New Zealand Herald

Reviews for Soul Bar & Bistro

by Soriya E.
16th February 2013

Went here for our wedding anniversary. It was fabulous! Service was wonderful and food amazing!! WOuld recommend the Squid!! it was delish!! We both ordered fish mains and it was melt in your mouth stuff! Loved every bite! Loved the wine recoomendation. Lovely service with a smile and super friendly, we will be back!! Thanks for making our day special!

by Lena
16th February 2013

Came here for a birthday not too long ago and was very impressed. We had been hearing good things about Soul Bar for a while, and having heard that Beyoncé and Jay-Z dined here during a visit to New Zealand definitely piqued our interest too! To start we ordered the ciabatta with bessara and pomegranate syrup, the bread was fluffy and warm and the dips were great. For mains I ordered the pan-fried snapper, I usually prefer my fish raw but I will make an exception for that snapper. Other guests also raved about their dishes, in particular the hapuku which had a distinct smokey taste to it. For dessert I ordered the feijoa creme brulée with lavender icecream which was very good. We also ordered a dessert platter which seemed a bit cheap and was disappointing but we will simply give that a miss on our next visit.

We visited on a quiet winter’s evening when the restaurant was sparsely populated. Our server was warm and attentive, and I find the staff are only as pretentious as their surroundings require. One thing that might catch Kiwis off guard is that you will be asked if you want to tip your server which might be uncomfortable for some as the concept of tipping is alien to most New Zealanders. I feel like they ask for tips to make a few bucks off habituated American tourists, fortunately they don’t seem to mind too much if you refuse. We definitely enjoyed our dining experience here, will be back soon!

by Harry C.
16th February 2013

This has to be one of the best restaurants I have ever been to in NZ. Its best asset was the waiter who served us, who is the only one I have ever tipped in NZ because he was outstanding. Our food was divine, brought in good time (impressive, considering they were full to bursting), the decor modern but tasteful, and the prices surprisingly reasonable. This is definitely my first port of call whenever I am in Auckland from now on.

by Andrea D.
7th February 2013

Have to agree with Kate B. We have always rated Soul Bar, but last night was very disappointing. We had advised we were bringing overseas guests and as previous asked for a veranda table for 6 if available.Told they no longer take reservations for this and it was first in first served. On arrival we were advised no tables outside and we were placed at a table right in the kitchen, serving staff area which was very noisy and distracting with staff moving around us loaded with plates to other diners. We were moved upon asking to an area in the corner. ( Empty Tables outside at this stage not mentioned)
However service was average at best. Seemed to us that the missing faces of Geeling/Judith on this evening have a significant effect on the running of the restauarant.

by Steph
6th February 2013

Had a birthday lunch there the other weekend. The food was amazing, a bit pricy but for a special occasion you don’t really look at the price. The service was great, the guy serving us was around all the time topping up water and wine. Loved my homemade pasta, delicious! Will be back not only for the stunning view!

by Kate B.
20th January 2013

Had dinner with my partner for our anniversary this evening. We expected great things as we’ve been here before. Tonight has certainly put a damper on our previous memory. After waiting half an hour for our starters (bread and scallops), we were then left for over an hour before our mains came out. Admittedly it was very busy in the restaurant, however it was certainly a case of overbooked and understaffed. Service was poor, we were not asked at any point if we were happy with our meals. Dessert menus were set in front of us with no comment from the server, he then proceeded to chat to another server and ignore us. When we did order he didn’t write it down and had to come back to double check our order. My partner had ordered a chocolate fantasy hot drink which on the menu specified creme de menthe, baileys and hot chocolate with marshmallows. What arrived was a coffee with cream. After pointing out to our server that this was not the drink he had ordered, he was told that he had ordered a specialty ‘coffee’. Even if that were so, all he could taste was coffee and that certainly wasn’t what he wanted. We were not offered a replacement drink, but my partner was brought marshmallows to have with his unconsumed coffee.

