The Gold Coast’s best places eat and drink

The Gold Coast’s restaurant scene evolves almost by the week. Just when you think you’ve tried all the best new restaurants on the coast, along comes another one even better than the rest. Migrating chefs and ground-breaking local chefs have turned a region once on the foodie black-list into a place with more hip dining options than Byron Bay and Noosa … combined.

Tayta Nikkei and Pisco Bar

A slice of Peru and Tokyo in Goldie.

Peru meets Japan in Nobby Beach
You can find every cuisine these days on the Gold Coast – even oddly fused cuisines, like Peruvian food mixed with Japanese. Yep, Nikkei cuisine (the invention of Japanese migrants in the late 19th century who started using local Peruvian food with their traditional techniques) is hot right now, and Nobby Beach has the best in Queensland. Located in one of the region’s best dining precincts, the co-owner Adriano Antonini brings years of experience in London, Rome, Dubai and more to create Tayta whose cocktails (pisco sours to die for) compete with signature ceviche, and a Peruvian take on sashimi. Open since August 2023, Tatya epitomises the Gold Coast’s casual-chic modern style (patrons might wear thongs, but their jeans are hip).
2243 Gold Coast Highway, Nobby Beach. Phone: [phone]. See taytarestaurant.com.au

Social Eating House + Bar

Modern Australian fare delivered perfectly
The fact Social Eating House + Bar is still the Gold Coast’s favourite restaurant 12 years after it opened should tell you everything. There’s no views here – though the fit-out was overhauled in 2022 and now it looks as slick as a New York Italian restaurant – but it’s all about the food and service. This is relaxed fine dining at its most relaxed, and finest. The waiters on hand at Social Eating House + Bar are as impressive as the multi-award winning executive chef. You’ll step out with a smile on your face, guaranteed.
Shop 137/3 Oracle Boulevard, Broadbeach. Phone: [phone]. See socialeatinghouse.com.au

Billy Chow

Venues like Billy Chow are upping the cool-factor of Kirra.

Finally, Kirra is fulfilling the promise it showed…
Built beside a famous surf beach, Kirra is a suburb that’s always had mega-potential. A plethora of ordinary high rises and unimaginative cafes and restaurants meant it never fulfilled it … until now. Now, finally: Kirra’s cool. And it’s because of new venues like Billy Chow (which opened in December 2023). Featuring al fresco dining with a killer view of Kirra’s famous waves, you’ll be as transfixed by the white brick decor and the pink marbled bar dishing out the region’s most imaginative cocktails. Try the ocean trout crumpets and any of the dumplings – there’s enough must-eat items on this menu to eat here every day this month.
76 Musgrave St, Kirra. Phone: [phone]. See billychow.com.au

The North Room

The 20-seater North Room serves a seasonal tasting menu.

So hidden even locals haven’t heard of it
You can find arguably the Gold Coast’s best fine dining restaurant opposite KFC on the Gold Coast Highway. The setting’s definitely minimalist but everything else is maximalist – the service is as good as the best restaurant in Melbourne and the dishes combine the best local ingredients with European-influenced menu philosophies. The North Room takes a maximum of 20 guests per sitting – and is only open Thursday to Saturday. Don’t worry about ordering, you’ll be served a rotating tasting menu based on what’s in season, featuring everything from local octopus to veal tongue.
Shop 1, 2527 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach. Phone: [phone]. See thenorthroom.com.au

Malibu Racquet Club

Former tattoo parlour turned Cali-inspired restaurant and bar.

Only those who wanted tennis leave disappointed
Yes, Malibu Racquet Club. A former tattoo parlour in Burleigh Heads is now the epitome of chic-ness with what has to be the coolest name in Australia. Okay, detractors may sniff pretense, but it all works. Sure, some of the best dishes come served with scoops of Siberian caviar, but the executive chef used to cook for the Royals, and none of this is meant to be taken too seriously anyway. It’s classy: with its Italian plaster ceilings and archways, but it’s mostly just a lot of fun and cocktails in the sun. How Gold Coast.
1740 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads. See malibuburleigh.com

Blowfish Ocean Grill and Bar

Goldie’s best new seafood joint.

