Best of the Gold Coast 2019: the region’s top 13 buffets where you can indulge to excess
Too much of a good thing is never enough. Best of the Gold Coast has found the top 13 buffets where you can indulge to excess.
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TOO much of a good thing is never enough. Amber Macpherson and Chantay Logan have found the top 13 buffets where you can indulge to excess.
Harvest Buffet
The Star, Casino Drive, Broadbeach
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Harvest at The Star has a full plate of events this winter, starting this month with its celebration of sustainable seafood all the way through to its American affair in August.
Executive chef Dustin Osuch says there’s always a reason to celebrate at the buffet restaurant.
“We offer a monthly theme at Harvest Buffet to give our regular guests more variety, and to showcase the diversity of flavours and cuisines our chefs love to work with,” Dustin says.
Until May 31, Harvest Buffet will shine a spotlight on sustainable seafood during its Freshtival event by offering the weekend seafood station on an extra night on Thursdays.
Next month, the restaurant will welcome an Indian theme complete with a range of winter warming curries, spicy tandoori chicken wings and traditional accompaniments.
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Harvest will then bring festivity to the forefront with Christmas in July with honey and clove roasted ham, turkey and traditional Christmas desserts.
August is all about America, with classic dishes of Louisiana gumbo, clam chowder, apple pie and three bean chilli with corn chips on the menu, developed by Dustin, a US-native.
There’s also the extensive range of serve-yourself options diners know and love at the Coast’s best known buffet, including breakfast dishes, wholesome soups, crisp salads and sweet desserts — as well as a variety of interactive cooking stations featuring European, American and Asian cuisines.
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Terraces Restaurant
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, 71 Sea World Drive, Main Beach
There’s no better time to visit this seafood spread, with a winter savings promotion already in action. Running until August 31, prices start at $51 for lunch Monday to Friday and $61 for dinner Sunday to Thursday. Marketing executive Georgia Fahey recommends piling your plate high with local seafood, just-baked breads, pastries and comforting roasts — as long as you save room for dessert. “From ridiculously fresh oysters and prawns through to succulent salmon, our restaurant is one of the Gold Coast’s most iconic seafood buffets,” she says. “Don’t leave Terraces without cracking the expertly torched caramel on the crème brulee.” Overlooking the Sheraton Grand Mirage’s lagoons, the bright and beautiful Terraces is open for breakfast from 6am to 10.30am, lunch from noon to 3pm, dinner Sunday to Thursday from 6 to 9.30pm and Friday and Saturday from 5.30 to 10pm.
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Il Baracco
Palazzo Versace, 94 Seaworld Drive, Main Beach
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Quality or quantity? Why not both! From unlimited barista-made coffee at breakfast to top-shelf seafood for lunch and dinner, this haute hotel restaurant offers the best of both worlds. “The Il Barocco menu showcases an incomparable variety of the freshest quality seafood, fish, meat, poultry and regional produce with unrivalled quality from sun up to sun down,” Palazzo Versace’s Kaylene Fu says. An a la carte menu is also available if you’ve got a more specific craving for, say, Moreton Bay bug linguine or Versace’s signature chocolate-topped tiramisu. Advance reservations are recommended.
Gallery Restaurant
Gold Coast Turf Club, Racecourse Drive, Bundall
FIVE OF THE GOLD COAST’S BEST HOT CHOCOLATES
Here’s another reason to love Saturdays: feasting trackside at the Gold Coast Turf Club’s lunch buffet. Executive chef Ben Sidebotham says Gallery Restaurant is the place to fill up on all your favourites from 12 to 3pm. “The best parts are the seafood — the local tiger prawns, Tasmanian oysters and Balmain bugs,” Ben says. “The ice carvings are always fun, from an angel fish to a sea horse or even a horse’s head.” The chef says the spread includes the “best garlic prawns on the Coast”, along with a pretty special sous vide pork loin with fruit compote and jus. Finish with desserts and Australian cheese. The Saturday lunch is $69 for non-members.
QT Bazaar
7 Staghorn Avenue, Surfers Paradise
Your journey through Bazaar starts with an empty plate and ends with stacks of food from all corners of the globe. QT Gold Coast Bazaar manager Sean Allen says the best way to describe the buffet experience is as an interactive marketplace. “The chefs put things from all over the world on your plate as you walk through,” he says. “You can interact with the chefs, they can alter the dishes.” The all-you-can-eat restaurant offers breakfast and dinner seven days a week with a special brunch on Sundays. “Brunch is probably my favourite, it’s really fun,” Sean says. “We have bottomless mimosa packages and there’s a DJ in here as well. Dinner, which is our standout, has things like suckling pigs to an Indian and Asian station, fresh seafood from Marina Mirage, wood oven fire pizzas and an entire dessert wall.”
