Gold Coast Taste: Palm Beach’s Collective building dining dreams

ALMOST 400 seats, five kitchens, one rooftop. Chantay Logan meets the Palm Beach locals rewriting the restaurant rules.

Building dreams: Wayne Hubbard, Chloe Hubbard and Jeremy Davidson at The Collective. Picture Mike Batterham

CRAVING pizza but your mates are backing burgers?

With five restaurants open seven days a week, table service that allows you to order from myriad menus and a rooftop bar, The Collective Palm Beach is shaping up as the answer to our daily dining dilemma.

The ultimate foodie playground, which will open mid-December, is the brainchild of Gold Coast hospitality pro Jeremy Davidson, his partner Chloe Hubbard and Chloe’s father Wayne.

Currently under construction on the site of the old Palm Beach post office, the concept may be inspired by food markets in Spain, but it will be the first of its kind on the Gold Coast.

“We were travelling around Europe and it was in Barcelona and Madrid that this idea snowballed quite quickly,” says Jeremy, who diners may know from Brooklyn Depot, Pigs & Pints and Sheraton Mirage.

“We went to these amazing marketplaces — you go to this place and have a little nibble, then that place. There’s so much variety.

“We just loved the atmosphere — the hum — and the ability to choose from all these different places and we started moulding that concept into where we are with The Collective today.”

With five individually functioning kitchens contributing everything from authentic Mexican fare to Italian comfort food and modern Australian share plates, diners will be able to order from any menu, enjoy their food dine-in or takeaway, at a communal table or private dining room.

The food will be at traditional market prices, but there will be an optional $3 table service fee, which includes still and sparkling water … and no lining up.

“As a family we love food and eating out, and have always craved somewhere that offers a variety of choices of different cuisines in a restaurant service style environment,” Jeremy says.

“We’ll have a central ordering point at the front. If you want there’ll be tables where you can sit down and eat your food if you don’t want the $3 service charge or you can take it home or go to the beach. We’re also looking at a delivery option down the track.

“It’s that age-old thing when you’re sitting at home with your partner — I want pizza, Chloe wants Asian food, one of us is going to be disappointed, but when you come to us you have the ability to both eat whatever you want.”

“We wanted an offering that catered to everyone,” Chloe adds. “We wanted people to come in with their families, to create an interactive lifestyle venue.”

While the trio say the popularity of Miami Marketta gave them confidence in the Coast’s culinary climate, The Collective will dish up a different dynamic.

“I’ve seen Marketta and seen how busy it is — I’m inspired by what they do, but the way I personally like to eat, that doesn’t suit it,” Wayne says.

“I like to catch up with friends; go to a venue, sit down. If I’ve got two hours to spend catching up with friends, I want to spend two hours with my friends, not an hour in a line.

“But if you’re a guy that just wants a quick burger and a beer on the way home, we tick that box too.”

While no-expense has been spared on a complicated network of retractable roofs that will allow the whole space to be enjoyed rain or shine, the rooftop is set to be a major drawcard.

“Upstairs is more of a tropical resort feel; you can eat up there, but we want the emphasis to be more on the bar,” Chloe says.

“There are glimpses of ocean, but it’s the sunsets we’re most excited about.

“That view out the back you just get hills and trees and the sunset — it’s spectacular.”

Jeremy says he’s recruited a top mixologist and bar manager to complete the picture.

“We’ll have a strong wine list, which is a real trend in Palm Beach — all the venues that have opened up recently have great wine lists and we’re confident we can be part of that,” he says.

“All of the cocktails will have an element of theatre or interaction, so that there’s excitement created when the drink comes out.

“We’ll be getting back to that really traditional bar service, with people who are really passionate about what they’re putting in front of you.”

The Collective’s Wayne Hubbard, Chloe Hubbard and Jeremy Davidson. Picture Mike Batterham

On the menu

LUCKIES DINER

Expect an all-American line-up from the owners of Easy Street Diner, Erin and Lucas Schranz. “Lucky is Lucas’ nickname — Lucky Lucas,” Jeremy explains. “They’re going to have the casual American-style offering covered with burgers, wings and those kind of traditional American chicken dishes. It’ll be similar food to Easy Street. We really like their story, how they started in a pop-up, as it reflects the whole idea behind The Collective.”

THE ITALIAN JOB

Savour wood-fired pizza and tapas from the team behind swinging southern spot, Bread and Butter. “A lot of diners will already know Jorge (Mauleon) from Kirra,” Jeremy says. “He’s got his wood-fired pizza ovens going in and he’ll be doing meat and cheese charcuterie boards as well.”

UMAMI

Together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness and saltiness, umami is one of the five basic tastes. Named for the mysterious savoury sensation, Umami will feature Asian fusion fare created by Vincent Seng (previously Mamasan). “Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese — we’ll be drawing inspiration from all over Asia,” Jeremy says. “There will be chilli crab on there, miso, gyoza and lots of wok cooking keeping everything very healthy,” Jeremy says. “Vincent will be using very authentic ingredients, but also the best of local produce … the two combine nicely.”

CALAVERA

A term commonly used to describe decorative sugar skulls, Calavera promises to be the real deal. “This is going to be a traditional Mexican kitchen,” Jeremy says. “Because it’s sharing there’ll be offerings like tacos, but we’ll be using the chargrill to get all of those smoky flavours you get with really traditional Mexican cuisine.”

THE KITCHEN @ THE COLLECTIVE

Modern Australian share plates will make up the menu at this The Collective mainstay. “The Kitchen is going to be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Jeremy says. “The chef, Clayton Gill, has come up from Melbourne and is putting together a really strong restaurant breakfast offering. Another highlight will be live oysters, so he’ll be shucking every morning. Maybe we’ll have live shucking of oysters on the rooftop every Friday and Saturday night … with a champagne, watching the sun go down.”