Yellowfin Seafood Restaurant, Broadbeach

Yellowfin Seafood Restaurant
http://www.yellowfinrestaurant.com.au/

One of my favorite girlfriends, Blossom, lives at the coast and I'd been meaning to pay a visit since forever but living in Toowoomba makes me fearful of driving more than necessary. Luckily, I was heading to Mt Tamborine on the Queen's Birthday weekend and the Gold Coast was on the way.

After a quick stop to check out her gorgeous home, we left for lunch. Blossom suggested we try Yellowfin on Broadbeach. It was a freezing day and we were glad to get to the relative warmth of the restaurant. There was an outdoor dining area but we ducked indoors to get as much wind protection as possible.

The restaurant decor is simple, light and contemporary, which accurately reflects the menu. As the name 'Yellowfin' suggests, there is an abundance of seafood offered in many classic combinations. We went with a couple of the featured dishes (labeled 'signature' on their menu).

Salt and pepper calamari - with tomto, spanish onion, herbs, rocket and aioli

For starters, Matt chose a salt and pepper calamari. They looked rather blonde and were indeed slightly undercooked. We like them deep golden and crunchy! They weren't terrible but definitely unexciting.

Goldband snapper - with baby summer vegetables, gnocchi and oyster infused lemon butter sauce

Blossom's main was the snapper. She said she liked all components of her dish and in particular, mentioned that the gnocchi tasted like the ones she made at home. I find it strange that summer vegetables are offered mid-Winter. It's a stark contrast to all the newer, on-trend restaurants boasting seasonal, regional produce.

Land and sea - sirloin steak, garlic prawns and roasted root vegetables

Matt went with the land and sea combo, which was a sirloin steak with 'king prawns'. The quotation marks are because they were very small for king prawns. I believe 'shrimp' would be a more accurate descriptor. I suppose the only positive is that they were proportionate to the very small piece of steak on the plate. Not that that's really a positive at all.

All 3 of us were surprised and disappointed by the serving size, especially considering that this dish was pricy. Having said that, Matt was happy with the taste of the steak and thought the roast veggies were beautiful. Thumbs down were granted for the garlic prawns though.

Yellowfin tuna - with baby spinach, walnut, grape and bocconcini salad, cherry tomato vinaigrette and toasted pita

I went with the yellowfin tuna (perhaps the restaurants namesake?) The tuna steak was lightly seared and tasty. I was a fan of the salad - it was fresh and zingy and went really well with the fish, althoguh the walnuts were out of place.

Dessert affogatos

I was very much in the mood for dessert by the end of our meal. Blossom and I both went for the affogato to satisfy our duel sugar and caffeine cravings in one hit.

Pouring in the goods stuff

They were much more elaborate than I expected! Rather than a scoop of vanilla ice-cream in a bed of espresso, the ice-cream was piled elegantly in a martini glass with espresso in a shot glass. We wasted no time combining the 2 delicious components. Mmm... coffee and ice-cream. Sweet and bigger. Cold and hot. Melting as they meet. Heavenly.

I'd say Yellowfin was middle of the range for a contemporary seafood restaurant on the coast. The food was alright but nothing stood out and there were a few notable flaws.