Best Balboa Italian excited for future
The Gold Coast’s most popular Italian restaurant, opposite a looming 25-storey development, say they have some “exciting” plans for the future.
Palm Beach’s Balboa Italian was recently named by Bulletin readers as the Gold Coast’s best Italian restaurant.
Restaurant owner Cherie Uzan opened Balboa Italian in 2011, but said she had been championing for the suburb since the opening of her now-closed cafe AVVIA
“Balboa Italian will never move from its Palm Beach home,” she said.
Palm Beach residents and The Collective’s owners were thrown off guard in 2021 when plans were released for a 25-storey development that would mean the beloved eatery demolished.
Ms Uzan said she tried to not get involved in the “comings and goings of developments” in the area, but had exciting plans in place for the future.
“We will continue to serve the Palm Beach community regardless of what goes on around us,” Ms Uzan said.
After securing the property, she had a vision to “create a culinary experience that was not just about the food”, she said.
“Built from the bones of a dilapidated shopfront, this once rundown building now sits as a landmark along the Gold Coast Highway,” Ms Uzan said.
“I have always had a love for Italian cuisine and felt that there was a gap in the market on the southern end of the Gold Coast for a high-quality Italian restaurant.”
Ms Uzan said their handmade pasta and gnocchi were “standout” items on their menu.
“Our signature beef cheek gnocchi and Pappardelle al Ragu having been on the menu since we opened,” she said.
Ms Uzan said that she had three secrets to Balboa’s success – the food, the fit-out and the staff.
“(The award) is a reflection on our exceptional and hardworking team, who are impassioned by what they do, striving to be the best they can be,” she said.