Gold Coast Restaurant Review: Yellowfin Restaurant, Broadbeach 30 December 2010

If this restaurant wasn't on twitter and I hadn't tweeted with Staci, then I probably wouldn't have tried it.  Yellowfin Restaurant is just around the corner from the main restaurant drag at Broadbeach and looks somewhat less dressed up than some of it's swankier neighbours.  However, you should never judge a book by its cover and before arriving I had checked out their website and seen the seafood that was on offer, which looked fresh, generous and tasty.

We arrived with kids, ordered the food and didn't have to wait long.  Our American waitress (whose name I have now since forgotten, sorry!) was breezy, smiley and helpful.  Sadly Staci was on cocktail duty at 1two3 Restaurant that night, which sounds like an excellent excuse to try 1two3! 

It didn't take long for our our entree (and kids meals) to arrive.  Ace, I love that.

The dozen Hervey Bay scallops were plump & juicy and the sun dried tomato topping was a lovely accompaniment and didn't overwhelm the flavour of the scallop.  Our 8 year old even declared them to be delicious.

I ordered wild barramundi with a chickpea salad whilst hubby ordered battered squire with balsamic salad.  We asked what a squire was and our lovely waitress informed us it was like a baby snapper.  Hubby apparently heard "snapper" and ignored the "battered" bit.

The barra was wonderfully moist with the crispiest skin I've ever eaten and I'm a big fan of crispy skin fish.  The chicpea salad (with tomato and eggplant) was lovely with hints of cumin & other middle eastern spices.  Although I love my greens, I think the dish could have done without the broccoli, or at least been served on the side.  The greens were a little overwhelming and the flavour didn't really marry with any of the other flavours in the dish.  So I'm going to say that a little bowl of broccoli on the side would have been preferable. 

When hubby's dish arrived he was surprised that it was battered, but as I mentioned, the waitress had described it as being battered.  It's not something I'd ever order in a restaurant.  Too much battery batter, too much like fish & chip shop fare for me.

However once hubby could peel back some of the batter and dig into the bed of balsamic salad, he was swooning.  Swooning! 

The kids ordered calamari & chips and neither could finish their serves.  They were generous and the calamari was fresh and piled high.

So: never judge a book by its cover.  Yellow Fin Dining may not be as glitzy or cool as some other Broadbeach restaurants, but it does serve beautifully fresh, well cooked seafood, with generous portion sizes and lovely service.  A good honest Gold Coast Restaurant that I'd be happy to return to with the family.

Yellowfin Seafood Restaurant

6/20 Queensland Ave.
Broadbeach Q 4218

Ph: 07 5504 5335
Fax: 07 5504 5336
Function enquiries - justine@yellowfinrestaurant.com.au