Review Sopheara - Auckland Central

The food here is superb. Have dined over a dozen times. Only reason I'm giving it 4 star is because of its very slow, one waitress service, which meant food can take more than 30 mins to arrive. That wouldn't stop us from coming back, however, I hope the owner does something about the service.

It was our first time here and the food was incredible! The mains were so big we took half home for lunch. Every dish had unique flavours and generous helpings of meat & vegies. Will definitely be coming back!

Fabulous food, friendly service, great atmosphere. Enjoying working my way through their menu !

Amazing food! Been here maybe a dozen times and love it! Menu is a little hard to understand, so take it from me, go for the: - Red curry, and the - Lime and ginger wok dishes. You'll love them!

Been coming here for years - amazing food, amazing owners and staff. One of the few places you can eat Cambodian food and sadly they're closing. Go now before they're gone for good! Sophie and Ra, you guys will be sorely missed. Thanks for food and the memories, Allan.

Excellent service. Excellent dishes. We have been coming for years and it just gets better every time. Thank you Sophia and family.

Every time I come home to Auckland this is my must to go for good food. Their curries are divine and I can't fault it. Even my toddler loves their curries. Hidden treasure in Chapel Road.

Really good food and friendly staff. One of my favourite restaurants.

Absolutely a family favorite! Love the food, atmosphere & location. Always the go-to for family celebrations and comes highly recommended.

Amazing food! Very friendly service as well.

Arrived at about 6pm only 4 people in restaurant, looked nice & quiet our first time here’ place looks ok a little tired & dated but nice..table for 3 with 2 adults 1 child’ we ordered 2 entrees and 2 mains noodle dish & plum beef stir fry ‘ the entrees took 30mins and mains was over an hour at least with a quite restaurant you would expect a quicker turnaround’ With over an hour passing I asked if we could take away as our patience was starting to run pretty thin’ however we stayed as the lady who was very polite had said the food was on the way..overall entrees ok’ nice spring rolls and satay skewers - but the mains taking very long’ was massive let down’ basic dry noodle dish that was tasteless’ beef plum was sickening sweet & very confusing dish’ that took way too long for what it was.

I don’t know if we made a bad choice with our 3 dishes. We loved the beef salad dressing but not the salad itself. Battered squid was good but again they use the same salad for their beef salad (I thought we ordered spicy salt & pepper squid??), it came out so boring(I still love the squid batter though). Omg the fried noodle was the worst, we chose fried egg noodles with duck and it came out very boring like they only put hoisin sauce or something and it’s a bit wet(soupy). We did ask to make all our dishes spicy and none of them were hot at all.<br/>I feel like this place has a take away quality but somehow they’re trying to make it fancy. I will give them a second chance and make sure I order their soup, stir fry, and curry menu.

Sopheara has been around for many many years & is very popular with lots of regulars.<br/>The decor is a bit tired & it is super hot in summer with no air conditioning, but the food & service is pretty good.<br/>The menu is really varied & can be a bit confusing with so much to choose from but the wait staff are really helpful. All food is fresh - very similar to Thai but with its own uniqueness. A decent range of beer & wine on offer.<br/>We ordered the beef & ginger, and chicken green curry. Both were delicious.

Having been to Cambodia recently we decided to stop in at our local Cambodian restaurant. What a pleasant surprise, immediately you are welcomed by the owner who seems to know a lot of the patrons making it a friendly environment. The food was authentic Cambodian food which took us back to our visit. We would highly recommend and only reason why we did not rate 5 stars was due to it being a little pricey

