This review is brought to you in part by The Social.

Since the turn of the millennium, The Social has thrived as a popular hangout, feeding tens of thousands of patrons over the years, first in Bangsar before spreading to Publika, Desa ParkCity and TREC. The cornerstones to its success are manifold, with its fun vibe and friendly service buoyed by a crowd-pleasing menu with culinary hits that The Social’s founders take true pride in.

Mains at The Social

Visiting The Social’s Publika outpost for lunch, we were spoiled for choice – the kitchen is capable of whipping up over 80 dishes, spanning East and West, encompassing unique recipes as well as familiar staples. Quality stays consistent throughout, from the Devil’s Portuguese Curry with a twist, comprising a robustly spiced Malaccan-inspired stew of beef cheeks and potatoes with achar, battered greens, eggs, keropok and steamed rice (RM36; a chicken alternative is available for RM28) to the British-beloved fish and chips, featuring deep-sea tenggiri fillets paired with petit pois and fries to complete the all-time favourite (RM39).

Remaining relevant in 2017, The Social caters to calorie-conscious customers with several offerings labelled as ‘Quite Skinny’ – the Classic Caesar salad with luscious slices of maple wood-smoked salmon clocks in at 380 calories (RM24), while the linguine pomodoro with a smooth, light tomato sauce and basil is a reassuringly minimal-guilt 450 calories (RM23), pulling its punches for calories but carrying its full weight for rich flavours and appealingly fresh textures.

Pizzas at Forno

The Social at Publika this year also unveiled an in-house spin-off called Forno, a place for pizza parties, with sourdough pleasures handmade with Italian stone ground flour, prepared in a wood-fire oven. A dozen varieties offer a wide range of playful quirks – for an Italian-meets-Mexican creation, the Nachos Mexicana is blanketed with chili beef, red peppers, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream and nacho crisps for a crunchy-punchy combo that succeeds for all-day-long addictiveness (RM38).

And while pizzas may be a natural partner for beer or wine, try this with a beer or wine-based cocktail instead – the Thai Song Beer (a refreshing mix of Tiger white beer, grapefruit liqueur, vodka, lime and mint leaves) or Sangria. Many thanks The Social for the warm hospitality.

Location & Details

Address: Lot 31 & 32, Level G2, The Square, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +603-6207-9225
Find: View directory for The Social & Forno (Publika) here.