Soul Kitchen Beach Club is a beachfront restaurant in Santa Maria with Italian influence, excellent tuna dishes and rare vegetarian options. Calm atmosphere, live music and refined plates—though service can be slow and card payments carry a small surcharge.
When dinner comes with sand under the table
Soul Kitchen Beach Club sits right on the beach in Santa Maria, one of those places where you arrive thinking “just dinner” and end up staying longer because the sea is right there, the light softens and live music may—or may not—start playing.
It looks relaxed, almost effortless. But like many places on the island, it works best when you understand its rhythm.
Beachfront restaurant with Italian roots
This is not a beach shack and not a fine-dining temple either. Soul Kitchen is a beachfront restaurant with a Mediterranean soul, Italian influence and a menu that tries to please many profiles at once.
It works particularly well for people looking for proper food by the sea, including vegetarians and vegans—still a rare thing on the island.
What shines and what divides opinion
The pattern across reviews is clear. When it works, it works very well.
Fresh tuna—tartare, sashimi, tataki—comes up again and again, along with pasta dishes like cacio e pepe, ravioli or tagliatelle with lobster. Many describe the cooking as precise, clean and balanced.
Vegetarian and vegan options are not an afterthought here. Several guests mention eating here multiple days in a row simply because it was one of the few places that consistently delivered.
Portions, however, lean towards the refined side. This is not where you come starving and hoping for heroic plates.
It’s beachside comfort food with restaurant ambitions—not the other way around.
Calm, music… and island timing
The atmosphere is one of Soul Kitchen’s strongest cards: tables on sand, plants, sunset views and, on some nights, live music that adds rather than overwhelms.
Service is generally described as warm and professional, especially when something goes wrong. There are examples of dishes being replaced without drama, which counts for a lot.
That said, waiting times can stretch, even when the restaurant doesn’t look busy. This is not inefficiency—it’s island rhythm meeting a menu that requires care.
Where frustration appears
Two recurring friction points appear in reviews.
First: a 3% card payment surcharge, sometimes only mentioned after sitting down. It’s not the amount—it’s the timing.
Second: inconsistency. Some nights are memorable; others feel underwhelming, with unavailable menu items or dishes lacking finesse.
When expectations are too high, disappointment follows faster.
How to enjoy it more
Arrive with time, not hunger anxiety. Ask about card charges before ordering. Trust the tuna and the pasta rather than the pizza. And if you value vegetarian options, this place quietly becomes a small luxury.
A place that rewards the right mindset
Soul Kitchen Beach Club is at its best when you let it be what it is: a calm, beachside restaurant serving thoughtful food in a beautiful setting.
If you come relaxed, curious and without stopwatch expectations, it often delivers moments you remember long after the sand is gone from your shoes.
Not every beach dinner needs fireworks—sometimes a steady glow is enough.
