The House of Bamboo

The House of Bamboo is a funky Asian street food restaurant and bar with a tropical tiki vibe and a disco soundtrack, located in a basement off Griffith Street in Coolangatta.

With its cool retro ambience, delectable eats and disco beats The House of Bamboo is unlike anything else in the southern Gold Coast and is a must-visit for visitors and locals.

Diners can take a seat in the cute bamboo-lined booths or the long communal-style tables running through the centre and enjoy exquisite pan-Asian dishes and bespoke cocktails, sake or boutique wines

Guests are invited to start with a selection of 'greatest hits' (nibbles) whilst checking out the menu - think renkon chips (fried lotus root, shichimi, tofu & avocado creme); or oysters with ikura ponzu or chicarones (crispy chicken skin with chilli & peanuts); paired with a Disco Spritz, Pete's Pure Prosecco or Hakatsuru China Cup.

From the raw bar, there's yellowfin tuna with sesame, ginger & soy; kingfish carpaccio (with nuoc cham, micro herbs & coconut cream); salmon miang kham (Tasmanian salmon, betel leaf, chilli & onion herbs); and wagyu beef tataki (with fried onion, garlic ships & ponzu dressing).

The selection of delicious small bites includes chicken satay (Filipino style BBQ chicken); den miso eggplant (arare, anori & sesame seed); pork belly (den miso, apple & ginger salsa & pickled chilli); and grilled octopus (Filipino style zoberu sauce & chilli).

Highly recommended are the bao, with a choice of pork belly with adobo sauce, greens & pickles or BYO - plum duck breast, cucumber, spring onion & house sauce.

And it's hard to go past the delicious dumplings - choose from pork gyoza, vegetable dumplings with green curry, edamame and pea tendrils, prawn dumplings with chilli oil; or pork and prawn wontons (steamed or fried). There's also khao soy noodles, pad thai or Tomy Yum fried rice.

Larger dishes to share include beef short rib with rendang sauce, coconut & spices; grilled lemongrass chicken; wagyu brisket with kare kare peanut sauce & annatto; massaman curried lamb shoulder; or heavenly salmon saikyo yaki (marinated in miso paste).

House cocktails are also a must-try, most with a tiki or tropical flavour such as Lychee & Rose Martini; Banana Daiquiri; Grilled Pineapple Tommy's; Filipina Colada; Saigon Swizzle; and signature Disco Spritz (sake, umeshu, lemon & prosecco). there's also a slection of sakes available by the cup or bottle.

For beer drinkers, tap beers include Matsos, Matso Moto Japanese Lager, Burleigh Japan Black and Young Henry's Newtowner, while bottled beers include Japanese Matcha IPA, Red Rice Ale or Rice Lager and Filipino Pale Pilsener.  And for wine drinkers there's a concise list of Australian boutque wines available by the glass or bottle.

Adding to the ambience is the retro disco soundtrack and In a rear corner there's a funky art-covered corner where acoustic acts and late night DJ's keep the party going on weekends.

The menu may have changed since our visit.

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