Gold Coast Thai food: the region’s top five Thai restaurants

Versatile, fresh and filling, Thai food is an all-round people pleaser. We’ve found five of the best restaurants cooking up quality cuisine.

Versatile, fresh and filling, Thai food is an all-round people pleaser. Amber Macpherson has found five of the best restaurants cooking up quality cuisine.

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See Thai

10/2 Como Cres, Southport

Dishes from See Thai, a new Thai restaurant in Southport.

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You could go a fried rice or pad Thai from this new Southport restaurant, but where’s the fun in that? See Thai owner Jade Kim recommends opting for something a little more adventurous if you’ve never tried the restaurant’s food before. “We’ve got barramundi deep fried, which is a whole barramundi, with three difference sauces — garlic, chilli and tamarind sauce,” Jade says. “It has lots of chilli garlic flavour, that’s our signature dish. We’ve got a glass noodle salad, we make our own salad dressing sauce and it comes with prawn, calamari, onion and coriander. That’s my favourite.” Make sure to visit See Thai for a lunch special during the week, starting at $12 for a main with rice.

Sticky Rice

7/443 Golden Four Drive, Tugun

Sticky Rice Tugun.

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It’s hard to avoid traditional Thai at Sticky Rice. Co-owner Sarah Romruen says the Tugun restaurant has made it easy for customers to choose dishes that capture the Asian country’s signature cooking style. “We’ve really simplified the menu — we don’t give them much choice in that regard,” Sarah says. “The masaman beef cheek is most popular, It’s 12-hour slow cooked beef cheek. We’ve got a really popular pork belly stir fry, we’ve got the crying tiger which is marinated wagyu steak which is really popular as well, and the betel leaf is grilled prawn, coconut, lime, chilli and ginger — the prawns are on the betel leaf and you wrap it like you’re wrapping a taco. Everything is pretty traditional and it gets people to try different things.” Sarah says the menu is a mix of small share plates and large mains, with options for vegans and gluten-free diners.

Chiangmai Thai

2779 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach

Chiangmai Thai in Broadbeach. Picture: JERAD WILLIAMS

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Furniture and ornaments imported from Thailand sets the scene for a complete Thai experience at this Broadbeach restaurant. A longstanding favourite for Asian cuisine on the Gold Coast, Chiangmai Thai has won a string of accolades since opening in 1993. The menu is divided into entrees, curries, stir fries, salads, soups and deserts, with three banquet menus for the indecisive. Diners recommend the Tom Yum Soup and the Phanang chicken curry with coconut milk, lime leaves, crushed peanut and fresh chilli for a satisfying supper. No doubt you’ve driven past the eye-catching house on the highway opposite Cascade Gardens, so the only thing left to do is drop in for a feast.

Lucky Buddha

4/2375 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach

Lucky Buddha promises Thai fare that tastes like it's straight from a street vendor in Bangkok.

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Mermaid Beach’s Lucky Buddha promises pad Thai made to taste just like a bowl from a Bangkok street vendor. With a strong following of locals, tourists and the Thai population in Mermaid Beach, not to mention a four and a half star rating on TripAdvisor, it’s safe to take their word for it. The restaurant is known to convert the impartial into Thai food fanatics, with the duck pad see ew and the pad phong karee (aka soft shell crab stir fry) among the top picks off the menu.

House of Siam

The Broadwalk, Marina Shopping Village, Hope Island

Noodle dish from House of Siam.

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A Thai lunch or dinner is always something to savour, but House of Siam’s sweet treats are worth skipping straight to dessert. The khao neow mamuang features a slice of juicy yellow mango and sticky coconut rice for a fresh and seasonal dessert. For a pleasing savoury meal, opt for the crispy chicken mince dim sum with ginger plum entree, or the goong samrod with crispy battered king prawns and house-made Thai sauce. The popular Hope Island haunt is located on the water with sunsets over the marina and a quality wine list adding to its appeal.