Bonita Bonita — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

Sadly Bonita Bonita didn't have same star quality as when we visited a few years back. For comparison our experience from 2016 was: Bonita Bonita turns out to be a real gem. The Bonita Margarita - so tasty, flavours all melding together & yet each component distinct. Bonita Colada - So good too! The Cerviche & little pots Pineapple chilli jam - very tasty. Jalapeño & cucumber salsa plus guacamole - delicious. Agave & tequila pork belly - Wow, amazing flavor, succulent, perfectly seasoned. Achiote Ribeye with cilantro & pomegranate gremolata - Mouth watering. Pulpo - baby octopus with smoked (mashed) potato & chimmicurri - delicious. Desserts - light mango sago with coconut creme & sangria glazed black beans. OMG amazing & eye opening! The empanadas stuffed with pumpkin & caramel, & dulce de leche icecream on the side with crunchy pumpkin seeds YUM! Everything Bonita Bonita is perfectly flavoured, seasoned & beautifully presented & wait staff are friendly & fast. The space is a cool, funky & fun invitation. We love it all. Dec 2022: It's been a few years so we thought if anything Bonita Bonita would now exceed expectations, but the wonderful venue we visited no longer has the same magic. We can only assume that the chef who was there before has left, or that there has been a change in strategy of some kind. Simply put, the finesse & 'wow' have disappeared. We had the following: Guacamole with pico de gallo & crisped tortillas, needed more lime & seasoning. Sides - pineapple chili jam, which was tasty, but a condiment doesn’t make a meal, also the smoked sour cream, didn't have the smoky flavor & the cucumber & jalapeño salsa was only ok. The Ensalada Picada with cos lettuce, tomato, corn, pickled onions, black beans with piquillo & avocado lime crema dressing. A salad is nice on the side but... sigh. We also ordered the Sticky Agave & Pork Belly. Unfortunately it wasn't added to our order so we didn’t receive it. Very disappointing. We really wanted to try it again having great memories of it. We also chose 3 tacos - the Carne Picante served with chipotle, cerveza braised beef, pickled cabbage, habanero crema, guacamole & queso fresco. It was under-seasoned. The Boniato Asado with roast sweet potato, beetroot, blackbean & chimichurri. It was actually tasty but sadly the beetroot was MIA so it was just all sweet potato &beans. The Filete of Sirloin Steak with crispy leek, manchego, gremolata & horseradish cream. This was well cooked &had a grill char done-ness that brought out the flavor of the beef but it didn’t have a specific direction in what makes it to be a Mexican dish. We had also wanted to try a dessert but compared to our last visit they no longer offer the imaginative one of a kind options, so we chose a sweet cocktail instead. However one of the key ingredients wasn’t available so they improvised. It was called the Chilli Coco cocktail & had coconut ice cream, raspberry chilli coulis, (the chilli coulis was the ingredient not available so they blitzed some raspberries without the chilli asking if that was ok to do so beforehand). It included Malibu, Chambord liqeur, fresh raspberries & shredded coconut w/ whipped cream. Weirdly, the Malibu & Chambord were served on the side in separate shot glasses. The coconut icecream lacked rich coconut flavor, biscuit crumbs were sprinkled over the top & it was not a well realized idea. Overall food was ok, just no wow factor. But all staff were so lovely, enthusiastic& friendly. There was one waitress, (Jasmin?), her natural flair for cust serv helped smoothed any shortfalls. If this review sounds harsh, you know how you have a favourite thing & you revisit it & it’s nowhere near what it was. The disappointment becomes magnified. It’s because we had such a good memory. We had raved about & recommended Bonita Bonita to friends & contacts many times over. Yet as disappointing as this time was, we're so grateful to have had the previous opportunity. To have visited a restaurant that had pushed the boundaries of Mexican cuisine. That will always live as a...

Where do I even start? I wish I could give this place a 0! The experience we had doesn't even deserve one star. Has this place changed ownership? Genuinely, what has happened??

As regular customers, our visit last night was the final straw. We had a booking for 8 people, aging from 26-79. We were super excited to introduce both my Grandparents to Bonita Bonita, and made sure that we all had cleared schedules to do so. Upon arriving, we were not greeted nor seated for another 10 minutes. Keep in mind that our booking was only the second session of the evening; 5:30pm. The restaurant wasn't full however we weren't bothered by this as 2 members of our party had only just secured a park. As we sat down, one waiter asked if we were having the Banquet. I responded 'no thank you, we are here for the tacos'. She noddded and carried on with her shift.

