hour wait (for two) the bf and I were seated on their small upper deck within 20 minutes; which is great if you don't mind cigarette smoke, and has a pretty sweet view of the city. Soul is the perfect place for different tastes because their menu includes sandwiches, salads, tapas, and sushi. The bf and I decided to try the sashimi tacos, curried lamb skewers and a couple sushi rolls. The sashimi tacos were a-ma-zing!! Three homemade wontons made into little taco shells stuffed with tuna and drizzled with a spicy sauce (pretty sure it was wasabi aioli). The sushi was also dynamite, we both loved the soul roll (pictured above), which was perfected by jalapenos. The sushi is cut pretty big, and can be hard to eat, but it's so good it doesn't really matter (unless you're on a first date maybe). The only disappointment was the curried lamb skewers. The bf had tried out Soul the week before and had been raving over how great the lamb was. Unfortunately the night we ordered it the lamb was way overdone, making it EXTREMELY chewy and hard to eat.. it was also pretty bland. I was told that the past order had been perfect with a stronger curry flavor so I'm definitely interested in giving the lamb a second chance, and with everything else I tried that night I'm sure it was a minor glitch. The sake selection was small yet foolproof. We tried the "g" sake which we both loved! Aside from that, they have a good selection of beer and liquor. The service was okay but not really noteworthy, maybe even slightly chaotic. It's definitely a fun and cool atmosphere, but it can also be loud (there's a DJ inside) and dark. Go for a good time and great sushi (although the tapas are definitely worth checking out as well). I will definitely be going back to try more. Overall I gave Soul an 86.