The Social &amp; Forno @ Publika

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 & TREC. The cornerstones to its success are manifold, with its fun vibe & friendly service buoyed by a crowd-pleasing menu with culinary hits that The Social's founders take true pride in.

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 & 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 & potatoes with achar, battered greens, eggs, keropok & steamed rice (RM36; a chicken alternative is available for RM28) to the British-beloved fish & chips, featuring deep-sea tenggiri fillets paired with petit pois & 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 & basil is a reassuringly minimal-guilt 450 calories (RM23), pulling its punches for calories but carrying its full weight for rich flavours & appealingly fresh textures.

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 & 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 & mint leaves) or Sangria. Many thanks The Social for the warm hospitality.