Then, the manager 'Sandra' abruptly appeared to very rudely tell us that we simply had to have the banquet as there is 8 people, and that upon booking a pop up should display stating this. I let her know my Grandmother must have missed that memo, to receive a respone that 'being elderly isn't an excuse'. Disgusting.

I pleaded with her for at least 2 minutes to see if we could surpass the banquet as a gesture of goodwill from her behalf, as we truly did not know about the banquet. We even asked if we could all sit seperately or be considered as 2 parties of four. 'That's not an option, we are booked out.' It was clear she didn't want to help nor was she at all sympathetic. Sandra instead chose to argue with a smirk on her face for at least 2 minutes, until we then asked if there was a manager available. Her response? 'Haha I am the manager.' whilst smirking. What type of restaurant would want someone like this to represent their brand? We were gobsmacked. It was only when she realised that we were firm on not wanting the banquet that she then suggested to speak to the chef. A few minutes passes and she comes back to tell us that 'Yes, you can do the tacos but only if you pay $40 upfront.' What?! So it could have been done the whole time??? We told her that, that is the minimum of what we would spend considering one margherita at Bonita Bonita is $19. We asked if she was really going to just let a group of 8 people leave... she couldn't care less.

After a group discussion we decided to leave on principal and go to Margarita Cartel in Burleigh instead where we were treated like actual human beings. You know what the most hilarious part is? We ended up spending well over $40 per person on drinks alone at Margarita Cartel!

Maybe the staff are miserable, maybe they don't like their job. Who knows. What I do know however, is that customers should never be able to see if staff are having a bad day or don't want to be there. Put a smile on and carry on. They should be reminded that they are lucky to even be employed, especially during such a crazy time for our world.

You'd think that after the Covid closure period for Bonita Bonita that they would treat you with more respect and grattitude for supporting a local small business. Nope. Trust me, the horrible service is not worth the food. Never again, plus there are plentiful restaurants on the Gold Coast with great food and even...

Not ALLERGY FRIENDLY and excuse after excuse. Noted ALLERGY on the booking notes, and tried calling multiple times to explain the allergy to better prepare the chefs, yet no answer.

If you want proof, please reach out. I have the booking confirmation and the call logs of the 6 unanswered calls. 2 at 2:26pm, 2 at 4:34pm and 2 at 5:13pm. We made notes on the booking in detail. We tried calling.

The first thing we did, before ordering anything, was inform our waitress of the anaphylaxis, to see if the chefs were able to work with it - I’ve asked the question at other cafes, restaurants (when I’ve walked in and not booked) and have had 3 seperate occasions when staff have apologised, but informed me that some things are bought in, or everything is pre prepared. I had one business authentically say ‘unfortunately it would remove elements from the meal which will make the meal less enjoyable, but we can cater to you, please call us with a booking, and we can prepare anything you’d like’ - the fact I couldn’t eat there in that moment didn’t phase me because they communicated.

Food came out, no substitutions, so no ‘fresh’ elements on the plate - yet we paid the full amount when half of the items weren’t there. Be honest, and say you can’t cater to the anaphylaxis.

The short, curly haired blonde with the sarcastic smirk on her face said ‘call after 4pm when we’re here’

We did. And then she told us ‘you should email’

You don’t read your booking notes. You don’t answer your phone, but I should email?

Not so smirky when I said ‘no need for excuses’

Maybe don’t ask how ‘the meal was’ if you can’t take the criticism.

The fact that the nachos came out watery (we don’t know how considering there was about a tablespoon of diced tomato, pulled pork, and a slab of congealed cheese with some beans tossed over the top, which we ate out of sheer hunger. Lucky I ordered a side of sour cream to add, because it didn’t even have that. Not an avocado in sight, yet every other Mexican restaurant we’ve booked, letting them know in advance that there is an anaphylaxis to raw onion, they can slap half a mashed avocado on the plate. Makes me wonder how much was pre made on premises considering we called during the day multiple times to no answer….

The only saving grace was the empanadas.

Read your notes. People leave them...