Review Soulsa Restaurant - Whakatane

Very good quality food. The chicken and duck meals that my partner and I ordered were probabaly the best we've ever eaten. Excellent value for the meal quality and service provided. Wish we'd had room for dessert! Highly recommended.

One of the better restaurants in Whakatane, this place has a slight spartan/steampunk feel to it with a large bare/open-plan dining area and some fittings made of pipes & guages. Service was quick & pleasant despite the place being full. Opted for the tasting plate to start which contained a huge amount of food - I could have been satisfied with only that - highlights were the fishcakes and the beetroot hummus. We had beef & duck for our mains and despite being full to overflowing we got the peppermint brulee which was just perfect with a spoon of chocolate ice-cream. Worth mentioning that the entire menu is gluten free so it's a great place if you're a coeliac.

The food here is superb. What let's it down is the setting, though spacious the restaurant is extremely plain and feels more like a low lit cafe than an upscale restaurant. Staff are great. I had the scallops which come with a delicious coconut sauce(?) however they are served cold which just didn't do them justice in my opinion.

Wow! Really great food, wonderfully presented, good service, personable staff and a casual relaxed atmosphere. Our group of four, sampled a lot of different menu items, and all had a great night. Will definitely be back when visiting again.

Our party of four all enjoyed our meals, my sister was delighted with her scallop meal. They were reasonably busy and service was slow, but it came with a smile. Our meals were reasonably priced, we would go again.

Such wonder flavours! We are so happy the lady at the i-site on The Strand suggested it. The portions are just right, again the mixture of flavours is so good. We had the tasting dessert plate and shared between the two of us. This meal was worth EVERY dollar spent. I HIGHLY recommend going if you are in Whakatane. I’d suggest making a reservation. We didn’t have one, but I can imagine in high seasons they book up quickly.

Wedding anniversary dinner tonight..Soulsa exactly the right place! Service friendly, helpful and quick..food presentation stunning..meals beautiful in taste..my request regarding blue cheese was taken easily and I was made to feel anything I would like, these awesome people would be happy to do! Thought we would share a dessert as the shared entree and a main each was so filling! And got spoilt with an extra dessert..no charge! Thank you so much! This was my best dinner out in a long long time! Definitely recommending to all I know!!

Don't let the simple decor fool you, this was a no-frills, tasty restaurant. The chef was kind enough to prepare a vegetarian dish for us which was one of the best we've had on our entire trip, I also enjoyed the venison and dessert as well.

Great staff and selection of food. Only downside is portion size, I understand the theme that the resturaunt is pursuing however $37.50 for what equates to ~150gm chicken breast and ~200gm pasta with some basil based sauce is by any measure not a good look. The experience here is good but be prepared to buy an appetizer, main and seperate sides if you want to walk away feeling like you have eaten something. Personally will select other resturaunts in town that strike a better balance between value and atmosphere for future visits.

Great food and friendly staff. always a pleasure to eat here.

3rd meal in about 4 months and each meal was fantastic. Thumbs up to the chef who comes to each table and has a chat, I admire your dedication to your work. Always a good meal.

Soulsa restaurant is the place in Whakatane to dine great atmosphere amazing food and top knoch service. I took my elderly Mum out for dinner and she so enjoyed it. Thank you a million Jon!

Best restaurant in Whakatane. Lovely food and lovely service. Can't wait for them to reopen after lockdown. I wish they had a takeaway service now because my husband and I are missing their food so much.

Just finished a delicious meal at Soulsa. The eye fillet - medium rare was cooked beautifully, the garlic potatoes and crunchy beans with a lovely sauce topped it off. Thank you Soulsa.

My most fav eating place. Classy, innovative, dam delicious and the best in the town. Great service. Nice atmosphere.

Always love the food here and the service is nice, quick and friendly. Sorry never took any photos too hungry

Fantastic food, wouldn't eat better anywhere. Great staff.

Fabulous food. Very polite staff. Recommend!

Thank you for an outstanding dinner. Words from my teenage son, "this is the best meal I've ever tasted!!" Being vegan my son and I often have difficulty finding somewhere nice to eat out. Not only did the chief personally discuss the menu with me, he was able to create 2 incredible vegan dishes.. the staff, the table service, the atmosphere, the spacious layout of the tables. Everything was perfect. Soulsa you rock!

Awesome place finally found a really good restaurant that has awesome service and excellent food � will definitely be back � highly recommend �

First time at Soulsa..and absolutely floored at the most scrumptious food served. We ordered a variety of food and each dish was devine. Your service was outstanding and hospitable. Thank you!

What an amazing meal the 5 of us were totally blown away by the food and service. Thankful 2nd time for us our 3 friends were from Austin Texas. You certainly impressed them! And us again. We are locals. Thank You.

Soulsa was great! Went there a couple of weeks ago with my son and my brother. Food was great, service was even better! My son's fish was probably meal of the night followed closely by the desert tasting plate. Great food addition for Whakatane.

What a discovery, not only did I experience excellent service with a great atmosphere but I never would have thought that the tastiest meal I've ever had would be in Whakatane Soulsa you do rock!!

You know... You can often only tell how good a restaurant is by how they handle when things go wrong. Our night with a large family group started badly with drinks being spilt down backs and laps. The staff were very apologetic and sorted it out. We went on to have wonderful meals... As good as almost anywhere we have been and at the end of the night we were offered a discount for the minor disaster at the start. You can't ask for more and the food and service otherwise was excellent!! We will definitely be back!

Exceeded expectations again! Delicious food and great portion sizes. Top restaurant in town, hands down. Great setting with a perfect vibe. Thanks Jono and the team! �

Visited Soulsa with our family last night, the food was absolutely amazing and easily on par with London restaurants! I had the honey soy duck breasts and would have licked the plate clean if I'd been allowed ;-). We will be back.... !

Had our first meal there tonight.Great food. Good service. Will go back again.

I'm sure it kills Jono a little bit inside to cook me a well done steak, amazing food and service, my favourite place to dine!!

Fantastic place to dine out. We have visited Soulsa a few times now, food is always delicious, service is wonderful and they always make our kids feel welcome. Best restaurant in Whakatane. Thanks guys We'll be back again soon!

I love everything about Johnno and soulsa. 5 years ago in January this guy did our beautiful wedding and the food was amazing. When he told us he was moving on we were so excited and oftencalled in to the restaurant InWhakatane. The food was always so lovely. But it is so popular you need to book. Always recommend this guy. Hes a legend.

Just had the most Devine meal tonight and the service was top notch thanks Jono

Phatest place to get a kai, lovely staff and solid manager. Tu meke!