Best of Gold Coast: Top 10 espresso martinis in the city
THE buzz of caffeine and the kick of alcohol make espresso martinis a winner: Here’s the 10 best on the Gold Coast as part of our 2016 Best of the Gold Coast.
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THE buzz of caffeine and the kick of alcohol make espresso martinis a winner: so here’s the 10 best on the Gold Coast as part of our 2016 Best of the Gold Coast.
10 Sparrow Eating House
2/32 Lavarack Rd,
Nobby Beach
5575 3330
Andrew and Jodie Whiting have taken their espresso elements to a new level at Sparrow. The cocktail menu ranges from the edgy spiced old fashioned, to the evergreen espresso martini … and even the indulgently luxe peanut butter martini.
9 Gemellini
2/2247 Gold Coast Hwy
Nobby Beach
5575 1418
This venue, owned by three brothers and the literal little brother to Gemelli in Broadbeach, is grounded in its bar culture — including a mean espresso martini.
8 Monsoon
6/8 Grice Ave,
Paradise Point
5577 1899
While they’re only open in the evening on Fridays and Saturdays, espresso martinis are popular every day at Monsoon. “We’re open … every other day for breakfast and lunch,” owner Craig Weston said. “But we get orders for espresso martinis every single day.”
7 Caffeine Kings
1920 Gold Coast Hwy
Miami
0412 834 130
facebook.com/caffeinekingsgoldcoast
They’ve only been serving cocktails for five weekends but the Caffeine Kings have got their espresso martini mix right. Owner James Wren said it’s due to the coffee.
6 Finders Keepers
49 James St,
Burleigh Heads
5659 1643
This Burleigh bar has an espresso martini for every season — including a Christmas candy cane-inspired peppermint version. Owner Chris Herbert said every espresso martini included a mix of vodka or tequila, coffee liquor and espresso.
5 Cambus Wallace
4/2237 Gold Coast Hwy,
Nobby Beach
5575 3420
The crew aboard the Cambus don’t muck around. Their Kraken espresso martini comes with a warning not to navigate your vessel after consuming the two-standard-drink tipple of Kraken black spiced rum, Kahlua and explosive espresso. It’s not your sea legs but your espresso-legs you’ll need after one of these.
4 Onyx
8/110 Surf Parade,
Broadbeach
5570 4300
While the espresso martini craze is still sweeping across the Coast, it’s an old-school favourite at Onyx. Annie Cottier from the Broadbeach cafe said the drink predated her employment — if not her patronage. “I’ve been coming here since 2007 and it’s always been on the drinks menu. We might have been one of the first.” Annie said the cocktail is mixed with vodka, spiced rum or whiskey. “Vodka is definitely the favourite — but they’re all good.”
3 Room81
Sofitel Broadbeach
81 Surf Parade,
Broadbeach
5592 2250
With more than 150 espresso martinis being sold on a weekly basis, assistant manager Alex Liquito has perfected the art of creating this uber popular cocktail at room81. Alex said the secret ingredient, tonka bean-infused vodka, is the distinct point of difference in this espresso martini.
2 Black Coffee Lyrics
1, 3131 Surfers Paradise Bvd,
Surfers Paradise
0402 189 437
What do you get when you combine a restaurant that prides itself on its coffee with a cocktail bar? You get one mean espresso martini. It’s the drink that seems to describe Black Coffee Lyrics raison d’être … the best beans mixed with the best bar — all in the heart of Surfers Paradise. A local favourite, the cafe-cross-night-time hotspot has developed a reputation of delivering specialty food, coffee, wines and beers in a retro, super cool venue.
1 Harvest Moon
30 James Street,
Burleigh Heads
5520 0998
The espresso martini is the toast of the Gold Coast.
Combining our dual passions of coffee and cocktails, it’s spawned a menu all to itself at Burleigh’s Harvest Moon.
Owner Jason Nairn said he considered the Coast’s cafe culture when concocting the eatery’s range of cocktails.
“When we opened about eight months ago, I saw the market for really exploring the espresso martini,” Jason said.
“It seems like it’s the cocktail of choice for the whole Gold Coast.
“It’s actually a really adaptable taste too. So far in our range we have the original, the salted caramel, the chocolate, white chocolate, chai, Frangelico and tequila.
“We’re always experimenting though … don’t be surprised if we have a citrus flavour soon.”
Jason said while variety provided the spice, it was the shot of coffee that gave the drink its grunt.
He said Harvest Moon used traditional French roast coffee from Ashmore-based Windomal Road.
“I think it’s the quality of the coffee that really makes an espresso martini,” he said.
“If you use the best beans, the cocktail is going to taste the best. Ours really packs a punch.
“We also make our own salted caramel sauce … we try to use as many high-end ingredients as possible. It really makes a difference to the taste. It’s the same as with food — you get out what you put in.
“We source as many points of difference as we can. A little while ago a limited edition salted caramel-flavour Kahlua came out … I think we bought out the entire Gold Coast.
“We have boxes left still, thank goodness. I think by the time we run out the salted caramel craze will be over.”
Jason said other flavours had been discovered through old-fashioned experimentation and one of his personal favourites, chai, was a happy accident.
“We were actually trying to create a spiced rum variety but we just could not get it to taste quite right,” he said.
“Somehow chai got into the mix and it tasted brilliant.
“The sweetness just mixes perfectly with the shot of coffee.”
Jason said although he foresaw the favouritism of the espresso martini, even he had been shocked by its popularity.
He said it was the drink of choice to kickstart the night.
“On a Saturday night we would easily sell fifty-plus espresso martinis — salted caramel is the favourite flavour,” he said.
“That’s a huge number of cocktails given our size … and especially compared to the other cocktails available.
“It’s the drink that people choose to start out the night, or they’ll finish up with it before kicking on somewhere else.
“But it’s probably not something you want to keep on drinking all night … otherwise you could still be up the next morning. Unless, that’s your plan of course.”
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