Only noticed this place while walking over to New Garden for lunch one Sunday? It had a large elderly party doing lunch all dressed to the nines. Made a mental note to self to come and try it out as I've never had Cambodian food?<br/><br/>Came in for Monday dinner (no booking) and was surprised the place was half full? I did notice there were no Asian diners so it made me kinda weary about the authenticity of the food. We took a table for two down the back nearest the kitchen. The host pleasantly greeted us and although tired soldiered on serving the tables, by the noise coming from the kitchen it was a one man kitchen for the Monday?<br/><br/>Glancing through the menu it's quite extensive and covers most the meat groups? I thought hints of Vietnamese, Thai and Malay and British colonialism? If I were to organize where the United Nations were to dine in Auckland it would be this place it has something for everyone. Looking at the tables there it would be best to dine in a group to get the full effect of this eatery. Our seating provided us with the opportunity to spy over the dishes that came out, the presentation, the colors and the smells were amazing. I didn't want to annoy the host as she scurried quickly to her customers with the beautiful meals.<br/><br/>We ordered "The Grill - Lamb option with black pepper sauce and the Trei Chum Hoy - Snapper Filler with coconut cream and red curry. The Lamb arrived first and looked more like a dish you'd be served in a high end western restaurant. I don't know what Cambo food is but the two dishes we got were flavorful, fresh ingredients and hot. It was damned good. The Snapper had a hint of maybe a little too much sugar for my liking and we chickened out about making it spicy. This place has good tasting food. The prices are a tad high end but no different to eating in Newmarket, North shore or Parnell? We spent $56.00 incl 2 bowl of rice and a glass of fresh lime juice. I will definitely come back because there are asian dishes on their menu so different to other asian places I typically eat.<br/><br/>In talking with the owner she has occupied this spot for 14 years and I am stunned I've never heard of this place before? Flatbushes iconic Cambodian gem!<br/><br/>The services was heroic, serving so many tables 1 front of house, 1 back of house!<br/><br/>Only gripe about this area is trying to cross the road, traffic is heavy, be cautious esp with young kids

The interior here is beautiful considering the location. This place was quite warm and inviting and the person who served us was lovely.<br/>She offered hot water or cold water which i thought was really nice.<br/>The service was a little bit slow considering there were only 2 small groups in but other than that the food was delicious.<br/>To start we ordered the moxed entree which was good.<br/>For main we ordered char kreong (roast duck) and the char chee basil (chicken) which both tasted really yum and fresh.<br/>Would def come back

A bit pricey but the quality of food is excellent. The tamarind soup tastes like the Thai TomYum but is very good. We loved it. Had the mixed entress which is probably the best entree to get if you wanna try everything. Overall good experience.

Grabbed some takeout from here last night and liked everything roasted meat platter,seafood platter and prawn and bbq pork fried rice were yum stand out for me was definitely the steamed whole snapper in a mild curry sauce added rice and was the perfect meal so delicious even the salad was yumm and really fresh

Absolutely amazing cuisine and lovely waitstaff. A definite jem in an unlikely location. <br/>Our main dishes were unbelievably good - I recommend ordering from the 'chefs special ' part of the menu. Cannot exaggerate the tastiness and unique flavours of the food.

Cute lil restuarant, nice vibe about the place, great service and food is AMAZING every time. Good portion sizes so good to get a group together where you can all share with heaps of options. Definitely one of my favourites.

We called in for a Friday night takeaway. Food was ready at the time they said and everything we had was lovely and full of flavor. Can't wait to go back

It was an early dinner at Sopherara Cambodian. We started with a mixed entrée - deep-fried squids, fish cake, beef skewer, deep-fried spring roll & deep-fried chicken. It was lovely; spring roll was my pick. We then had the mixed seafood clay pot & grilled marinated pork scotch fillet. The pork was slightly over-seasoned - it might go well with steamed jasmine rice; pork was not my cup of tea - I didn't like the flavour of the spices. Dessert was sticky rice pudding with coconut cream & liqueur - a nice way to finish the meal with something sweet & warm.<br/>The waitresses were pleasant. Service was rather slow although we were the first customers of the evening. (Food - 3.5/5; Service - 3.5/5; Ambience - 4/5)

this place is always packed. all food is a bit on the sweet side, the chef has a sweet palette likes to add sugar but at least there is no MSG taste. compared to Spices Thai nearby this is way better.  Nice garnish and vegetables, fresh green beans, red capsicum, nuts, carrot in flower shape, courgette w most dishes. the duck curries are excellent. i like the Bay Char Nagi (large fried rice w satay chicken skewer) Yes a bit pricy but they care about what they put on the plate.