Overall the food was fine; time and service was poor. Being dismissed over the coffee was just the icing on a very distasteful cake. We will not be coming back.

by Tom M.
3rd December 2012

Have been coming to Soul Bar for a while now but I now feel the need to express how much I enjoy going there. I usually only go there for a few drinks with mates but the high level of service and interaction from staff is great. They all go out of the way to make you feel comfortable and welcome. Would especially like to say thanks to a waitress Danni who is always so welcoming, attentive and great fun person to talk to! Wish other places had wait staff with such a great personality as she does! Overall – an afternoon at Soul never fails to deliver!

by leigh b.
6th September 2012

We had a group of nine for a department diner and we were all very impressed. The staff were professional and helpful without been intrusive. All the entrees looked impressive I had the scampi cocktail which was faultless the scampi cooked to perfection and well seasoned. The chowder looked thick and creamy and I was told very very nice. In fact no-one could find any flaw with the starters. The mains also did not disappoint, Several of us had snapper and the portions were ample and the fish was cooked to perfection, the mash was smooth and buttery. The rest of our group had beef, cooked well and melt in the mouth, the lamb was also well received. Every dish was well presented and well cooked. To finish we had special coffees what a way to end a perfect meal. We thought the food was well priced given the taste and quality. Simply Divine.

by Jess C.
23rd July 2012

Soul bar over rates itself. They have great food though and a decent selection of wines.
I asked someone at our table of about 10 what they wanted to drink to make them feel comfortable (new staff at work do) and the waiter told me off for “doing his job” I thought he should stick his nose out of my conversations with people at the table and stick to his job but hey.
Wont go back, too pretentious for me.

by Jane
14th July 2012

Fabulous location but a huge disappointment in so many other areas.
Buffalo mozzarella and tomato entree ice cold as in pre plated and straight out of fridge, returned, request for room temperature version only tiny improvement.
Hapuka main served raw in the middle, 25 minutes for replacement so my husband and I ate separately.
Order coffee,served a shade under Luke warm.
Charged full price of $191.00 with no recognition of what a disaster meal had been.
The location is not enough to entice me back again as we had similar experience when dining there on two previous occasions

by Rosemt
12th June 2012

A girlfriend & I had lunch here the other day & I have to say I am never disappointed with the food or the service. It is consistently good and a fabulous place for a long ladies lunch. The macaroni & cheese is just heavenly. It seems silly to get macaroni & cheese from a place like Soul but it is by far the best macaroni & cheese I have ever had. The salt & pepper squid with smoked chili oil was very tasty as well as the grilled goat cheese salad. Yummy! It is on the pricey side but it is the viaduct and I believe it is worth it. Definitely recommend this for a special occasion or if you feel like treating yourself.

by Jana
1st June 2012

Had dinner at Soul bar with a group of 5 workmates on a Thursday night. We were seated at the terrace and enjoyed the lovely ambience overlooking the viaduct. The heating was just perfect for a chilli night. The food was exquisite both the crab ravioli and pan fried snapper I ordered. The dessert was a bit too rich for my liking but was delicious and well presented. We were well looked after by the wait staff. The prices are what you would expect from a restaurant at the viaduct, however it was a lovely evening and well worth it.

by c-force
19th February 2012

soul has been always a favorite place to dine for special occasions. today i took my friend from overseas for late lunch. our table was nice on the terrace with a wonderful view. our meal, wine, desserts were all good as expected. the only disappointment was the service. the waiters and waitresses were serving without smiles, but tired faces or grumpy expressions on their faces. whatever they said did not really mean too much, but only sounded like what they were supposed to say for their routines.

the ‘worst’ thing was at the ending. my friend and i were enjoying catching up talk but those waiters and waitresses or even ‘manager looking woman without uniform’ started coming toward our table and checking if we were leaving. we only had one waitress who actually said if we were wanting to order something else as a ‘hint’. they were having more guests who wanted to sit at tables on the terrace, so we understood that they wanted us to leave. but we spent reasonable amount of money that we thought we were allowed to stay on a little bit more. but after seeing those staff acting ‘obvious’ walking around our table a few times, we felt uncomfortable to be there anymore, so we left our table.

