Review Bedford Soda & Liquor - Takapuna

Super delicious meatballs! Had chicken and beef ones, they were both yum! Loved the presentation the drink I ordered, but to be fair, since I don’t drink often, couldn’t tell if it’s a good alcohol drink. I liked the taste though.

Great for a late night hunger hit. We popped in after the movies for a sweet treat. The desserts were underwhelming but one of us got the Mac n Cheese which was out of this world! Has a great vibe and is pretty busy and loud but you can still find a quiet spot around the front if that's what you're after. Super friendly staff.

This was an unexpected surprise!! Food was great, cocktails and drinks very different, the hawaiin has real flowers in it and I would never have believed that whiskey, maltesers and cream could taste so good!!

Went for a Friday catch up. Atmosphere was awesome and staff was really friendly. Loved them meat balls. A really good place for a Friday night hangout.

Nice selection of meatballs which you can mix and match with different sources and bases. Nice relaxing environment with friendly attentive service which makes up to an enjoyable dining experience 🍝🍺🍷

Meatballs is the specialty and you can see your own combinations.Good sized portions and seating available both indoors and outdoors. Beer available to wash it down

INCREDIBLE service, staff are friendly, food is DELICIOUS, great prices and their fried chicken?! oh man I HIGHLY recommend. A lot of drink choice too so you'll have fun ordering a few and discovering your favorites

One of my favorite place to go, nice and warm setup, food is really good, but drinks are even better. Recommended to try their share drink menu, large cups with reasonable price, food as well.

I love this place, their meat ball are so good and the environment is really confy. Been here 4 times and will continue to come back!

Great food and drinks. Price is good for the quality of the meal and staff. Would definitely come back here!

Went with a family & friends group aged from 7 - 76 for a lunch get together. Friendly vibe and great sitting outside and under the cover of a new glass roof which made the venue very light. Food was tasty, filling and ideal for us all selecting sliders or various meatballs, sauces and salads by ticking the menu. Friendly service. Recommend as a casual relaxed venue.

Never a disappointing meal, and the handshakes are so good!!

Awesome Atmosphere, Service and Food My husband and I went to Bedford Soda and Liquor a couple of weeks ago and were very impressed with the the friendly service, the lovely atmosphere - we sat outside which was very pleasant, and definitely most happy with the food' I had the special of the day which was extremely tasty Thai meatballs and the special as well for the vegies. Very filling - great value! I also had a pink daisy which was lovely! My husband had the beef meatballs and a caramel shake and was very satisfied. He often feels hungry still after a restaurant meal but certainly not after the meal at Bedford. Very yummy and we will be back! Altogether nyummy and we will be back!

Customer service was NEXT LEVEL.when we ordered, while waiting the chef offered some chocolates to cheer up my upset daughter to which we declined for she can't tolerate dairy, moments later returned with some fries, then came back and checked to clarify which meals were for her, dairy free. That's smart and we really appreciated it. Also the special margarita was superb

Gifted a dinner for 2 GrabOne voucher for this establishment. Sometimes when you have a voucher, service can be less than usual it feels. Service was friendly, kind and attentive. Food was yummy and atmosphere felt casual relaxing, but still buzzy. Because of the different layouts of tables to dine at seemed could cater for all types of groups. Wouldn't hesitate to go again. Cheers BSL- Takapuna and our lovely gift giver.

A nice place to come for food, its very welcoming and the staff are very friendly! I came using Zomato Gold, and it was well worth it as there are so many options and pretty much everything is customisable to your taste!<br/><br/>I absolutely loved the Mac N Cheese and the Tater Tots, they were absolutely perfect! <br/><br/>Sadly got an email this morning to say that they were closing the Takapuna Branch which is a big shame as its much closer to home than the Ponsonby branch. Will definitely have to start going to the Ponsonby location more often!

I’d been to the Ponsonby store a few months back and had a great experience, so I was excited in trying a branch closer to home especially while it's still on Gold.<br/><br/>For my meal I chose the beef meatballs w/ roast chicken gravy on fettuccine, while my mum opted for lamb meatballs w/ mushroom sauce on mash. We also got the $5 tator tots happy hour deal. <br/><br/>My mum and I both had mixed feelings about the food - my meatballs were flavourful and delicious, but the sauce and fettuccine were quite bland. However, for my mum, her meatballs were bland whereas her sauce and mash was delicious. Tator tots were amazing as expected, light and fried to perfection. <br/><br/>The guy who served us was very friendly, patient and really took the time to answer and explain any questions we had.