Have been wanting to come here and try Cambodian food for so long. Very friendly service. For entree I had Satay chicken skewers, they were the best satay chicken skewers that I have had in years! The chicken had it's own great flavour and the satay sauce was beautiful. For main I had a roast duck stir- fry, can't remember the name but the pieces of duck were huge! Unlike all the dissapointing Thai meals, I've had lately, the flavour was amazing and so well balanced, I can't wait to come back

A surprising find out in the suburbs. It is fancier than a takeaway so be ready to pay slightly more, however the setting is very nice. <br/><br/>We came here for lunch and tried their set menu which was reasonable. Got a fried spring roll which was overcooked and quite dry. I tried the chicken<br/>Curry and friend got the fried noodles with bbq pork. They were very tasty and we were very full after our meal. <br/><br/>Not sure if I'll pay dinner prices though, but if I had a nice function then maybe!

I have come here quite a few times already with my partner and I was back here again last Saturday for dinner The restaurant wasn't too busy so we got our seats quite quickly as we had literally made reservations five minutes before we arrived. We ordered entree which was 1.8 and also two mains. 5.8 and 12.9. The flavours in the dishes was quite good. It was definitely different from other Asian dishes that we have tried and it was quite nice but because I avoid having rice, the flavours in both mains were quite strong. The two dishes are definitely something that needs to be eaten with rice as the rice cuts the strong flavours. But I still liked both mains. They were presented well and had some great flavours. <br/>The service we received was wonderful, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was quite nice as well. Will definitely come here again.

Finally got the chance to dine here after many years of being very curious about the cuisine. <br/><br/> We came for lunch, food was really damn good. We ordered a karee kro horm (chicken curry), char kapik (chicken sizzling plate) and another noodle dish which I unfortunately forgot the name of. . For drinkers we also ordered two lychee shakes and avocado shakes.<br/> I really enjoyed the curry and sizzling plate, really flavourful and great portions. The noodles were alright, nothing special in my opinion. Shakes were really good. <br/><br/>Friendly staff, food came out promptly. Food very closely resembles Thai cuisine. Price point in a bit on the expensive side in my opinion. But all things asides, I'll be back for more!

Went here for lunch with a large party for an impromptu lunch. They're a pretty modest establishment so we didn't expect much but everything we ordered was delicious. Ordered about 7 different dishes and everything exceeded our expectations. Only thing is the wontons we ordered as starters were a letdown - meat portions in the wrapper were ridiculously small. But overall a great dining experience.

Never tried Cambodian food before but now I can safely say I'm a fan. To me Cambodian is a lot similar to Thai with a hint of Vietnamese. It's definitely not as sweet as the usual Thai food. <br/><br/>We came here for lunch and got the lunch menus of the beef curry and the beef stir fry with udon noodles. I chose mine with spring rolls and my partner opted for the juice. The spring rolls were pretty tasty but unfortunately lacked flavour in the filling and was a bit too dry. But I loved the crunch and it reminds me of the Vietnamese spring rolls which I love. <br/><br/>Our mains came shortly and my curry was delicious! The soup was the perfect sweetness and I could really taste the lemongrass in there. Usually when I have curries, I get a bit sick after a few spoonfuls since they're always so overly sweet but this curry was just right. The veges accompanied the beef nicely too.<br/><br/>The udon and beef stir fry was a nice surprise since it was more like a warm beef noodle salad. The dressing was refreshing and light and there were plenty of beef in there. The udons were actually a really good choice of noodles too. <br/><br/>Overall I was not disappointed. Lunch prices were great considering the huge portions we got and packed full of flavour too! Only negative would be that the restaurant was a bit stuffy and had a weird scent. But definitely returning!

Last year my son wanted to try Cambodian cuisine and I was surprised to find this restaurant was close by to our home. We returned a couple of weeks ago for a second visit. We were the only customers at the time for a late lunch. There is a lunch menu at reduced prices and an a la carte menu. We chose one dish from the lunch menu, the green curry and from the full menu, a couple of appetisers and two soups.<br/>The kourng roll (rice roll with duck meat) was just ok, a little bland. The Kiev Chearn Chearn (pork wontons) were huge, crisp and a little overwhelming due to size. I had the Soup Poot (chicken, corn and egg white) which was full of flavour and exactly what I expected. My son ordered Soup Such K'Dam (crab meat & egg white) and also enjoyed.  The green curry was as expected also. <br/>Dessert was a highlight, we ordered Chek K'this (sago, coconut milk with banana) which was a revelation, yum. I've since looked up a recipe and made this at home a number of times already. As well we had the Khmer Delight & Liquor (sticky rice and Tia Maria) which was also delightful. Also noteworthy is the homemade lime juice drink. The service was great, friendly and the restaurant itself is beautifully furnished in typical Asian style.

