bedford soda & liquor

one of my favourite places to go for lunch dinner or a fancy cocktail. food is great drinks are awesome! highly recommend for any occassion. love thisplace- great atmosphere and service is not as consistent as the food and drinks but more often then not thumbs up. love the risotto and the sodas are so yummy!

salted caramel and malteser milkshake.
beef meatballs with cheese sauce and mash.
order that and watch your life change for the better it's the onlyplacei ever want to go now

quite a new experience of combining your own meatball dish. yes, i am more into food than drink. however, bedford could offer you both, with high standard. 

tucked in ponsonby central back side, thisplacekeeps a space for its own customers. you can either sit by the window watching people rushing somewhere, or, you can pick a quiet spot by the back door and feel quite secured. even though it is full of guests, you won't be disturbed.

really appreciated the nice stuff coming by and suggested how to order your own creative meal without pushing you too much. kind, enthusiastic, smiling and keeping a proper distance. well trained. you need a bit of gift doing this job, isn't it?

chose the special meatball which was fish with herb mix, combining mushroom sauce and salad with avocado, rocket and kumara. quite an interesting test to actually semi-cook your own dish. newly fun. the meatballs came out fresh, crunchy, paring the right sauce. (even though i gave up the special sauce the waiter advised to pair, which is thai style green curry). then a bowl of average shoestring fries then beautifully fried onion rings. as for the drink, i found lots of people try the cocktails and beer. however, i was still happy with my riesling from central otago. btw, they do provide a daily special if you have difficulties selecting drinks.

only two days later happened to find this is metro top 50 bars, worth the name.

now i have been there three times and find out every time is enjoyable. one of the waiters could even speak several mandarin to really brings the service to a new level. good try!

set in the funky ponsonby central precinct, bedford is the perfect is the perfectplaceto be seen but also to people watch! i went with some friends and we found a table in the outside area which was a great way to see alfresco diners from other eateries but also to soak up the relaxed vibe.

the only downside was having a smoker on the table next to us - the space within ponsonby central is already tight so i hope they decide to put a rule against smoking in the future.

the menu seemed gimmicky but was an easy way to select a meal. i chose the chicken meatballs with spicy tomato sauce and mash. it was tasty, well seasoned and perfect on a cool evening. i washed it down with a passionfruit soda and was very satisfied with the distinct flavours. bedford appeared to attract patrons of the funky, hipster persuasion and i witnessed many with great looking cocktails. drink envy indeed.

yup, this is fun dining, ponsonby style at its best!

we wandered down to try the bedford early evening last saturday night, without a booking, and snaffled the last available table. theplacewas buzzing, and it had a nice busy vibe without being overly loud or hectic. our waitress who was very pleasant and welcoming explained how the system works, to tick the boxes on the laminated menu card with a marker pen etc, and we ordered in due course. i had the veggie balls with pesto and parmesan, and my husband had the beef balls with spicy tomato and parmesan, plus a side of onion rings washed down with the steaming copper kettle cocktail pitcher. the food came in a timely fashion, the service from our waitress and all the other staff we engaged with was welcoming and very friendly. ok the food might be simple, but it was good. i don't think it was particularly overpriced, it depends on your out look. i like having the option of small meals, and i enjoyed the overall experience and ambience and would most definitely go back again. since when has ponsonby dining been all about quantity anyway? go to valentines or denny's if that's what is most important to you.

been wanting to go to thisplacefor the longest time and finally had a good reason to!
went on saturday for lunch with my partner and even though it was a bit cold and rainy at times we really enjoyed ourselves. i think with the weather and the time we arrived was the reason it wasn't crazy but a decent amount of tables inside were filled. we decided to sit outside on these cool high benches attached the building. there was plenty of cover overhead so we didn't worry bout getting rained on.

the service was pretty prompt once we let them know where we were sitting and the waitress explained the style really well. the menus are laminated and pretty customisable so once you check off the things you want they take it away. pretty practical and useful and you have to admire a restaraunt that knows its customer base.

