Revealed: Top 10 fine dining restaurants on the Gold Coast as voted by you
FINE dining isn’t what it used to be and there are a selection of Gold Coast restaurants doing it very right. Here are the top 10 as voted by you.
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FINE dining used to mean white tablecloths, silver service, too many forks and waiters in tuxedos. Now, restaurant owners are more focused on providing high quality food, service and ambience at the diner’s comfort, and there are a selection on the Gold Coast doing it very right. Here are the best as voted by you.
10. Ten Japanese Restaurant, Broadbeach
2679 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach
5570 1010
From the minute diners approach Ten Japanese’s grandiose, steel doors, they know something special is about to follow.
The aesthetics of this Broadbeach restaurant are striking, with a floor to ceiling wine cellar, intricate Zen garden features and dim lighting hitting the different surfaces in all the right places.
The food is another matter, with a sushi bar and main kitchen in the one establishment simultaneously serving up exceptional traditional Japanese cuisine.
Leave it to the chefs with the Omakase menu (translating to “I will leave it to you”) to let the chefs design an evening of culinary Japanese delights.
9. Allure on Currumbin
136 Duringan St, Currumbin
5525 6006
This Gold Coast restaurant has a stellar reputation for being a little undiscovered gem for a long time, until it was ousted as the No. 2 fine dining restaurant in the whole of Australia in 2014 and currently sits in sixth place on the Gold Coast.
Recently under new management, Eddie Redehy is now the owner of the popular fine dining establishment and but is still keeping Allure’s patrons happy.
The French provincial restaurant is proud to be one of the few restaurants on the Gold Coast to not book people for an allotted time, alternatively letting diners stay as long as they wish without worrying about the next booking.
Diners come from far and wide to try the signature entree of seared ocean scallops and confit pork belly with crackle wafer, while we can’t get enough of the chicken breast filled with lobster and tiger prawns, served with leek, garlic and chive sauce.
8. Jonez on Food, Sanctuary Cove
39D Masthead Way, Hope Island
5577 8500
Gary Jones opened up Jonez on Food over five years ago, but soon made the switch to his real passion: quality dining.
“What I really wanted was a high quality restaurant,” he said.
“That’s what I’d always done since I left school — I’ve owned my own restaurants in Perth and Melbourne and now here.
“I like to have the traditional white tablecloths, proper napkins, good cutlery and a proper table setting that fits in with the food.
“You can’t have one or the other — you’ve got to have both.”
The food Gary mentioned combines his many years of experience and evolution in cooking styles to create beautifully presented, intricate dishes with well matched flavours and textures.
“The steamed prawn dumpling with caramelised prawns are definitely a bestseller,” he explained.
“I put a little Asian salad with it that has 12 to 15 different flavours, then textured ingredients like prawns and cashews and then freeze dried mandarin and apple.
“It’s all about the personal touch.”
7. Omeros Brothers, Main Beach
55/74 SeaWorld Dr, Main Beach
5591 7222
The Omeros family’s first restaurant opened on the waterfront at Botany Bay in 1968 — almost 50 years ago — and today they’re the No. 1 restaurant in Main Beach and still topping lists of the best.
Restaurants, entertaining and good food is simply in their blood.
Over the years the seafood restaurant has hosted celebrity diners including Beyonce, Jay-Z, Pink, Dave Grohl, Eddie Vedder, Microsoft mogul Bill Gates as well as politicians, sporting stars and billionaires.
Seafood is the specialty at Omeros Bros, with the crew going through more seafood platters than anything else on the menu, stacked with fresh oysters, prawns, calamari, Moreton Bay bugs, octopus, smoked salmon, scallops, barramundi and mussels.
6. Vanitas Restaurant, Main Beach
94 SeaWorld Dr, Main Beach
5509 8000
It’s not surprising to see Versace’s signature restaurant on this list, with the renowned luxury brand serving up a truly special dining experience, from setting to food.
“Vanitas is Palazzo Versace’s signature dining venue overlooking the beautiful 63 metre lagoon pool which glistens in the evening,” marketing manager Jasmine Webb said.
“The venue is considered fine dining because of the luxurious setting; marble flooring, Versace Rosenthal signature chinaware called ‘Les Trésors de la Mer’ and a feature 13-metre artwork displaying the life of Gianni Versace.
“It’s the chance to experience the Versace lifestyle and experience cuisine you may have never tried before.”
The ultimate way to experience Vanitas fine dining is the Vanitas experience, a five-course selection of meals including venison with elements of smoke, chocolate and beetroot or the Ora King Salmon, spanner crab with buckwheat risotto, onion dashi and fried garlic.
“You also have the chance to be treated like royalty with fantastic service.”
5. Seascape Restaurant + Bar, Surfers Paradise
4 Esplanade, Surfers Paradise
5527 6655
With its uninterrupted views of the sand, ocean and swell, Seascape Restaurant + Bar is an obvious choice for an unforgettable evening.
Owner Fouad Eid said the multi-level venue — the downstairs bistro, upstairs restaurant and soon, the rooftop bar — allowed for a range of dining experiences, but the restaurant embodies long, luxurious visits.