the very last waiter who came to our table and saw us without ordering anything new showed his grumpy expression on his face or walking, that was definitely shocking for me to see.

they should have given us more ‘hints’ by asking for some more orders rather than walking around and giving us those rude actions. standing at the entrance together and staring at our table was also not professional.

by Marie
27th January 2012

After a long time to decide to go to the classics Auckland best Restaurants my boyfriend took me to Soul Bar for lunch and to celebrate my pre-bday! We sat at the terrace and looked to the menu we decide to start with the super famous salt pepper squid… then I choose a Seared free range chicken, triple mustard and medjool dates and my boyfrind a John Dory, pan-fried, with cauliflower purée and blood orange grenobloise. The service wasn’t the best they were inattentive since we arrive and after found a hair embedded in the fish dish we told the waiter to check it and she just said ‘sorry about that’ without do anything. At the end we were a little disappointed and just left the place. Is a nice place to go definitely but is not the best for sure, Ive expected a serious and professional service rather than just the sorry and whatever. Hope they put an eye in the new customers as well.

by Vimla S.
18th January 2012

I am on a no carbs diet and was totally shocked that Soul Bar had NOTHING suitable on the menu that involved a salad with protein. The best bet was a Caesars salad (with a decadent dressing). When I asked if a small quantity of chicken could be added to it to meet my protein needs, the price shot up from $16 to$29! I did once consider this restaurant as one of my favourites. Not any more!

by Amy
6th December 2011

Just went to Soul yesterday for lunch, and was disappointed with the experience. The service was average … don’t think it was the waitresses fault, just don’t think they had enough staff on. My main was one of the pasta dishes and the butter was so overpowering that the crab and prawn were lost. Another person at our table had the same dish, and couldn’t finish it because it was just so rich and overwhelming. We were also keen to have dessert, but by the time the waitress came back around, we were totally over it. Location is big selling point however! Great to be in the atmosphere of the Viaduct.

by Paula F.
23rd September 2011

With no booking late on a Thursday evening, the staff found a lovely table for us in a busy restaurant. While the music was really loud (with no one in the bar area), it was a Thursday we kind of expected it.

The meal was lovely! Pricey but lovely – 1 entree, 2 mains, 1 dessert and a bottle of wine was over $200.

The only disappointment was the wine list. It would have been great to see more local wines, not just Villa Maria and possibly an organic choice.

by Sue C.
28th August 2011

Difficult to rate as I have dined here many times with mixed results. Some meals have been fabulous but a set dinner for eighteen was a disaster when 18 racks of lamb arrived, not rare, but bloody and almost raw. We had a beautiful seafood platter to start but by the time the lamb arrived it was just past 9.30. As it was an Event dinner we did not have the time to send them all back and wait another 45 mins plus our guests would have been very embarrassed. All the plates went back with most of the lamb untouched. The kitchen couldn’t have failed to notice this, but nothing was said. On paying the bill that ran into the thousands we complained but received only an off hand apology. A previous dinner I organised for over 40 was superbly prepared with impeccable service. Very inconsistent which does not make it the first choice when you’re spending a lot of money or entertaining guests.

by Greg
26th August 2011

Update…

Took a business client (happens to be the CEO of an Australian listed company) last night to Soul, planned to have dinner however had the misfortune to sit outside for a drink first….I say a misfortune as there were so many extremely drunk people at other tables. It was 6pm in the afternoon and the table next to us looked like they had been there all day. One “lady” broke so many glasses and bottles we were extremely surprised that she wasn’t asked to leave. Perhaps they had spent a bunch of cash on the champagne they were throwing around but I thought there was a law about selling alcohol to drunk people.

Soul, epic fail, it wasn’t funny watching drunk cougars with their asses in the air as they fell over tables, I was very embarrased with my guest….we were going to eat at Soul but chose to eat at Euro instead.

Sort out the rules, stop serving such drunk people, especially at such as early hour!!!!


Perennial favorite….not cheap (so bah humbug to the reviewers complaining about the price, if you want cheap and cheerful, go elsewhere) but worth it…. service is top notch.