we ordered homemade sodas which were soooo tasty! i got something with strawberry so very light and refreshing and my partner got passionfruit which had more of a zingy punch. i got the board of balls chicken and beef with pesto and spicy tomato sauces. he ordered two sliders, beef and pork with spicy tomato. we also got gravy fries, coleslaw and chicken strips. all of it was so amazingly delicious. the meatballs melted in your mouth and full of flavour. the pesto was really nice and i really liked the slow heat that built with the spicy tomato. you get a good amount of fries so more should split with 3-4 people depending on hunger levels because we couldn't finish them. the chicken was also tasty, good crispy with a bit of a kick in flavour and still melted with tenderness. coleslaw sauce to cabbage ratio was pretty decent and also good.

didn't spend any time inside but good decor and atmosphere. probably would get crowded easily though.

i was so full and for $80 i would say we got a decent amount, plus for it all to be delicious, quickly served i have no complaints. i will be back hopefully with a reason to celebrate and try all the other drinks i wanted to try but didn't have the room for. recommend as a nice lunch or for a bunch of people!

food:  i love the unique menu style here. its a giant laminated menu, where you essentially build your own meal by using markers to pick out the essentials. from the flavour ball’s you want as the star of the dish (beef, chicken pork, lamb, vego or the chefs special), to choosing the base (such as mash or risotto) and the sauce you want to cover it all in (think spicy tomato or classic roast chicken gravy). this means there is always something to please everyone, even the fussiest of eaters (which is granted, is usually me). i've been here so many times, and no matter the combination - it's always amazing! the cocktails are also pretty damn good here too. 

service: i can't fault the service at all! super friendly, attentive without being annoying and you can ask for recommendations on menu combinations and they always have a great answer. i even asked them about the cocktails/what to order (because im super awkward) and they were incredibly helpful. 

ambiance:  exposed brick work, industrial style lighting, long sharing tables outside and cosy corner tables inside, the attention to detail and finishing touches all support the theme of a new york style neighborhood bar. the wholeplacejust feels effortlessly cool, making it so easy to relax into the surroundings and soak up that bedford energy.

stumbled here with some friends on a friday night. theplacewas one of the first restaurants to start filling up at around 6.30pm. the menu comes with marker pens to tick the items you want. first you choose the type of meatball you want, then the sauce, followed by the base (carb or salad). i went with the lamb meatballs with garlic aioli sauce on spaghetti. the dish was simple yet delicious, the spag has a nice texture and 3 meatballs were a good size. i would come back here to try out other combinations. the others at the table ordered sliders which is a good way to try out all the different meatballs.

love thisplacefor a cocktail or two before or after dinner. they are a bit pricey but always good!! beautiful presentation and lots of different flavours to tickle anyone's taste buds. food menu looked pretty average though, so i just stick to the drinks

a greatplaceto come and relax, get a cocktail and some tasty food. very good service and plenty parking after hours.

perfect for when you feel like some classic meatballs! i love having mine on top of polenta with the tomato sauce and the basil pesto - perfect combo. coming here for food in winter is great but thisplacewill be a year round staple thanks to their insane cocktails!! definitely aplaceto check out - it’s more fun when you’re with a larger group of people.

thisplaceis very underrated for its food! i guess it depends on how you order your meals as you build them yourself! i had the lamb meatballs w/ mushroom sauce & risotto and i was literally shook at the first bite, the flavours were unreal and the meatballs were melt in your mouth. the chicken strips were also so good perfectly cooked, tender and moist and the sauce wasn’t too much either. will definitely come back the service was super friendly too!

meet friends here and straight away i thought theplacewas really well put together and i liked the decor and how everything looks!
we ordered fries and a $10 desert (deep fried oreos) which i thought was big enough for 3 people and well worth the price. we ordered a polynesian painkiller and man was it strong $40 and depending on your thirst, good enough for 2 people! i found the service to be way to attentive! we had multiple wait staff come and check up on our table one after the other.

note probably a good idea to have sections...

definitely want to make my way through the cocktail list so will be back !!

thisplacenever fails; such tasty food i could eat it over and over again. however the fries portion could be a bit bigger in my opinion. other than that - amazing

the menu is a bit pricey for what you get considering the tiny portion size, and the taste of the dishes was nothing outstanding. we got charged the wrong amount but got refund right after. other than food, theplacewas lovely and our waitress was really friendly (a bit too attentive to be honest, came to our table almost every 3 minutes)

food 5/10 service 6/10 ambience 8/10