Our first time when we tried Cambodian cuisine. Really enjoyed it, dishes are full of flavour, delicious, big. Great value for money. Service is friendly. The place is a bit small, by nicely presented and very clean. Hope to come back one day and highly recommend.

Never really tried Cambodian cuisine before, this place was highly recommended by my friend. Her favourite dish was the eye fillet. My favourite was the spring roll entree. It was so good we ordered another one of the same dish.

We have not been here for a year or more but went there on Saturday night to celebrate a friends birthday and I had forgotten how nice this place is although they outdid themselves this time. Because there was 12 of us we each ordered our own meals as opposed to sharing, our usual practice, and there wasn't one person who wasn't delighted with their choice. My husband and I had the prawns in red curry sauce which would probably be the nicest dish I have eaten, anywhere, ever and the Cambodian version of Singapore noodles was an ideal accompaniment. The service, considering how many there was of us was excellent, and the food outstanding. It will not be another year before we make a return visit

Nice food, friendly staff, reasonable price. We've only had the salads & it's always been great. Chicken larb & duck salad. Fresh rolls in entre menu also great.

Food is nice, nothing to complain about but nothing spectacular either and it takes quite a while for the food to arrive. Customer service is good.

Saw the reviews and decided to dine there tonight for daughters birthday. Pleasant atmosphere and friendly service. Meals are well priced and each dish we had was excellent. Will definetely be going back.

Always consistently good delicious generous helping of food at good prices with good service. Medium spicy is what it says! I like the decor and the family all helping to make this place one of the best kept secrets!<br/>We enjoy the duck here and the fish fillets.<br/>The food this time was as delicious as always!

Read Zomato reviews and decided to go. My comment - why did it take me so long to try this. The place is well presented. The service is quick contrary to what I read. The food came out hot and pretty as a picture. Mixed entree is a must just to be able to have a taste of everything. Corn soup was hot enough to heat up the cold autumn night. We had the pork with 5 veggies with kaffir and had it made with medium chili - yummy. Dessert was banana with sago cooked in coconut with sesame seeds. Similar to a flipino dessert but lighter. Overall it was a very pleasant dining experience and I would love to try the other dishes sometime sooner than later.

This place is completely out of our way but it's worth the detour! Food is delicious, service is excellent. In our experience it's rare to find something so authentic in Auckland. Worth the drive from anywhere in Auckland!

Had been recommended by friends, went for a family dinner, and was bitterly disappointed with the slow service - over an hour until our meals arrived, in spite of a nearly empty restaurant, we felt ignored by the wait staff, who sluggishly took our orders. On the plus side, the food was quite tasty, and portion size and cost reasonable, however we were so hungry after our wait that probably anything would have tasted delicious. Won't be returning. Instead I advise the delicious Viet Cafe in Grey Lynn which is fresh and delicious and has excellent customer serfice.

We went to this restaurant before the movies on Friday night. My only regret was that we had to rush our dinner. The staff were lovely, there when you needed them and so friendly. Inside was welcoming with a nice decor.For one of the few times the vegetarian got her meal 1st, the food was very tasty and plenty of it I had a lovey dish with tamarind which was definitely the winner for me. We will most definitely be back to enjoy more of the menu at a relaxed pace

I live not far from this restaurant, We drive past it most of the time and never took notice of it untill we had a work farewell here, the Food was delicious and worth the money, great friendly atmosphere and the waitresses are awesome. i highly recommend this restaurant to everyone... its a must try they do seafood, meat, curry, stirfry, the mains... deserts are yummy and worth the money aswell

We came here because of the very good reviews. They are all true! The staff are very friendly and helpful. Food is freshly prepared and its delicious. Very reasonably priced. a very wide range of traditional Cambodian food. The freshly prepared lime juice is fantastic. We will be going back !

I live on the North Shore 39 kilometres away and have driven to Sopheara Restaurant many times and I can assure you the trip is worth it, thankfully I don't live closer otherwise I would be going all the time.<br/><br/>The food is so good.

