The Social

 The Social @ St Helens

On our recent trip to St Helens we were delighted to find three fantastic eateries(The Social, Raida and Furneaux) as well as an amazing coffee haunt(Naturaliste).  On our first night we discovered The Social.  It is a fabulous, retro, casual spot for drinks and a few nibbles. The vibe is very relaxed and very inviting. We arrived for a late afternoon drink in the gorgeous sunshine and nabbed an outdoor table.  

The food and drinks are served out of a caravan parked on the block and the outdoor seating surrounding it is very hip.  If you would prefer an indoor spot there is a large area with lots of cosy nooks inside.  Again, the furnishings are very reminiscent of the 70s!  The toilets are inside with a large wheelchair accessible toilet as well.  

The beer selection was quite large with lots of boutique, fruity choices. The wines and gins were all local and again full of interesting choices.  John tried a rhubarb gin which brought a smile to his face as you can see!

The blackboard menu had many tempting choices and we had trouble choosing what we should order as it all sounded so good!  I would have been happy to eat my way through the menu and return trips are definitely on the cards!  We got chatting to a young couple at the table next to us who were happy to provide some advice about their favs.  Based on their sound guidance, we finally decided to go for the Tokyo Cauliflower and the Seoul Bowl and to share both.  They were both delicious and made an awesome combination with the crunchy fresh vegetables in the Seoul Bowl and the tender cauliflower with delicious kewpie mayo, okonomiyaki sauce, pickled ginger and sesame seeds.  There was plenty for two!

The Seoul Bowl had a quinoa base and included marinated tofu and pickled vegies.

The cauliflower was amazing and full of flavour.  Loved the textures in this too. Really yummy!

We selected a bottle of Priory Ridge pinot to go with our street eats and started a discovery of a new great winery for us.  We ended up visiting the cellar door the next day and partaking in a tasting.  Of course, we had to take some bottles home with us :-)

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Social and would highly recommend it on any visit to St Helens.  The owners were friendly and there was a very unhurried vibe to the place which made it relaxing to sit and spend a few hours. The whole place was very wheelchair friendly with accessibility inside and out as well as an accessible bathroom.

The Social Website(on Facebook):

https://www.facebook.com/streetfoodbeergarden/