Five of the best: The five best Main Beach restaurants
WITH so many dining institutions in the neighbourhood, we find the best Main Beach has to offer. And there’s plenty of options to suit all appetites.
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WITH so many dining institutions in the neighbourhood, we find the best Main Beach has to offer. And there’s plenty of options to suit all appetites.
Vanitas, Palazzo Versace
94 Seaworld Drive
Overlooking a lagoon with its starched white tablecloths, signature Versace tableware and fine Italian-inspired dining, Vanitas lends an air of special occasion to any visit and, as it turns out, can even provide the occasion.
On Friday, 12 October, the restaurant is hosting a prestige champagne dinner in partnership with Moet Hennessey.
The evening will kick off at 6pm, featuring fine bubbles from five of the world’s most renowned champagne houses, carefully paired with a bespoke menu. Palazzo Versace is offering a dinner, room and breakfast package for the event.
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If you can’t make it, be sure to mark Vanitas’s first birthday cocktail party on the calendar for Friday, 9 November.
Preparations are underway to celebrate the relaunched restuarant’s first year of its signature fine Italianesque dining with an evening of cocktails, decadent canapés and live chef stations. All are welcome to be part of both events, the perfect entree to party season.
Omeros Bros Seafood
74 Seaworld Drive
Simply prepared, high quality fresh seafood served on the waterfront. It’s a formula the family-owned Omeros Bros have been nailing for years and it seems when you’re getting it right, there’s no need to meddle.
“Nothing too much changes here,” family member Helene Omeros says. “And that’s exactly how our customers like it.”
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The menu specialises in seafood classics, picking up multiple awards over the years and boasting a legion of loyal customers.
The restaurant is still a family affair, now in the hands of founder Nick Omeros and son John, and once took out a national award for best family-run establishment in Australia.
Two years ago, it was named among TripAdvisor’s Top Ten restaurants in the country — hundreds of thousands of travellers can’t be too far wrong.
Hot Shott
3/17 Tedder Avenue
The approaching summer heat is no excuse to scale back the coffee — at least at this creative Main Beach cafe.
The Hot Shott girls Jenna Finch and Kellie Rolfe will be serving up “ice caps”, their signature quality coffee with optional cold foam tops in three flavours: original espresso, choc mint or Ferrero rocher.
“I was quite excited when I found you could do cold foam,” Jenna says. “I couldn’t find anyone else doing them so I thought why not?”
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That’s the spirit that peppers Hot Shott’s innovative menu that covers breakfast/brunch/lunch whenever customers feel like them.
They’ve just added sweet corn fritters with torched hollandaise and are always happy to venture off-menu for customers with special dietary needs or just a hankering for something in particular.
“We’ve just celebrated our two years here and made a music video,” Jenna says. Is there no end to their talents?
Mano’s Tedder Avenue
19-21 Tedder Avenue
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After 22 years on Tedder Avenue, Mano’s rightly bills itself as a local institution but if you haven’t been there lately, be prepared for a few menu changes.
Mano’s is now serving Pan Asian cuisine — think dumplings, baos and shareplates.
Chef Evren Faracli says it’s a bid to change things up a little.
“The owner Mick Ellison has been here for a quite a while and doesn’t really like stepping on other people’s patch,” Evren says. “But the changes have gone over well with the customers.”
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Evren recommends the pork baos which have been the standout favourites.
In an international twist, the kitchen is still doing its popular made-from-scratch pizzas.
Keep an eye out too for the cocktail of the day and, perhaps in a nod to the Irish chef, you can find yourself a nice Guinness at the bar.
“It’s a locals’ place,” Evren says. “That hasn’t changed. There are a lot of people who’ve been coming here for a long time. It’s that sort of place.”
Shuck
20 Tedder Avenue
Winning awards since 2001, Shuck prides itself for foraging for the best seafood Australia has to offer.
Co-owner Scott Bugden says the menu is changing all the time and the blackboards deliver specials daily but it’s hard to budge some of their long-time customers from ordering their usual.
“I try to tempt them but after so long, people just seem to love their favourites,” he says.
The signature crab lasagne falls firmly in that category, as does the garlic king prawns in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, chilli, preserved lemon and parsley.
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“We’ve won a lot of industry awards,” Scott says. “I think the last one named us the best seafood restaurant in Queensland and the third best seafood restaurant in Australia so we just keep doing what we’re doing right,” he says.
So check the specials board but don’t feel too bad if you can’t go past the crab lasagne.
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