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Govindas
3120 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise
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The only thing better than a hot curry on a cold evening is multiple hot curries. Govindas in Surfers Paradise is an ideal winter warmer with its buffet lunch and dinners, and you don’t have to feel guilty for going back for more — every option is entirely vegan. “We’re a health-oriented buffet, we’re always trying to push the envelope on making healthy food taste delicious, and also trying to always be good value for money,” co-owner Zardi Manning says. The star of the bain-marie is the kofta balls, while the curry options, pasta bake and fresh salads nourish. After a fit out refresh, Govindas is looking to open for a la carte breakfast soon. Watch this space.
Danny’s Buffet
Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club, Soorley Street, Tweed Heads
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Value for money is what keeps the masses coming back for more at Danny’s Buffet. Director Jonathan Fung says diners go wild for the oysters on offer Friday and Saturday nights. “Because of the seafood, especially to have oysters on a buffet … it’s a full house,” Jonathan says. “Our buffet is mostly Chinese food, carvery roast beef, pork or lamb, we have all the spaghetti, all the deep fried stuff like sesame prawn, dim sum, we have a salad bar, and a seafood bar with salmon, barramundi, blue whiting. You’re looking at 80 to 90 different types of food for $29.80.”
Brazilian Flame Bar and Grill
T2.04 Soul Boardwalk, 4 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise
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Brazilian Flame Bar and Grill manager Glenn Barker has one piece of advice before hitting up his carnivorous smorgasbord: “Don’t eat before you come,” he says. “You’re going to stuff yourself stupid.” The South American barbecue restaurant serves up large skewers of exotic meat and sides all-you-can-eat, and when Glenn says exotic, he means it. “We’ve got crocodile, kangaroo, beef, pork, lamb,” Glenn says. “We pay through the roof for our meat, it’s fantastic quality. Then we have the hot buffet and cold buffet, too. We get people from Brazil and we blow them away. They say it feels like I’m at home.”
Citrique
Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort and Spa, 158 Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise
THE GOLD COAST’S BEST BAKERIES AS VOTED BY YOU
Seafood lovers, unite — this is buffet for you. Citrique offers diners the best of the fruits of the ocean with a huge range of seasonal fish and crustaceans, going through 8 tonnes of prawns each year and $42,000 worth of oysters a month. There’s plenty for those who prefer meat with feet though, including wood-fired pizza, succulent roasts, antipastos and European dishes. The attached Marriott Resort has its own production kitchen, entailing all sauces, stocks and soups are made on site. There’s also something new to try each month at Citrique, with a Festive Flavours of Italy promotion in June, a Taste of France marking Bastille Day in July and Spice Night in August.
Waves Buffet
voco, 31 Hamilton Avenue Surfers Paradise
There’s nothing wrong with chocolate on chocolate, in fact the staff at Waves Buffet encourage it. The Surfers Paradise buffet has an OTT dessert bar with a flowing chocolate fountain for dipping chocolate coated treats, because if you’re going to go all out for supper it might as well be here. Waves is open every day for breakfast with a hearty fry up and platters of tropical fruit, while dinner features seafood, Asian, Indian, Mediterranean and seasonal dishes. You can even make your own stir-fry and indulge in the in-house patisserie.
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Frenzy’s Food Court
Southport Sharks, Musgrave Ave, Southport
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One trip to Frenzy’s Food Court and you won’t hear the children utter “I’m hungry” for hours and hours. Frenzy’s executive chef Andrew Dugard says the restaurant is family friendly with a playground and fun food stations. “We are a great value for money destination, a relaxed family atmosphere with Wobbegongs kids play area and live music,” he says. “There is the soft serve and lolly buffet for the little kids and the bigger kids at heart.” The buffet diner is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven nights a week with an extensive range of bites, including pizza running hot out of the oven all night.
Four Winds 360
26/2807 Gold Coast Hwy, Surfers Paradise
A buffet in the sky with panoramic views of the Gold Coast awaits at Four Winds 360, Queensland’s only revolving restaurant in Surfers Paradise. The Australian fusion and seafood buffet features a variety of hot and cold dishes and a sumptuous dessert station that will please the pickiest of eaters. The sky high dining experience is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with a high tea option available on the weekend. Four Winds is offering a special deal for seafood lovers until June 30, so head to the website to take advantage of the discount.
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Shoreline Restaurant
Sea World, 120 Seaworld Drive, Main Beach
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With an attached theme park attracting visitors from all over the world, Sea World’s Shoreline Restaurant offers a banquet of cuisines to satisfy all cultures. There’s usually a different theme every night of the week, from seafood to Asian fare, tropical barbecues and Italian nights, as well as an array of breakfast and dinner staples. Live cooking demonstrations will captivate the grown-ups while the dessert station with a pour-yourself ice cream machine gets a workout from the children. If you’re looking to replenish after a long day of sightseeing, this is the buffet to do it.
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