The food was amazing and everyone really enjoyed their meals but the service was horrible! We went there for my 21st birthday dinner with my family and it ruined the whole experience for us. We weren’t asked if we wanted any drinks - we had to go up to the counter and ask, no one started clearing the table until people started leaving and the staff weren’t welcoming and friendly at all. It kinda seemed like we inconvenienced them. <br/>They also have a really random rule - you can’t bring cakes into the restaurant and eat them on the premises for health and safety reasons? Never heard of that before working in hospo but I understand where they could be coming from but next time the staff need to be nicer about it.<br/>Maybe it was because it was a Sunday and it’s the end of the week but the staff really need to work on making it a friendlier environment.<br/>They get 2 stars just because the food was amazing.

Between 3.5/5 and 4/5. Went there for dinner on Saturday night, it was full restaurant. We waited for a while to place an order; it seem not enough staff. Order the risotto with mushroom sauce and lamb meatball, yum! One of the best risotto. The portion was less generous.

Went here for a quick bite to eat using zomato gold. Was actually really tasty. Quite a simple concept but really tasty. Will be back again soon :)

Went for lunch with friends. Foods were okay, not too much servings so you can still have a room for desserts, although we didn't try their dessert. I like the basil pesto. Customer service was okay. I have used my zomato gold without a hassle.

Second time here for couples date night with my sis on a Sunday night. Lively seating with candle lit tables and nice decor. Just right for the occasion.<br/>Food tastes just as good as the last time we were here. Keep up the good work!

Staff were friendly and inviting. Food was alright too and wait times weren't a problem. Only thing was that the staff were arguing over the music that was playing which seemed a bit inapproproate especially since it was happening in the front of house.

Food is yummy, service is good. Overall Great. How am I going to make it 140 characters long? I had a great lunch with my daughter on Saturday.

Got serious food poisoning from the chicken meatballs, came here with a few friends but they were fine as they didn’t have anything chicken, either the meatballs were old or I don’t even know what but it was terrible

Such a unique menu a cool concept. Sub and sliders were super delish and I really enjoyed the prawns. Fun place to try with a group of friends and have lots of bits to pick at and try

Really yummy :) Great service and nice atmosphere. I had the chicken and beef meatballs. I liked the chicken ones more but they were both really yummy.

Good service, nice food and drinks. I ordered beef meatballs with mashed potato and mushrooms sauce. The meatballs was juicy and seasoned well. The black forrest shake is also yum such a guilty pleasure. Overall was really nice.

Great meatballs! We had the special meatballs (chorizo) with spicy tomato sauce and the pork meatballs with mushroom sauce. Loved the meatballs and spicy tomato sauce. Pasta was cooked just right. Loved how you can customise your meal to your liking. Atmosphere was great too. It does get loud after 10pm though, if that's not what you prefer. Would definitely go back again!

I prefer the Takapuna branch more as it feels more family friendly/ restaurant-feel as the Ponsonby one is more bar/ clubby.<br/>A big fan of their meatballs and pasta but their cocktails are my favourite especially the 'steaming copper kettle' where they put dry ice in it to give the effect of steam

Great place for food, and dessert taste nice. Usually go Ponsonby branch but came here for the first time and you get the same stuff. Fried oreo cookie was best dessert.

Cannot rate this place highly enough. Fantastic service. Great cocktails. And interesting and fun food. May become my new local! Dog loved the sparkling water ;-)

Came here on a grab one voucher. Best service and good we could have asked for. We have been to places where the service is lower because of grabeones. But this was so good, would 100% come back here again and enjoy their meatballs.

Really loved this place! Was recommended by our daughters and we found it just so warm and welcoming on a cold night. I found the young staff to be so helpful, professional and friendly too. Food, well I had no idea what to expect but was very pleasantly surprised. When my vege pumpkin and pinenut slider arrived I thought it looked maybe a bit plain to be honest but that first mouthful was honestly a taste explosion and I banished that thought instantly! Wow, perfection is all I can say! Also had a side of broccoli and peas with mint which was perfectly cooked! Apparently the chicken meatballs were amazing too. The four of us, 2 vegans, 1 vegetarian and 1 bonefide meat eater all had the most enjoyable meal in a full on week of eating out! Compliments to those great chefs! Loved the chilli pinapple margarita too. Will come back definitely.

