Right in the middle of the Broadbeach hub, yet a million miles away from the ‘Glitterazi’ of the Gold Coast is Social. The sister restaurant to fine dining Rock Salt, Social is a funky tapas bar with a cool, casual Californian feel. I visited on a Thursday night with my girlfriends after hearing the word spread about this unknown new GC restaurant.
Social’s décor is industrial with a hint of glam. An open chef’s kitchen is surrounded by bench seating, there’s a long wooden bar towards the back and several tables are scattered indoors and out. As its name suggests, Social’s focus is shared tapas; communal plates for small and large groups to enjoy whilst mingling.
Our waiter for the evening was nice but his service was a little mixed; it wavered between friendly and knowledgeable to pushy and rushed. We ordered the Potato Bombas, the Salumi platter with truffle and fennel and a half serve of roasted chicken. The bombas were delicious as always, you can’t really go wrong when you see these on any restaurants’ menu. The salumi platter had great flavour, but the selection was a little sparse; four types of salami on a platter served only with bread which was stale tasting. The roasted chicken tasted delicious but was a little misleading, it’s more like slices of teriyaki chicken, again not served with anything, it’s just chicken on a plate, but it did have great flavour.
So far mixed reviews. But, it gets better.
We ordered dessert to share; the dark chocolate and peanut butter marquise, with hazelnut soil, espresso ice-cream and salted caramel. Delicious. I love marquise cake and this one was a funky twist on the original; it was a spherical slice rolled in the soil with chilled peanut butter in the centre. The ice-cream was deliciously creamy and had intense flavour, and the salted caramel was everything a caramel should be; rich and sweet yet tart. It would have to be one of the most amazing desserts I’ve had in a while. Overall, not sure I’d return for a main meal the food was average and the price points were quite high, however I’d definitely go back with friends for an evening of desserts, you can’t go past it! 2.5/5 but 5/5 for dessert!
Where: 3 Oracle Boulevard, Broadbeach QLD 4218
Bookings: essential
Phone: (07) 5504 5210
Photos by Krissie (sorry for the poor quality, the lighting was terrible. I'll be getting a better camera soon I promise!).
Bookings: essential
Phone: (07) 5504 5210
Photos by Krissie (sorry for the poor quality, the lighting was terrible. I'll be getting a better camera soon I promise!).
