bedford soda & liquor

i was super excited to try bedford soda as i had heard such great things about it, so i caught up with two friends there this week. the ambiance was good, with a lot of hipster type guy waiters. your menu comes with tick boxes and felt tip menus, once selected you pass it to your waiter, child's play! the main choice on the menu is meatballs, beef, chicken, pork, vege or special. next you choose yoursauceand then finally your base - spaghetti, risotto, mash and polenta.

for smaller options you have a slider (one ball, plussaucein a bun), salads or subs.

i tried the special balls with tomatosauceand spaghetti, it was amazing, we also shared a side of fries and salad. in line with my current salted caramel obsession i had the sundae for dessert, delish.

as well as the awesome food they have a great list of cocktails, i tried the vodka daisy and gin daisy, both fantastic drinks.

now i want to go back and try some more of the menu!

salted caramel and malteser milkshake.
beef meatballs with cheesesauceand mash.
order that and watch your life change for the better it's the only place i 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, this place keeps 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 mushroomsauceand 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 specialsaucethe 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 perfect place to 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 tomatosauceand 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!

been wanting to go to this place for 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. coleslawsauceto 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 thesauceyou 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 whole place just feels effortlessly cool, making it so easy to relax into the surroundings and soak up that bedford energy.

i finally got around to going to belford soda & liquor on saturday for lunch, the sun was shining and it was the perfect weather for meatballs and soda. the menu is meatballs anyway you want it (that's you way you need it...). choose your meatballs, yoursauceand your canvas (in a sub, on a slider, with pasta, mash potato, polenta or salad). i wanted to try every combination but landed on the sliders with a beef meatball and specialsauce(monterey jack and jalapeno) and the special meatball (chicken and bacon with brie in the middle) with pesto sauce. my friends ordered the sub with pork meatballs and spicy tomatosauceand slider with chicken meatball and spicy sauce. everything was delicious but i think i liked the sub more than the sliders. the baguette was beautifully soft in the middle and lightly crunchy on the outside. for drinks we had the mango, mandarin, lemon, ginger, honey soda and the peanut butter milkshakes, one with caramel and one with chocolate. the drinks were all really good, i can't wait to go back in the evening and try their liquor laden shakes and soda cocktails. their desserts sounded delicious and include a pie which changes daily, they had key lime pie and cherry pie the day i was there.

stumbled here with some friends on a friday night. the place was 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 aiolisauceon 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.

beef meatball sandwich smothered in tomatosauceand cheese, uhm yes please! can't go wrong with this combo tbh, and had a yummy beetroot salad to keep me humble cause #healthychoices

the only downside for me was that the staff were not very attentive to us, i had to go inside and ask for menus and then again to ask if we could order food. would go again though!

that drink was exceptional! also ordered the fried chicken onion rings and chips. loved the fried chicken but i think the portion size had changed thesauceit came with was decent preferred it with the aoili from the onion rings. good vibe good atmosphere good music

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

damn came here for dinner the other night and was very impressed. i love the vibes and love how you choose what you want to order by ticking boxes and making your own food combos it’s so different from every other restaurant. i got chicken meatballs with tomatosauceand fettuccine and it was delish. the food is so fresh and tasty my family and i loved it. the night we went there was a dj which made the vibes so summery. definitely recommend coming here. x

this place is 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/ mushroomsauce& 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 thesaucewasn’t too much either. will definitely come back the service was super friendly too!

came to bedford soda & liquor for lunch. not too busy and was able to get a table easily for a saturday afternoon.

wait staff are really helpful and are able to recommend good combinations of food.

we ordered beef meatballs on spaghetti with spicy tomatosauceas well as lamb meatballs on risotto with spicy tomato sauce.

both meatballs were cooked well, soft and tender but not over cooked. sauces were excellent, more suited to the spaghetti though. mildly spicy and just the right amount. both risotto and spaghetti were also not over cooked.

enjoyed the handmade sodas which were really refreshing and not over sweetened.

really good value meal, especially with the zomato gold membership.

had the pleasure to visit bedford soda & liquor. we indulge in beef bedford balls with spicy tomatosaucewith also polenta and side of rocket cherry tomato, kumara and parmesan salad. also had pork balls with parmesansaucealongside with fettuccine topped up with quinoa, baby tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. can confirm the food was soo exquisite and definitely delivered the flavours we anticipated. highly recommend. service was outstanding!