Food & Soul

I attended this restaurant for a work party in DEC 2008, I thought the food was tasteless and in too small a proportion, the service was ok and the chef was sociable, the overall ambience was nice but I would not reccommend the menu to anyone, and I will definately never return again.   (Gem - See my reviews (2) - January, 2009)

After reading the reviews below I cannot believe I have attended the same restaurant. I am never one to complain or take the time to write a review, but after spending my work Christmas party function at this restaurant I felt compelled to write in. The food was absolutely shocking. The fish was pungent, the vegetables not cooked and rice in the risotto was also not cooked. I ordered cheesecake for desert - I got a cake (as in a real flour based cake) which had cheesecake flavour to it... you're kidding. The meals were basic and cheap and did not reflect the $40 a head we were paying for a group of 20. The whole dinner was pre-ordered a day in advance, so you can imagine our shock when the first thing to come out was our main meals - don't know what happened to our breads that were promised in the package deal??? Service was average - the young ladies for the most part had no idea. The ambience was nice - the only plus of the night. Very disappointed - would never return.   (Matt - December, 2008)

One of those great unpretentious little BYOs one always hopes to find.   (See my reviews (3) - September, 2008)

We were pleasantly surprised with this little gem. Party of 10 on a busy Saturday night and nothing was a trouble to the head waiter/manager. A-grade service up front with our booking.

The food was outstanding. Modern, fresh tastes, excellent presentation, delivered on time and piping hot! We all tried entrees, mains, desserts and coffees.... everything... and I mean everything... was beautiful. Excellent value for money! The head waiter even checked back with us after it was delivered to make sure it was as we expected! I also loved the constant refills of water without having to ask.

The ambience was great! Everyone felt relaxed and comfortable. The lighting, background music, Christmas in July decorations, warmth on a cold night... everything was perfect. The restaurant was also full... which indicates I am not the only one who now loves this place!!

After the initial contact, my expectations for service were quite high. The head waiter carried his A-grade level of service through the entire evening. He knows his customers, he is friendly without being too casual... but puts you at ease immediately. He has excellent attention to detail. An great asset to Food & Soul.

Unfortunately my rating of service was brought down by the two young girls who were also waitressing on the night. I was left feeling confused by the level of service Food & Soul were trying to achieve. The two young girls... informal, unsmiling, seemingly abrupt/sometimes rude, missed the important details of A-grade service, e.g. sugar on the table for our coffee, didn't ensure all guests had a water glass, etc.

My one main suggestion for service would be to implement a simple yet effective system to know which guests had ordered which meals.... and what cutlery they need, so there is no need to call out over the guests to ask them what should already be known.

However, for the time being, I am definitely going back to this restaurant. The service still outshone others by far, and the food... was unbelievable!! Thank you to Food & Soul for a fantastic night!!! Please try this restaurant!!   (July, 2008)

I had the task of choosing a 'modern Australian restaurant' in an inner city suburb for my close friends' farewell dinner. We were pleasantly surprised with this little gem. I booked through menulog and received a call from Terry a couple days prior to confirm our booking and... when I called the day before to confirm numbers, he knew the details of my booking without having to refer to anything!

The ambience was fantastic, everyone felt comfortable and relaxed. The food was one of the best I've had in Brisbane. Modern, fresh tastes and great presentation. And...even better still... the food was delivered on time and piping hot! Excellent value for money! Based on the food, ambience and value for money, alone, we will return. Terry even checked back after our mains were delivered to ensure they were as expected - rare to see at restaurants in this day and age.

My initial phone contact with Terry ensued with high expectations of A-grade service. Unfortunately my high expectations were (slightly) disappointed. Terry was fantastic - he knows his customers and has a high attention to detail. Focus now needs to be brought to the two young girls who were waitressing on the night.

I felt confused by the 'level' of service that the restaurant was trying to provide overall. Terry on one hand - A-grade material, attention to detail, charismatic, etc. The girls... casual, sometimes seemingly abrubt/rude, unsmiling, missed small details (e.g. no sugar on table for our coffee, asking who had ordered desserts and needed cutlery, calling out who had ordered what when bringing out mains, missing glass of water for one of our friends... although... the constant refills of water without being asked was fantastic!).

One extra step that I would recommend to up the level of service would be to implement a simple yet effective strategy to know what each customer has ordered, especially on large tables, so that you don't have to call out, 'who ordered xxx?". E.g. always take the food orders starting at the same seat on each table, take the food orders, in order, and bring the food out in that order - with communication between each runner to ensure they take the next plate to the next guest in order. Also, this will help when having to provide the right cutlery to match the order....

But overall ... this restaurant exceeded my expectations. I love it and I will definitely be returning!! Please try it!!   (July, 2008)

We were on a very tight time frame but these guys delivered on every level. My husband has dietary needs and they catered for this wonderfully. Excellent Value for money and the quality of food was great. We will definately be returning soon to try some of the other menu options   (June, 2008)

Best desert I have ever had. Food was modern and surprising. Really enjoyed the dining. Would definitely go again.   (R. McGInn - October, 2007)

The food was sensational and very well priced. The service was of a high standard, with a call 1 hour prior to booking to confirm, and also asking where we would like to sit and that the cake was all prepared for my husbands birthday, along with happy birthday sign.The cake was to die for!!!   (Janelle - August, 2007)