“What is fine dining today?” he mused.
“The world has changed dramatically and fine dining is no longer what it used to be,” he said.
“Fine dining used to be very stuffy, it’s more like modern fine dining today.
Fouad said Seascape exemplifies the concept of ‘modern’ fine dining in its food, serve and ambience.
“It’s about amazing and fresh food — like our six fresh fish on the menu daily — and delicate food presentation,” he explained.
“The service is unobtrusive and attentive from professional wait staff, people who have been in the industry for a long time.
“And the interior should be very fine and create an ambience — our restaurant interior focuses on the views with floor to ceiling glass walls and a relaxing interior.”
4. Videre, Bundall
Royal Pines Resort, Ross St, Benowa
5597 8700
racv.com.au
Videre has established itself as a fine dining restaurant since it opened in 2013. Head chef Grant Parry said to him, the concept is about attention to detail in every aspect of hospitality service.
“Fine dining to me means a touch of finesse has been added to everything from the welcome you receive whether it be the greeting or the amuse bouche you eat while you wait for your meal to arrive,” he said.
“You know that every detail has been thought about in great detail and the maximum is being done to give you the best possible dish on that day.
“All of my dishes are like my kids as I have put a great deal of detail, thought and finesse into all of them.
“Different textures, layers of flavour, some of them are incredibly complex.”
Grant has worked for Gordon Ramsay and learned a number of dishes and techniques from that part of his career, which he uses in Videre’s degustation or ‘tasting’ menu, which is a common feature of fine dining restaurants.
3. Glass Dining and Lounge Bar, Main Beach
27/74 SeaWorld Dr, Main Beach
5527 1009
Manager Maria Tsirlina said while there are still elements of Glass’ original fine dining style, they have added in different options for people seeking casual fine dining.
“We are fine dining but casual at the same time, we like to keep up with the Gold Coast and evolving with the new trends,” she said.
“All our staff are really friendly and focused on customer service, they care about the customer and are interested in making everyone feel super special.
“There are some items we haven’t changed since we opened; the whole New Zealand sole with mackerels, parsley, fried capers, lemon butter sauce has been one of our bestsellers since we opened.
“And the 500 gram rib eye, 100 day grain fed Angus beef with truffle mash potato is always really popular.”
2. Little Truffle, Mermaid Beach
2444 Gold Coast Hwy., Mermaid Beach
5526 5033
With a whole tribe of restaurants on the Coast, Daniel Ridgeway’s fine dining establishment Little Truffle was his first and dearest.
“I believe, and especially on the Gold Coast, that fine dining means quality and consistency of food, range of beverage on offer and service in an unique dining space … that doesn’t necessarily hurt the wallet to experience,” he said.
“After working most of my career in fine dining restaurants in Australia, Europe and Canada it was the only style I wanted to open first.
“Sometimes I actually prefer to be at Little Truffle than anywhere else because everything is in its place, exactly where it’s supposed to be and done exactly how it’s meant to be, and that feels good.”
Mr Ridgeway said some of the more elaborate dishes would be the ever evolving variations of beetroot and goats cheese and their famous vanilla bean panna cotta with raspberries and strawberries.
1. The Fish House, Burleigh Heads
50 Goodwin Terrace, Burleigh Heads
5535 7725
The Fish House has always been in a league of its own, introducing a style of dining that put the Gold Coast on the food map nationally and sparked the beginning of the dining revolution.
Recently under new ownership, the standards are evidently still high, with general manager Hawada Zakout keeping a close eye on the entire experience.
“We put in a lot of work to make sure we have the right people on the floor who will give customers that personal touch and attention,” she said.
“And they also need to have an in depth understanding food and wine.
“We’re as prompt as possible with service and always have staff monitoring — topping up wine, clearing plates — it all works systematically and consistently.”
But it doesn’t stop there, at The Fish House, the staff are almost mind-readers, attending to you before you even know you need it.
“We try not to let people call upon us; we’re always there to answer questions before they ask us,” Hawada said.
“If someone has to wait us down that’s a big no-no, so we have quite a few staff on to provide that service.
“And the waitstaff will bring the food out all at once so everyone has their plates at the same time and are dining and eating together.”
While the service is top-notch, a restaurant can’t survive if the food doesn’t match it and The Fish House’s high quality ingredients and experienced chefs assure a gourmet menu.
“Everything in our food is quite niche right down to oil, cultured butters, salt, all fish is flown in daily, fresh daily produce — little things like that,” Hawada said.
“The menu shows a lot of attention to detail and our customers notice that as well.
“The calamari and octopus are beautiful for an entree to start, then we have our famous Patagonian toothfish, our swordfish we just changed to a romesco sauce and our whole fish experience is pretty special as well.”
One final undeniable element that adds to the overall dining experience is the famous Fish House views, overlooking the ocean with uninterrupted views and a cool sea breeze.
“We do have the most amazing location and we’ve recently introduced an early moonlight, sunset dinner, an early session so people get see the sunset and moonlight,” Hawada said.
“It’s the best of both worlds.
“It’s only been recently introduced but everyone loves it, the sunset is amazing and then turns into a bright moon over the sea.”
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