Always good, fast and friendly service. Has become a go-to for myself and my partner for a weekend dinner. Cocktails are good, don't usually have room for dessert

Amazing cocktails and super friendly staff! Has a great atmosphere. <br/>We only ordered shoestring fries, but they came out quickly, were hot and delicious!<br/>Cant wait to go back and try out some more of their amazing cocktail menu and maybe get some actual food. 😊

The best mac and cheese I have tasted in a long time!. Good variety of meatballs; only issue on the night was music abit to loud; could not hear each other<br/>

If I'm being honest, meatballs are not really my thing but came here because they offer a 2 for 1 with the entertainment book. I was pleasantly surprised, the meatballs were delicious and the risotto was cooked perfectly. The atmosphere was cosy with an oil lamp on each table and the service was great. I had a hard time deciding what to order and the waitress was super helpful and patient. Will definitely be back soon.

Terrible service. Took 20mins to receive our drinks after we ordered them and all the waiter was doing was walking around doing nothing. then took us 5 times to wave down the waiter to come take our food order because he kept telling us to wait. Then almost 30mins after we had all finished mains we had to go up and ASK if they could clear our plates so we could carry on with dessert (which also took another 30mins to come out even though I ordered it on the menu - had to remind them I ordered it) . Very unhappy and will not be returning.

Hiiighly impressed with the amount of patience they had when i told them to hold the dish off until my guests had arrived (1hour and 30 minutes later). The food was great! Service was also amazing. They didnt show any signs of impatience which i greatly appreciate.

Lots of options of types of meatballs (all meat and vegetarian), sauces and a base. Really nice with lots of variety. Well priced and great service. Good music and atmosphere. Definitely recommend. Under 18s only allowed in if there is a guardian as their alcohol license is provisional.

Got a grabone deal for a main and a drink. Came on Sunday for dinner after booking with 3 others and was able to be changed to a different table due to afternoon sun being too intense. Meatballs had a good flavour but came out lukewarm so not sure how 'freshly made' they are. I got mine on a base of rocket salad with Parmesan and baby tomatoes which I enjoyed but two of my friends selected the seasonal veges base which turned out to be chickpeas and only chickpeas. Kind of a cheap trick considering chickpeas are always 'in season' for 99c at the supermarket. Overall not bad but I probably won't be returning any time soon.

Came here for lunch on a Friday afternoon. Ordered the chicken meatballs with spaghetti and pesto, and a cocktail. The food tasted good, but totally did not seem worth the money as I ended up paying $18 for a bowl of spaghetti with 3 meatballs. Will I return here? Maybe for a snack. But a proper meal, no.

I went here with a group of friends a week ago. The restaurant has a nice open layout with plenty of tables and a good atmosphere.<br/><br/>Service here was ok, the waitress that was looking after our table had to be prompted with a question in order to get information about how we order as it is a bit different from most places.<br/><br/>The food took AGES to come out, 45 minutes and they weren't even that busy. When it did come out it was nice but nothing special if I'm completely honest. <br/><br/>Another additional comment would be don't get people to write their names on the menus if you don't plan on using them. We were expecting our names to be called not our whole orders. <br/><br/>Probably wouldn't come here again just because there are better options in takapuna.

I have been about 5 times now. Service is good and the food is really great. Have tried a few different things on the menu now and have found them to be consistently of good value and high quality. The meatball selection is ever changing and a couple of times I have tried the special and not been disappointed, I usually go for a meatball sub, but have tried the meatballs with different 'underballs' and sauces, For me its hard to go past the meatballs on spaghetti with tomato sauce.  The sides are also really good, The fried chicken is next level. And the potato tots are really good too. Keen to try some others next time I go. To summarise, Food is great, portion sizes are more than adequate and service is great. Would highly recommend.

We decided to try this on a Tuesday night. We had a selection of the meatballs, onion rings and fries. The food especially the meatballs are fantastic but let down by overly loud music and very slow service.

The sliders were a good way to try out all the meatballs. They were all good and chunky with nice flavours throughout. Be aware that the spicy tomato sauce is pretty spicy! I've also tried the mushroom sauce and garlic sauce. Both were fantastic. <br/><br/>The potato totes were really good! Crispy and came with dipping sauce. <br/><br/>Music was a lil loud for date night.

They very happily made the Hawaiian time cocktail vegan by removing the honey for me which was lovely! Not a lot food to eat, but the cocktails were awesome.

Had a fantastic meal here with my family tonight. It started off on the wrong foot with it taking a wee while to be served but our waiter really made up for it. The copper dry ice cocktail kettle was delicious, we loved our choice of balls, and the bites were great too. We finished off with a round of alcoholic milkshakes that were delicious. Our table rated the banana, peanut butter and honey shake the best. They were nice enough to take our bites off the bill because of our initial wait. Will definitely be returning.