We go here at least once a month, food is great and service is great, could not speak highly enough for this place, if you want to have a quiet nice dinner this is the place to go, food is affordable, drinks are affordable...

Read a previous rating stipulating hidden gem. My Husband and I wanted to try something different and the rating we read made it look appealing.<br/><br/>The review was so true, this is a must go restaurant.<br/><br/>Service, food and presentation divine.<br/><br/>Will definitely return here<br/>:)

Great service! I love the authentic Cambodian food there, would love to go there for a good wholesome,spicy and tasty treat. the place is always welcoming and offers a great service as well. I would recommend this place to anyone who would like authentic Cambodian food..

Sopheara Restaurant offers an authentic Cambodian cuisine experience, serving delicately spiced food made from the best of NZ produce (and Kiwi-sized servings!). Easily matches some of the best we've tried in Cambodia. Highly recommended!<br/><br/>We have a place in Auckland but spend most of our time in Phnom Penh and usually eat Khmer (Cambodian) food at home. Wish there were more like this in NZ!

Great service; even modified my menu half way through cooking it!!!<br/>Lovely hostess was a delight to finally go to a place which is so unpretentious and which serves such amazing food.<br/><br/> A true hidden gem of a restaurant

This place is a hidden treasure which should be discovered by many others who enjoy fantastic tasting food at great prices along with wonderful service from the very hospitable hosts. We had the duck in hoisin last night, sensational! Along with the gourmet fried rice (Bay Char Basil), a yummy curry and the Rice Cakes with red curry. We finished the lot! Sadly for a Saturday night it was not busy and we hope this is just a blip because we would hate to loose this great restaurant. So, if you are looking for some great food at great prices then try Sopheara, you will not be disappointed.

I go once a month to Sopheara and enjoy the excellent food, friendly family service, welcoming smiles. Love the spicy cambodian curries and especially the seafood. The whole fish or mixed seafoods are very generous and great tasting. You will enjoy your visit!

The most delicous and flavoursome food I have enjoyed forever. Super authentic (Boyfriend is Cambodian and couldnt stop raving about the food), and well worth the money paid. Attentive and unintrusive staff. Cant wait to go back again! Would especially recommend the salmon curry, a-may-zing......

You cannot fault the service or the wonderful food in this lovely restaurant, perfection. We had a lovely birthday meal with the whole family. If there were two things that would make the experience of eating here more enjoyable it would be more heating in the dining room as everyone in our party had to keep their jackets on. Secondly the removal of the television on the buffet as it is rather overwhelming in such a small space. It is an intimate and nicely decorated restaurant and doesn't need any extras, guests want to talk and not ogle the television.

Wouldnt know it was there unless someone else pointed it out.<br/><br/>Lovely meal there tonight with excellent attentive service.<br/><br/>We had a red chicken curry of some description which was awesome although i wish I'd gone for a different meat and a mixed platter of bbq meat with bbq pork and duck that made me wish I'd ordered separate plates of each.<br/><br/>Great place...thoroughly recommended.

Good food, good service! Try it, it's a breath of fresh air.

We loved the food and service tasty n delish were definetly going back i agree mild is very hot best duck ive ever had

This restaurant is great, to find such a gem, service excellent, food excellent. friendly staff

I just looked Sopheara up from where I am living in Scotland because we miss the food and wonderful hospitality of Sophea and her wonderful cook husband Ra. It is good to see them getting the recognition they deserve. Wonderful, tasty, spicy, goodness with a smile!

Quite simply.. sensational!!!!

Having reading the fantastic write up on this restaurant in the latest Metro, and seeing it on TV collecting the award for the best Indochinese Restaurant in Auckland - a group of 7 ventured there last night. Simply Sensational! A hidden treasure with friendly staff and an exquisite menu to suit every pallet. The Duck and Ginger - second to none. The squid - better than ever, and the signature Whisky flamed dishes are a must. We feasted on 7 mains, mixed entrees and a few drinks for under $30 per head. Highly recommended.

We think this is one of the best family-operated Asian restaurants around. The food is super tasty with great spicy flavours. We recommend mild to medium spicy, hot will blow you away! We probably go there more often than to any other local Asian restaurant. The owners provide friendly, efficient service.

A local favourite of ours, the food is tasty and the service is fantastic. also very good value for money.