Preference is to sit outside, can be hard to get a table but if you can, people watching is a plus.

by Ian
14th August 2011

Rude, expensive, noisy and cold.. Just about sums this place up…
$59 for an entree when taken as a main when it is still entree size is just madness, the lamb shanks are bland and tasteless.. You get better service at MacDonalds where at least they are not trying to push you out the door.

Not an enjoyable lunch had here..

by Amy L.
18th July 2011

Good food but a bit pricey considering the serving size. I had the duck and my friend had the chicken which were both very good. Very good cocktails, would recommend the strawberry and basil. Over all good experience except for the service, I felt like they didn’t attend to us as much as we are young and once we started spending lots they then showed more attention

by Tony B.
7th July 2011

We were a little disappointed with our visit to Soul. The food was well prepared and the service acceptable, but when a restaurant is given 4.5 stars by Cuisine we expect some flair and innovation in the food and it just wasn’t there. We gave it 3 stars (which in my book says we would go back but not in a hurry).

We dined on a Friday night and the after work drinks crowd in the bar were somewhat noisy but it didn’t affect the restaurant too much. Two entree, two mains and a bottle of wine cost us $187.

by Richard
28th June 2011

Ok 3 stars might seem a bit harsh because the place is potentially far better than that. On the day I went for lunch the service was good but the food was average. Its nice to have good service, a bloody rarity in this village actually, but the food needs to be a bit better.

I look forward to going back and having a better experience.

by David B.
23rd June 2011

If you are looking for high quality weekend brunch watching the boats, this is the place to go. We both ordered off the weekend menu and I had the soup and my partner had the Crayfish ravioli. Both were fantastic.

What was surprising is that the prices are no more expensive than a standard cafe. But view and wine selection by the glass is much better.

Great service.

by Maheen M.
10th March 2011

Have eaten here several times, usually I take clients here who are from out out town. Always delivers good food. Great and attentive staff a well.

Not child friendly, but there are other places around the viaduct for that.

There are better places around (when it comes to food quality,taste etc) but you can’t beat the view.

by Carl P.
20th February 2011

If you are looking for somewhere that has fantastic food and great service but not in a formal setting, then Soul is the place to go.

It being our first time to Soul, we both immediately felt like regulars when greeted with a welcome smile by the charming host on the door. We didn’t have a booking (which seems advisable for such a popular restaurant) but he was more than accommodating to try and fit us in, so it only required having a quick cocktail in the bar and before we knew it we were sitting amongst the stunning hanging baskets on the deck overlooking the harbour.

Our waitress Vicky was a treat. Professional and fun to chat to throughout the night. Always attentive and made some great recommendations. My wife had the hapuku whilst i opted for the crispy pork belly. Both dishes were cooked to perfection and went down nicely with a bottle of Craggy Range Chardonnay. As the night was going down a treat we decided to indulge with the hot chocolate pudding for dessert. Devine!

I cannot fault Soul in any way. It was lively, fun and the service was outstanding. We will definitely be going back!

by CassandraM
1st September 2010

This would have been nice had we not been seated next to a laughing hyena. However, service was excellent and the food was mostly great. Their baba ghanoush was not very egglplanty but the snapper goujons and spinach pie were excellent.

by Lauren
17th August 2010

Soul is brilliant, great harbour-side location and fresh, imaginative food. I came here as part of a large group (15) and our meals all came out at the same time with nice ‘rests’ between each course. The seafood is particularly well done. We had a lovely Irish waiter and the staff overall were welcoming and friendly. I’ll be going back for certain.

by Wallbert
3rd June 2010

After reading all the good reviews and hearing about all their awards, I thought Soul would be a great place to treat Mum for Mother’s Day. We were seated on the terrace/outdoor area which was quite cramped and crowded. Being Mother’s Day, we had expected this and so weren’t too put off by it, however we were surprised to see that apart from the terrace, the rest of the restaurant was quite empty.

