La Soul Cafe & Burger Boutique — Restaurant in Ilidža Municipality

"La Soul" aims to present itself as a luxurious and exclusive venue, but at this stage, it feels like an example that true sophistication and style cannot always be achieved with money alone. The concept holds potential, but the execution does not yet fully match the ambition.

The interior is furnished with expensive pieces, but the combination of styles feels inconsistent. Gold accents, intended to add elegance, lean more towards being flashy, while cheaper decorative elements (such as ceramics) further disrupt the aesthetic. The space lacks warmth – the table arrangement creates distance between guests but leaves the area feeling empty and cold.

A particular aesthetic issue is the visible industrial-style ventilation on the ceiling, which does not fit the attempt to create a luxurious and refined atmosphere. This inconsistency leaves an impression of an unfinished space with an unclear identity.

Food and Drinks: The espresso and cortado were excellent – rich in flavor and beautifully presented. The cone-shaped cup with a cube base left a great visual impression. The burgers were average in taste but higher in price than expected for their quality. On the other hand, the churros I ordered for dessert were flawless and without any complaints.

Service left a positive impression, thanks largely to the waitress who served us. Although there were minor misunderstandings with our order at the beginning – likely due to foreign staff who did not fully understand English – all mistakes were quickly and professionally corrected. I would especially like to commend the waitress who attended to us – she was extremely polite, attentive, and went out of her way to make our visit pleasant. Her attention to detail and effort to compensate for any mistakes left a strong positive impression and greatly improved the overall experience.

Atmosphere still has room for improvement: The sound system creates an echo, which disrupts the overall comfort. The space is not adequately heated, contributing to a sense of discomfort. The finishing work on the decorative arches appears incomplete and inconsistent with the rest of the interior.

I must also mention the wilted olive trees inside the venue. While the trees are impressive in size, their condition sends a message of neglect and does not align with the image of a luxury space. Such a prominent feature deserves more care and attention.

"La Soul" has a good concept and potential, but it still feels like a work in progress. Aesthetic inconsistencies and functional shortcomings diminish the overall experience. However, the friendly and professional staff – especially the waitress who served us – deserve high praise. Her dedication and effort elevated the level of service and made our visit much more enjoyable.

In the future, with greater attention to detail and improvements in atmosphere, "La Soul" could become a place that fully justifies its ambitious image. Until then, it remains a venue worth visiting, with the expectation of a pleasant but...

I visited this cafe a total of three times, mainly out of convenience and a genuine hope that things would improve with each visit. Unfortunately, my experience remained consistently underwhelming. While I normally try to give places the benefit of the doubt, I’ve decided not to return after these repeated disappointments.

To begin with the positive: the waitress was consistently kind, attentive, and polite throughout all visits. Her service was the one highlight that remained steady she even anticipated issues before they happened, which says something about how frequently they must occur.

On my first visit, we tried some chicken dishes that were surprisingly good; flavorful and well-prepared. Unfortunately, that’s where the praise ends. The slider burgers, while visually appealing, were incredibly dry. Both the meat and the bun lacked moisture and there was almost no sauce, making them quite difficult to enjoy. As a coffee enthusiast, I was especially excited to try their coffee selection, but this was the biggest letdown. The latte, Spanish latte, and espresso all tasted watered down, as if diluted either by too much milk or water. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone looking for a good coffee experience.

During my second visit, I ordered the mozzarella sticks and fries. The mozzarella sticks were dry and stiff inside — not stretchy, gooey, or crunchy as expected. The fries were served cold, which felt careless.

By my third and final visit, I decided to stick with the chicken, since that was the only thing that had impressed me so far — and it still held up as the best item on the menu. However, we ordered another round of fries and again they came out cold and soggy. The waitress immediately brought us fresh ones and apologized, almost as if she already knew this would happen. To finish off the visit, we tried the crème brûlée, hoping dessert would redeem the meal. Unfortunately, it was another miss. The top was not caramelized at all — instead of that satisfying crack, we were met with wet sugar and a pudding-like texture. It was simply not crème brûlée.

The overall atmosphere of the cafe felt chaotic and lacked balance. The crowd seemed to be almost entirely made up of tourists from the Middle East. While that’s not inherently a negative, the one-dimensional clientele may reflect the way the cafe has shaped its menu and standards — high on presentation, but lacking in genuine quality.

I truly hope this place improves. It has potential, especially with friendly staff and some decent dishes, but the inconsistency in food quality, poorly made coffee, and lack of attention to detail make it hard to recommend...

Edit June 2025: I have changed my mind about this place. Everyone working here was beyond kind. Our waitress was Fatima (I believe? That was written on the bill) was very helpful and kind. Of course I tipped her because she deserved it to the fullest and there was no racism like last time. I took my guests here again due to good food, it was a great experience. I am grateful to the restaurant for taking the feedback and making necessary changes.

Really good food, absolutely terrible service. The waitress made a mistake with our order, okay it’s busy, so I didn’t say anything. We then made eye contact with her and all other waiters/waitresses to order dessert but none of them came to take our order (for a total of more than 30 minutes). Then we told them that we wanted to order, they ignored us and tended to Arab families. We even waved hands and they ignored us. Eventually we got angry, we left. Avoid at all costs! As someone who lives in Bosnia it is absolutely stupid to be treated this way just because they think Arab tourists will tip them higher. Moreover, this was a place I really enjoyed and came to often, so your only clientele is Arab tourists in summer? Good luck in winter. Shame on you!!

Edit: The restaurant responded to this that it’s about who arrives earlier, it isn’t true. We were already seated for a while and had eaten dinner here, we wanted to order dessert on top of that, and three of the tables had arrived much later. And as already mentioned, I understand that busy times are difficult to manage but we clearly told the waiter that we wanted to order and she did not come to our table and even ignored eye contact. I am not saying the restaurant is purposefully racist, I am saying that your staff are very clearly serving people who tip them better. As already mentioned, I love your food, and ambiance, and that was why I had taken my guests to your restaurant but the entire experience was terrible. Just to mention that our bill was above 100KM, I don’t mind, I wanted good food. But on top of such a bill, for the waiter to ignore our requests were unacceptable.

If you’re the restaurant reading this, please check on the way your staff is acting towards non-Arab clients. I would suggest sending someone in as a client, especially making sure they don’t tip and don’t look like they would tip to see...