SOKO Rooftop Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Brisbane City

We sat down as a group and told the waiter (grey coat) that we are waiting for a few more friends so to come back shortly.

They took a long time to come back and it was very difficult to get anyone's attention to order. Plenty of staff running around but no one looks our way.

Despite frustration, I finally waved for someone to come over but he didn't signal that he saw me so I wasn't sure. Despite this, I was still polite and respectful when he finally came over to us after setting the tables, but he didn't seem happy and provided an unwelcoming and unenthusiastic service.

We wanted to order food but he asked if we wanted to do drinks order first, so we ordered our drinks and he says that he will come back to take our food order. He did not come back for 20ish mins so the same thing happened - we struggled to get any attention for service. We couldn't see any of the waiters in grey coat, could only see the ones in black. The waiters in black didn't look like they take orders though, they only served food and drinks. But we were frustrated from the constant long wait, and asked one of them to please get us the waiter to take our food order and to fill our cups with water at least (yup we have still not received table water the whole time).

The waiter came out to take our order, but still did not give water. After a bit of wait, we asked again and we finally got it (3rd time's the charm?). Drinks came out - served with no straws. You cant drink a Pisco Blend with no straw. You will only get foam.

The food came out relatively fast though- while it's not bad, it's not amazing. It's ok. Crispy rice dish was very oily. The spicy tuna maki is a VERY thick layer of rice- it's not your typical rice portion that you'd get at sushi trains. The best might've been the gyoza because the dipping sauce is quite nice (although not sure why a Japanese dish is served in a Chinese bamboo steamer...?) The Polo A La Brasa was very tender, but not much in flavour. Slightly brand. Presentation of food is visually appealing though, but that's mostly it. View was very basic. Music is the same repetitive music/beat for hours on end.

The service is abysmal considering it wasn't even that busy. While we were waiting for someone to our initial order, we were contemplating on walking out because it just took so long. The waiters in grey needs to improve their service. The waiters in black were all extremely friendly but they couldnt do much for us when we needed service. I was very disappointed, and frankly I won't return even if the restaurant offers anything, because we also honestly felt like we were the only group that was unwelcomed (we were the only asian group).

Hopefully we were just unlucky and that no one else experiences...

My NYE 2024 experience here was not endearing, at all, to return to Soko.

Exorbitantly overpriced food and drink - spent nearly $100 on food alone, and was still hungry afterwards. To everyone reading, it’s all entree-style, and there really is no one dish that’s under $25 - screenshot attached.

I ordered 2 entrees at 8:21pm, and they still hadn’t reached our table by 8:50pm. At 8:50pm, I reached out to a server, who took a photo of my receipt, and said he’d sort it out. At 9:00pm, I reached out to front-of-house staff, who assured me my food would be delivered ASAP. Mind you, throughout this experience, I watched every other table’s food being delivered successfully. At 9:20pm, I reached out to front-of-house staff AGAIN and let them know it’s been an hour since I ordered my food. At 9:30pm, my food finally arrived, without ANY compensation for my troubles and patience - no complimentary drinks, no complimentary food, NO apology, not even a server checking in to see how things are going at our table; NOTHING.

On top of the food issues, the cocktails were small, bland, and overpriced ($25 for half of what should have been a full-sized French Martini).

Not only that, but the music sucked, and was absolutely not a vibe.

We were planning to remain at Soko Bar to celebrate midnight New Years 2025, and would have subsequently been supporting the venue by doing so, but every table that Soko staff assured us would be ours for ‘the rest of the night’, the staff then decided to move our group onto smaller and smaller tables, until eventually they told us to leave.

Just before we were told to vacate Soko, my girlfriend ordered a drink via QR code. We were wondering how we’d handle a bought-and-paid-for drink when we were being told to leave, and the ‘manager’ came over and refunded the drink without actually saying anything to us. Awful communication, awful attitude, awful value-for-money, awful experience overall.

I advise all potential patrons to steer clear of Soko, as there are much, much better...

I booked over a month in advance for 5:30pm Saturday 29/3 & requested the best table outside as it would be my birthday. I received a text from Soko the night before my reservation saying that the rain was upon us tomorrow & to text back or call if I had any concerns about my reservation. I texted back asking what would happen if it was raining - (if there were umbrellas or if we would be moved to an inside table). I was then called on the day of my booking & the staff member highly recommended that I move my reservation to an inside table. She said that if the weather improved by the time of my reservation, we could be moved back to an outside table. She said there was an inside table at 4:30 or we could go to a sister venue. I asked for a later time at Soko & was told 7. I then received an email saying that the booking was at 7:15. We arrived at 7:15 & were shown to an inside table even though the weather had improved & several others were sitting at outside tables with umbrellas. I explained to the staff member that I was told that we could sit outside if the weather improved. We had to wait for her to find a table for us (even though there were clearly some available) & follow up on it. We were shown to an outside table right at the back near the entrance/walkway (definitely not the best table possible) that was extremely close to the neighbouring table & had wet seats. When we realised the seats were wet, the staff tried to dry them off. Our group all ordered food & drinks around the same time & my friend had to wait over 40 minutes for her food. A staff member came & asked if she’d received her order yet & after she said no, he never returned with an update. We had to flag down another staff member who checked on it for us & eventually brought it out and apologised. We had finished our food well before she received hers. There was also no toilet paper in the bathroom. It was overall a highly disappointing experience for our first time here (and my birthday) & I wouldn’t...