Gold Coast Taste review: Comuna Cantina, Pacific Fair
SICK of food that never looks as good as it does on Instagram? Tired of drooling over impossibly portioned burgers and stacked smoothie bowls only to be let down by reality? Try this place.
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SICK of food that never looks as good as it does on Instagram? Tired of drooling over impossibly portioned burgers and stacked smoothie bowls only to be let down by reality?
You need the Comuna Cantina cure.
The photogenic eatery is a real-life wonderland of tasting boards as big as your table, candy-coloured cocktails, hibiscus lattes and pastel plates.
Part of Pacific Fair’s resort precinct, it takes the popular approach to Latin street food with a trend-responsive menu, pretty plating and plenty of pink.
Visiting for a Saturday lunch, there’s a long line snaking through the semi-alfresco space to the counter, where diners are invited to place their orders.
With two of the perky team taking orders, which are delivered to the table, it’s a surprisingly short wait before the flavours start to flow.
On the refreshment front there are a dozen broadly appealing wines, bottled and tap beer, spirits and coffee, but it’s the palm-tree-conjuring cocktails that steal the show.
Sip the intensely coconut pastel pina colada or rainbow-rimmed Candyman, or pull up a straw and enjoy a shared tipple tossed in a watermelon.
While market-style snacks start at $4.50 for grilled corn lashed with chipotle aioli, the chips tasting board ($16) is the ultimate accessory for a round of drinks.
The giant wooden board is home to all sorts of crispy, crunchy deep-fried deliciousness; piles of plantain, potato, sweet potato and corn chips and a slew of spicy sides.
The texture of the plantain was hit and miss, but there was some very fine spud specimens to make up for it.
Choose any three tacos for $18. Soft, traditional tortillas are piled with a range of: grilled chicken, spicy beef, coconut-crumbed fish, vegetarian and — hands down my favourite — pulled pork with guacamole and shaved green apple.
If you prefer to build to taste, a DIY taco option ($29) has just been introduced, including six warmed tortillas with a smorgasbord of sides, meats and sauces.
Venezuelan-style arepas (billed on the menu as taco sandwiches) provide another fast, fresh option that’s packed with flavour (from $8).
Comuna Cantina’s many Brazilian and Colombian customers are to thank for the recent
addition of churrasco. The traditional barbecue, available in steak, chicken or mushroom, is among the heartier options on the menu.
That’s not to say the healthy choice isn't equally satisfying — the Abundance Bowl ($15) stomps all over the standard salad. Tied together with a vibrant lime dressing, it’s a nourishing helping of quinoa, black beans, kale, roasted sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, avocado and crushed tortillas.
The best part: everything actually tastes as good as it looks.
Comuna Cantina
Resort precinct, Pacific Fair
Book it: 5527 5646
Open: Daily from 11am until late
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