Best of the Gold Coast 2018: Five of the best summer menus on the Gold Coast

There’s nothing like a good seasonal menu to remind us summer is here. If you’re looking for something to eat, why not check out five of the Gold Coast’s best seasonal menus.

The best of summer: an Elk Garden and Strawberry Lime Cold Pressed juice at Elk Espresso, Broadbeach.

THERE’S nothing like a good seasonal menu to remind us summer is here. If you’re looking for something to eat, why not check out five of the Gold Coast’s best seasonal menus.

Restaurant Labart

8 West Street, Burleigh Heads

Barbecue king prawns, prawn butter, capers, parsley and bread, a summer offering at Restaurant Labart, Burleigh Heads.

Expect lighter food, refreshing summer cocktails and a seasonally led three course set lunch menu at this Burleigh eatery during the holiday season.

Chef Alex Munoz Labart’s new dishes will champion local summer produce such as Hiramasa kingfish, king prawns, black garlic, strawberry, pineapple, peach, cucumber, barley, basil, capers, parsley and thyme.

Alex Munoz Labart has launched his summer menu at his restaurant at Burleigh Heads. Picture: Jerad Williams

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After opening in the depths of winter in July, Alex is energised by the turn of the season. “This is an amazing part of the world in terms of produce,” he says. “We’re entering the perfect climate to experiment with our offerings.”

The set lunch menu, inspired by modern Parisian bistros, will be available Friday and Saturday during summer for $50.

It’s designed to showcase the house style and attract a new set of diners to enjoy the Labart experience.

The North Room

1/2527 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach

One of the seasonal dishes at North Room, Mermaid Beach.

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Mermaid Beach’s The North Room has developed a reputation for its ever-changing menu, making best use of what’s fresh and abundant locally.

Its current line-up features Queensland mud crab, fresh Ballina prawns and prized pasture-raised Brooklet Springs chicken from the Byron Bay hinterland.

Shannon Stewart, half of North Room’s husband and wife team, says the carrots, radishes and turnips are also sensational at the moment.

Making the most of summer’s fresh produce at North Room, Mermaid Beach.

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“For dessert, we’ve got poached rhubarb and rosemary cheesecake which is a lovely combination,” she says.

The Stewarts make everything in house, even their own butter, and grow most of the herbs in their garden, watered lovingly by their three-year-old.

Elk Espresso

Oasis Shopping Centre, G044/2 Charles Avenue, Broadbeach

The open trout omelette at Elk Espresso, Broadbeach.

As surely as the seasons change, so do the menus at Elk. Its summer menu is bursting with seasonal flair.

For breakfast, owner Andrew Whiting recommends the Summer Berries served with strawberry panna cotta, housemade maple nut granola, watermelon sorbet, coconut yoghurt and fresh, ripe berries, or the French toast with seasonal Davidson plum ice cream and raspberry jelly with caramelised white chocolate and plums with scotch finger crumb.

The French toast summer menu special at Elk Espresso, Broadbeach.

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“The open omelette with smoked trout, watercress and dill crème fraiche is also a great, lighter dish for this time of year,” he says.

On the beverage front, try the cold brew coffee. There’s one infused with orange and thyme or an iced turmeric tea made on coconut milk.

A little later in the day, the coconut margaritas have been a summer standout.

Tasca Coolangatta

114 Griffith Street, Coolangatta

Summer menu gnudi from Tasca, Coolangatta.

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The summer produce abounds on Tasca’s brand new summer menu with head chef Ashley Kent a committed exponent of the fresh and local movement.

She recommends the stracciatella featuring mozzarella from Byron Bay, served with fresh peach, witlof, fennel and hazelnuts.

Still on the Italian theme, there’s also a pumpkin gnudi (gnocchi made on ricotta instead of potato) with fresh garden pesto featuring basil, chicory, nasturtium leaves, pepitas and a hint of goat’s curd.

The summer stracciatella at Tasca, Coolangatta.

“We’re also getting great spanner crab from Fraser Island at the moment which we’re doing with kefir cream, finger limes, red radicchio and grated macadamia,” Ashley says.

And she says the hyperlocal oysters that travel less than 10 minutes to the kitchen door from Terranora are “amazing”.

“It’s a small supplier and we love supporting local small business,” she says. “You have to try them to taste how good they are.”

Substance Espresso

2/10-12 Lae Drive, Runaway Bay

Summer granola at Substance Espresso. Photo by Richard Gosling

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Summer means lots of berries and new fresh cold-pressed juice combos on Substance Espresso’s all day brunch menu.

Owner Leah Smith says the house granola has been summerfied with vanilla bean pannacotta, boysenberry jelly, raspberry coulis, summer berries and spiced maple syrup while the popular buttermilk pancakes are being served with boysenberry ice cream, house made berry compote, spiced maple syrup and honeycomb crumble.

Substance Espresso, Runaway Bay co-owner Leah Smith. Photo by Richard Gosling

“We’ve take the heavier things off the menu and make use of all the great fresh fruit and produce we get at this time of the year,” Leah says.

Keep an eye out too for the weekend fresh juice specials and the summer cocktails on the drinks menu.

Making best use of the balmy summer evenings, Substance is also running its final pop-up burger night for the year on Friday, 21 December — an event that’s becoming a local institution.