Manuela Matos arrived in New York City in the late 1980’s with a dream to open a restaurant in her new home. A restaurateur back home in Lima, Peru, Manuela was soon inspired during a dinner at a local Cuban restaurant and the vision that would become Sophie’s was born. Manuela began selling Peruvian food from carts at the soccer fields of Queens, NY to earn the money to make her dream a reality.
Manuela knew that the most important part of a Cuban restaurant is authentic Cuban flavors and dishes so she placed an open-call for chefs in NYC. In walked Cuban chef Eduardo Morgado, who responded to the call with sandwich press in-hand and has been making magic happen in Sophie’s kitchen ever since.
Locations: Union Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown East, Murray Hill, Lenox Hill, Flatiron
