Smoked chicken liver pâté, date vinegar syrup, grilled sourdough, at Soul Bar and Bistro, Auckland Viaduct. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Smoked chicken liver pâté, date vinegar syrup, grilled sourdough, at Soul Bar and Bistro, Auckland Viaduct. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
In their own words: “Fresh and unpretentious food and irresistible hand-crafted cocktails deliver elegance and fun in equal measures.”
First impressions: The new Soul is pretty much the old Soul, unless you’re on staff and work in the recently expanded kitchen. Closed for renovations through April, the Viaduct stalwart cameback with a winter menu and, I think, a slightly different interior dining room configuration. (I can’t be sure. Does anyone go to Soul for an inside table?)
In the kitchen: We did, actually, have a very lovely inside table for two, close enough to that shiny new kitchen to catch glimpses of the chefs at work. There’s an old aphorism that says if you like sausages you shouldn’t watch them being made – but spend five minutes watching a trained knife expert deal to the papery-thin peel of a million shallots and I promise you’ll feel nothing but respect.
The neighbourhood: Madonna turns 65 in August. It’s four decades since the first Jurassic Park. And, last year, Soul celebrated its 21st. The Viaduct is no longer the only champagne trough in town but, for high-class soaks of a certain age, Soul Bar is the Viaduct.
Soul Bar and Bistro. For many Auckland diners, Soul Bar IS the Viaduct. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
The menu: Oysters are in its DNA and there’d be much gnashing of Invisaligned teeth should they ever ditch the Green Goddess salad. At Soul, the mac and cheese will always be truffled; the squid will never not be salt and peppered and it doesn’t matter how much bubbly you consume on that terrace, nobody will (be able to) raise a brow. This is a restaurant with a menu that knows its customers and, in winter, those customers like their lasagne crayfish-flavoured with a vodka sauce ($54).
Best bite #1: I asked the Canvas photographer to get a photo of the smoked chicken liver pâté with the splodge of date vinegar syrup simply because it looked so spectacular. Shallow, sure – but I bet I’m not the first person to judge something I’ve seen at Soul on looks alone. Rudely pink, graphically simple and possibly designed more for social media consumption than a real-life restaurant situation, it was easily shared and perfectly pleasant. (I’d consider turning up the dial on the smoke – nice idea on the page, less discernible on the palate.)
Best bite #2: It’s possible there is a restaurant in Auckland that does not serve some kind of raw fish but I have (thankfully) yet to dine there. And, while I refuse to let review guests order charcuterie on the grounds that cold meat is cold meat is cold meat, perversely, I do not feel the same way about cold kai moana. Soul’s raw yellowfin tuna is not for the faint-hearted. It looks like a washed-up jellyfish, it’s very spicy and the funk of a kimchi ferment is strong. Dig in – the textures are sublime. Silky fish, crunchy daikon kimchi and cooling cubes of nashi pear. In a city deluged with raw fish, this is one of the most interesting iterations.
Soul Bar and Bistro. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
The jury’s still out: Forewarned is forearmed, I guess. The menu clearly said the kūmara that came with the lamb rack was salt-baked; I just didn’t anticipate it would be so, well, salty. Especially disappointing given I loved its fudgy, slightly chewy texture so much more than the boring, sous-vided evenness of the lamb.
Dessert: The pear sorbet was divine. So smooth, so dreamy. The pear and ginger crostata was none of the above. Dry with a hint of baking soda; a salutary lesson in going with my gut and saying yes to the Snickers sundae with peanut butter foam, torched nougatine and dulce de leche. Next time!
Perfect for: Lunch on the terrace and dinner on someone else’s credit card. It’s Soul Bar and obviously we’ll have another.
How much: Snacks $7-$24, starters $21-$30, salads $26-$24, pasta $34-$52, mains $36-$52, vegetables $13-$16.
Soul Bar & Bistro, cnr Lower Hobson St and Customs St W, Auckland. Phone (09) 356 7249
Sip the list
by Yvonne Lorkin
Soul. It’s an institution. Crisp white tablecloths, lots of windows, oysters and fizz for days while you watch yachts bobbing outside (or if it’s night-time, the yobs yobbing outside). Institutions like Soul know how to construct a drinks list. Twenty French Champagnes, seven quality local methodes and two of each by the glass? Decent. A bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal 2014 for $795? You would if you could, hey. I’ve always liked that Soul has three to five examples of each style of wine available by the glass and the prices aren’t squint-inducing either. It’s $13 for a glass of the gorgeous Wairau River pinot gris, Loosen dry riesling, Elephant Hill Le Phant Rouge merlot blend or Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg rosé. Sauvignons from $14-$22 ranging from Vavasour to Cloudy Bay. Even the most expensive glass of pinot noir (Church Road Grand Reserve Central Otago 2021) is $22. I just wish the Spy Valley gewurztraminer (or any gewurztraminer) was available by the glass to pair with the spicy heat of the salt and pepper squid, the chilli jam chicken or the jalapeno and lime layers in the scampi cocktail. Yet it’s a killer list. Thirty-plus examples of pinot noir to choose from, 27 chardonnays, 22 Bordeaux blends, 13 syrahs, a dozen each of sauvignon and pinot gris, seven rosés from both our backyard and Provence and a juicy selection of “other” reds from France, Spain, Italy and California to crack some good grins. Soul, you’re a drinks list legend.
