Charcoal Charcoal

Shop 3, 126-128 Robina Town Centre Drive
Robina, QLD 4226

I was up in the Gold Coast a couple weeks ago, getting my exam study on. But clearly I wasn’t studying all that hard, because I managed to fit in quite a few meals out as well. The first was Charcoal Charcoal, nestled inconspicuously alongside a Taco Bell and KFC. The menu was borderline too small, but did a decent job with what they had. I would however like to ask: what’s with the décor? It’s like if you asked someone from Japan who has never been to Australia to design an Australian-themed bar. Though Japanese(ish) in essence, the corrugated iron ceiling, Australian flag bunting, and weird bits of Christmas decorations brings to mind a second-rate Aussie outback themed eatery in December. Yet somehow, I found it rather charming, so maybe they knew what they were doing.

Rating: 11.5/20 – meat needs more char.
Best bite: chicken thigh skewer. super yum.

If you’re going to get anything, make it one of the grilled meat sets. The Grilled Pork Set ($22) was super generous, consisting of 200g of fatty meat, cooked over charcoal, and served with pickles, sauces, salad, and rice. They even chuck in a really nice homemade yuzu drink to round out the meal. If I had to make one complaint (and this is a recurring theme), it’s that the meat could’ve really used some more time over the flames; it did pick up the smokiness, but definitely not to its full potential.

I will just come out and say that this Salmon Ochazuke ($18.9) sucked. Though there’s nothing specifically wrong with it, the soup tasted like it came from a packet, and the salmon from a tin. This is in the territory of a cheap and easy meal at home, not a restaurant quality dish. Save your money for another one of the grilled meat sets.

The skewers we tried fared somewhere in the middle. The Chicken Thigh Skewer ($9) was utterly scrumptious, the meat smoky and juicy, and the skin charred to a fatty crisp. The Ox Tongue Skewer ($9) however failed to live up to the precedent, once again being under-grilled, and chewy as a result.