Gold Coast dining: Surfers Paradise’s Five best restaurants from the past

Remember Olivia’s Malt Shop? The 1980s-era Surfers Paradise eatery is one of the top five restaurants we miss the most.

THE Gold Coast this week said goodbye to Hellenika, one of the city’s favourite restaurants in recent years.

Foodies are in mourning for the beloved Greek restaurant, fronted by Simon Gloftis, which closed after a decade.

Gloftis told the Bulletin earlier this week he was moving his focus to Brisbane.

Coast locals have been through the experience plenty of times over the years as some of the city’s best-loved restaurants closed, leaving behind memories of great meals and good times.

These are some of the Surfers Paradise’s best-loved restaurants of yesteryear:

The Hibiscus Room, Surfers Paradise

Margot Kelly's Hibiscus Room in Hanlon Street, Surfers Paradise Picture: Supplied

MARGOT Kelly made her name running the Pacific Hotel at Southport in the 1940s before relocating to Surfers Paradise in the early 1950s.

In 1954 she opened the Hibiscus Room restaurants on Hanlan Street and it soon became one of the city’s most popular venues.

Margot Kelly in the Hibiscus Room, Picture: Regina King.

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Political leaders and visiting celebrities were known to head to the Hibiscus Room for a good meal and its often lively performances.

A piano had a prominent place in its dining area.

The Hibiscus Room closed in the 1980 and the building demolished and replaced with the Beachcomber tower.

Kelly died three years later in September 1983.

Olivia’s Malt Shop, Surfers Paradise

A postcard advertising Olivia’s Malt Shop, Surfers Paradise circa 1984.

LIKE Grundy’s Entertainment Centre, Olivia’s Malt Shop is one of the most potent symbols of the Coast in the mid-1980s.

The Trickett Street 50s-style diner was famous for its soda fountain, waitresses who cruised between its booths on rollerskates and the large pink FJ Holden which was lodged in its roof.

Jukeboxes took 20c coins for a tune, though by early 1984 none were functioning.

It’s menu was full of interesting items including:

* Raspberry spiders ($1.25),

* Banana Smoothies ($2.25),

* The “Aussie Dog” - a hot dog with melted cheese topping,

* The FX steak burger ($4.95) - a burger with fine fillet steak, an egg, inion, salad and chips.

While its decour was famous, a 1984 review of Olivia’s by future Olympian Andrew Baildon, then-12, complained about the slowness of its service and high prices.

By 1988 Olivia’s Malt Shop was long gone and replaced by the Trickett Street Brasserie

Following Olivia’s closure, the FJ Holden gained a second life as a landmark on the M1 at Reedy Creek where it can still be seen today.

The Loft, Chevron Island

The Loft, Chevron Island.

BACK in the early 1980s, The Loft was one of the Gold Coast’s most popular eateries.

The BYO destination won stacks of awards through its first decade of business and was well-known for the qualities.

Opening in 1981, it displayed many of the era’s best-known designs - stone walls, wooden panelling and exposed beams, none of which disappeared as the decades passed and tastes changed.

By the early 1990s The Loft was still highly regarded, with one contemporary review praising its features and menu.

“The service is polished and professional, the music pleasant jazz/swing and the food, on the evidence of our meal, very good indeed - with the exception of the vegetables.”

The Loft continued to operate well into the 2010s but was far from the up-market restaurant of early days and finally closed.

El Rancho, Surfers Paradise

The El Rancho.

THE Gold Coast was booming in the 1950s when The El Rancho opened.

The doors first opened on December 17, 1953 and customers soon became familiar with founders Denys and Normal Dalton.

The barbecue restaurant was on the corner of Ferny and Cavill aves and proved to be one of the most popular eateries of its era.

In 1962 it was expanded to include an eight-lane bowling alley and top-floor restaurant.

The Daltons retired and sold the land in 1978 when it was transformed into one of the city’s best-loved music venues - The Bombay Rock.

Skyline Lounge, Surfers Paradise

The Chevron Skyline Lounge, in Surfers Paradise. Picture: Arthur Leebold.

THE fame Chevron Hotel was built in 1957 by Stanley Korman and the Skyline Cabaret and Lounge was its entertainment centrepiece.

It was a popular beer garden-style venue which hosted many memorable evenings through the 1950s and 1960s when it was the city’s largest entertainment venue.

The Chevron Hotel closed in the 1980s, with plans for a casino in the site.