This place was great so delicious, the service was accomodating and they really made a note of my allergy which I really appreciate. The drinks are tasty and colourful. Love and defiantly go back.

My friends and I visited Bedford Soda & Liquor Takapuna this evening and were incredibly disappointed with the service. We were rudely greeted and abruptly told to take a seat. After 5 minutes a waiter came over and put down our water glasses and asked for ID. As we don't drink, we don't carry ID. The waiter then proceeded to remove our water glasses and say we couldn't eat here. This was very inconvenient as we had booked a table and were not informed ID would be necessary. There is also no information on the website or Facebook page to say ID is necessary. We were offered no explanation for being unable to stay and were then ignored. We were very disappointed and will not be returning.

So many great combinations to try out, so will be coming here again.<br/><br/>You think the serving size might be small, but they aren't, perfect size. Everything came out nice and hot, and so delicious.<br/><br/>Thier fried chicken is seriously good. Full of flavour and cooked perfectly.<br/><br/>Treat yourself and go for one of the cocktails, you won't be disappointed

Fantastic cocktails, they aren't cheap, but they use the best quality spirits and ingredients. They have the most amazing collection of bitters I've ever seen. Love having table service for drinks too!

Started off with a bit of a hiccough as we didn't realise we needed ID and as we don't drink, we usually don't carry it. Anyway, we returned with ID and were greeted by the most friendly staff. The manager came out and had a chat about the ID incident which was all good anyway.<br/><br/>We ordered the chicken meatballs, mushrooms sauce and polenta; beef meatballs, tomato sauce and spaghetti and the fried chicken to share.<br/><br/>My goodness. That fried chicken is the best we have ever had (and we LOVE fried chicken) So crispy, tender and succulent! <br/> <br/>The chicken meatballs were amazing, with tasty polenta and that heavenly mushroom sauce! <br/><br/>The beef with tomato were such a classic combo and the spaghetti tasty as! <br/><br/>We had the chocolate sundae and smores brulee for dessert which were also just divine! <br/><br/>Amazing amazing amazing!

Place was packed on a Friday night<br/>Glad you guys have opened one in the shore as all the places to be seems across the brdge for the shore kids!<br/>Regardless we were seated pretty quickly and the staff took care of us well<br/>When they bought out the wrong sundae - they said we could keep that one until they bring out the passionfruit and it wasnt charged. :)<br/>The little hash brown bites were so damn good. Id come back just for those<br/>Cocktails are beautiful but have to say way too pricey for what you get <br/>So we just got sparkling wine which was lovely<br/>Good selection of bar nibbles drinks and dessert<br/>Would come back!

The food was lovely and pretty quick to come out. It's quite a cool way to order and both meals were so Good! <br/>We ordered drinks and they were both lovely and for cocktails they were decently priced too. <br/>We did have a minor issue with the drinks not being very quick. However the staff were apologetic and dealt with the issue very well. The whole evening I felt as though they were genuinely looking after us. So the service was on point even despite the mix up. The fact that there was sincerity from the waitress meant that we still left happy customers, planning to return again. Would definitely recommend this place. Just wish I knew the name of waitress to thank her personally, but she was great.

Great selection of cocktails but a bit pricey due to the small size of the drinks. My review is more about the service. The menu is quite creative and you are to choose each ingredients to make a meal. I ordered meatball with spicy tomato sauce and risotto on the bottom. <br/><br/>The food took quite long to arrive. When I received it, there were some greens (I didn't order any veges but since it was my first visit I thought it comes with every meal) and the sauce wasn't very spicy. Then I was looking for the risotto but it wasn't there. Then I realised that it could be a wrong order. I asked the waitress about it and she said that she can ask the kitchen to make the risotto now if I wanted to keep the food. I asked her whether she would charge me for the veges that I didn't order, and she said yes and she will give me 10% discount. So I said no, because the food is not what I ordered, and she took the food back and I cancelled my order.<br/><br/>If you bring a wrong food to a table and offering the customer to keep the food, you really shouldn't charge them more than what they ordered. Actually most good restaurants would let you keep the wrong order and still give you the correct order later. What she offered was to pay extra to eat the food that I didn't order, with a different sauce and wait for part of the meal to be delivered later. I'm disappointed at the level of service because I expected a lot from this place.

Awesome service, amazing drinks and the food was yum too although I was more interested in the cocktails :) Requested a table for 4 online and then realised they only took bookings for 6 or more people. They happily took my booking anyway. We ended up running late but they still held our table. Our waiter was prompt, informative and really friendly. Would definitely recommend and will be back!