Five of the Best: The Gold Coast’s five best food platters revealed

PLATTERS are the perfect choice for an accompaniment to drinks, a light meal or the most lavish of special occasions. We’ve grazed the Coast’s best.

Plenty of tasty items on offer in platers across the Coast

PLATTERS are the perfect choice for an accompaniment to drinks, a light meal or the most lavish of special occasions. We’ve grazed the Coast’s best.

Your Platter Matters

Delivered anywhere on the Gold Coast

Your Platter Matters platter spread

Yes, there is a Gold Coast business dedicated solely to platters! Creative soul Megan Fernandez launched Your Platter Matters after putting together a knockout grazing board to impress her friends. The rave reviews soon had her supplying her specialty platters for all occasions, particularly weddings where her sensational spreads are the standout hit during the awkward bridal party photoshoot. “I specialise in theming so that each platter is personalised for each client,” Megan says. “Sometimes it’s extra flowers, or colour. It’s all part of the experience.” Megan sources high quality local produce, is on the quest to reduce waste at every turn and delivers between Brisbane and Byron.

Baskk at Kirra Point

52-58 Marine Parade, Coolangatta

Baskk Kirra Point Platters

With its stunning location and natural, beachy decor, a Baskk grazing board is a great option for relaxed coastal dining with a sophisticated edge. There are a range of boards from the menu including cured meat with cheese and condiments, vegetarian with cheese, olives and fruit and the sumptuous wood-fired baby brie with local honeycomb and soft toasted sourdough. But don’t be shy in asking for a custom-made grazing board. “We create them for groups of any size and to any dietary requirements,” owner Donna Archdeacon says. They are surely works of art in themselves, almost too beautiful to eat but far too seductive not to.

The Avenue,

3-15 Orchid Avenue, Surfers Paradise

Platter at The Avenue.

The Avenue’s platters are the perfect way to kick off a night out. Its signature Platter Avenue features generous servings of prosciutto, double smoked ham, salami, three cheeses, fruit, nuts, white chocolate, jalapeño hommus and basil pesto, with grissini sticks and toasted ciabatta on the side. Another option is the Tasting platter loaded with favourites from the entree menu, served with the breads and condiments. “The key to a great platter is to start with first class ingredients and ensure the presentation is spectacular,” head chef Matthew Glass says. A tick on both counts.

The Island Rooftop

3128 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Surfers Paradise

The Island Rooftop’s platters

There’s nothing quite like a twilight drink at the Island Rooftop in the heart of Surfers Paradise with its sweeping views of the CBD and Main Beach coastline. The Rooftop offers a choice of three platters to suit all tastes and accompaniments: the categorically-named Land, Sea and Pizza. While the latter two are probably self-explanatory, the Land option boasts truffled mushroom arancini, chicken and lamb skewers, buffalo wings, shoestring fries with aioli and the choice of one of Rooftop’s gourmet pizzas, straight from the prized pizza oven imported from — well, you can probably guess.

The Collective

1128 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

The Collective Palm Beach

Among the plethora of food choices at The Collective, you’ll find a cracking antipasto platter for two, perfect for a light meal or an accompaniment to a few drinks from the bar. Tuck into freshly sliced prosciutto, Calabrese spicy salami, triple brie, whole buffalo mozzarella, mixed Italian olives, served with roasted Altamura bread and fresh garlic. To accompany, events manager Belinda Houlihan suggests one of the vermouth Regal Rouge spritzer covering a range of botanical profiles — perhaps Wild Rose or Daring Dry depending on your taste. Or enjoy the antipasto platter special: $50 with a bottle of Shiraz pinot noir or pinot grigio from 3pm-6pm Monday-Friday.