The Maitre d’ who seated us was unsmiling and a bit cold, and asked us if we would like still, sparkling or tap water. We asked for tap, but this took over 20 minutes to arrive. This proved typical throughout the day, with service being very slow throughout the meal. This was quite surprising since, as I mentioned earlier, the restaurant was not actually that full.

The meals were insubstantial with underwhelming flavours. My ravioli was mainly pasta with very little filling. Furthermore, the filling was cold while the pasta was hot. Definitely not worth what we paid for them. The only redeeming feature was the dessert, which was brilliant.

For a more detailed review, please see Man Eating Pasta on http://maneatingpasta….

by Jay J.
10th March 2010

We came here for dinner one night for a special occasion. I must admit, i definitely chose the right place. We reserved in advance as it seemed like a very popular place. It was easy enough to get a table, and even easier to change our reservation time as I was running a bit late. Awesome maitre’d!

The ambience of the venue is unique. Bussiness people, couples and families give the restaurant its vibrance, which we really liked. Our waiter was initially slightly unprofessional but service picked up really fast.

We had the Cloudy Bay oysters, which went down really well with our wine (The Ned Pinot Gris) as an entree. Mains came almost immediately afterwards. I had the “Over the moon” goats curd gnocchi, and my partner had the snapper. The gnocchi was slightly small, but well presented and tasted good. The snapper was amazing, from what I was told. What impressed us the most was the spontaneity of service in such a crowded place. It definitely made the night more enjoyable. Our table was cleared immediatley after our mains and the dessert menus came quick. We settled on the cheese cake which was rich and tasty as well as the platter of sorbets which we found very amusing. It was presented in a palette looking dish with 8 flavours which we played “guess the flavour”. At least 6 of those 8 flavours were really nice. We finished with coffees and left very happy and satisfied.

I feel the price was appropriate for the food, location and service, and it was all very worth wile. Definitely reccomend it to anyone.

by Karen G.
9th September 2009

I had an outstanding lunch in the sunshine at Soul Bar, with a relaxing environment, great food & extremely excellent wait-staff.
Uber-attentive waiters/waitress topped up my water-glass whenever it got low, I was greeted warmly, and had my napkin laid out on my lap for me.
I was greeted by a very knowledgeable and friendly young woman who recommended the perfectly cooked, succulent squid entree – because I had limited time. It arrived freshly cooked, literally within 3 minutes of me ordering – accompanied by the crisp rocket & parmesan side-salad I ordered.
Georgeous setting – view of boats & harbour bridge. Sunshine washing in over all the corporate lunch diners, on the open-sided deck – which is sheltered outside under a glass awning/ceiling.
With Fat Freddy’s Drop playing in the background . . . the perfect lunch experience.

by Amanda
11th October 2008

When the 8 of us arrived at soul we had a pleasant welcome by the doorman.Inside not as friendly, the bar was full and the music was loud(not a place for a romantic meal for 2!!) The waitress was lovely,she kept our wine and water topped up all night.Our seafood mains were very good,cooked well and seasoned perfectly!I had the chicken which was not good, the peas were.. just that “peas”The flavour with them i couldnt make out,i could have done better at home. The duck meal was small and flavours together..a little unusual.Our desserts were very nice,(it took 35 mins for them to come out after mains!)and the coffee great.Overall the comments from the table were average(apart from the seafood meals,which were devine)The waitress did a great job,also the seafood chef!

by Vicky
10th June 2008

We were a group of 12 diners who were looking forward to a great meal. After all they charge top dollar for their meals so you would expect top meals. I had an entree of seafood chowder which was lovely. However our mains came out almost as soon as the entrees were finished leaving no time to sit relax and digest the entrees, I got the feeling they wanted to get home early. I had the tuna which was over seasoned and overcooked, it was dry and all I could taste was the salt very disappointing, two people opposite me had the same experience with their tuna. Someone else ordered the chicken which was swimming in a large pool of mushy peas. My husbands meal of Hapuka was a little better. The deserts were also disappointing. The restaurant itself was far too hot and at one point we all started to feel a little ill from the heat it was difficult to enjoy a meal in such a hot environment and we were all relieved to get outside and breathe some air. I won’t be going back.

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