The fanciest seafood on the whole coastal strip
Blowfish Ocean Grill has quickly become the best seafood restaurant on the Coast and it only opened in September 2023. People didn’t use to come to the Goldie to fine dine, but these kinds of places are changing all that. Owners Steven and Autumn Adams were so confident they’d attract diners seeking lobster and bumps of caviar they invested $3 million in the fit-out. Located in the heart of Broadbeach (where you’ll find a lot of the best restaurants), like most things Gold Coast, no-one’s expecting you to dress fancy, even if the surrounds evoke Le Belle Epoque. Don’t go past the Moreton Bay bug-stuffed milk buns.
2 Oracle Boulevard, Broadbeach. Phone: [phone]. See blowfishdining.com

Kost Bar and Grill

Fire-kissed food and immersive cocktails.

Reinventing the Gold Coast barbie
It took three years to create Kost Bar and Grill – and three premises. The fact that owner Dave Galvin created a space big enough for 180 diners (130 seated in the restaurant and another 50 at the bar) speaks volumes about the rising popularity of a Gold Coast foodie holiday. Located in Food Central – Broadbeach – Kost Bar and Grill cooks most of its dishes on an enormous charcoal grill, overseen by a chef who’s worked in Moscow, Jakarta, Paris and London. The venue combines bar and grill so well that many opt for drinks and snacks at the bar, with dishes like coal roasted potatoes and smoked roe.
Shop 135S/ 3 Oracle Boulevard, Broadbeach. Phone: [phone]. See kostbarandgrill.com.au

Restaurant Labart

Parisian style eatery that schooled the Coast
This was the restaurant that showed the Gold Coast wasn’t what it used to be dining-wise. Owner Alex Munoz brought expertise from his time as head chef of some of Sydney’s best restaurants (Monopole, Cirrus Dining) to create a modern Australian menu set in an intimate 60-seater Paris-inspired bistro to teach locals they don’t need a view with their meal. And it wasn’t just the locals who were won over; Munoz’s amazing food caused a rush from visitors, too. Dishes are remarkably simple – think king prawns and quail cooked on Japanese-style barbecues. But they’re flawless.
2A/ 8 West St, Burleigh Heads. Phone: [phone]. See restaurantlabart.com

Crispy Italian Bar

Simple Italian done very well
Not everything new on the Coast has to be fancy. It’s the simple things in life, right? And nothing epitomises this more than Burleigh Heads’ best new dining offering. Opening in May of 2023, two Italian friends have brought traditional Italian dining to the Gold Coast. It’s not just the red-and-white decor either, it’s that the wood-fired pizzas here can sound pretty plain on the menu, then taste everything but. And that it’s totally OK to have a Limoncello in the morning, and a coffee at night.
4/1840 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads. Phone: [phone]. See crispyitalianbar.com

Rick Shores

There’s nowhere closer to the waves on the east coast
What says the Gold Coast more than a restaurant so close to the surf that any big swell mixed with a big tide means guests should consider wearing thongs if they book a table beside the bi-fold glass doors (relax: the restaurant’s designed to sustain ocean creepage). Though position is just one part of what’s made Rick Shores one of Queensland’s highest-awarded restaurants. Its Pan-Asian menu favours seafood - Fried Bug Rolls are the region’s most beloved snacks. Book at least a couple of weeks ahead: Rick Shores is no secret, but it’s worth the wait.
3/43 Goodwin Terrace, Burleigh Heads. Phone: [phone]. See rickshores.com.au

The Paddock

The best local produce served… in a paddock
If ever a restaurant could lay claim to being genuinely paddock-to-plate, it’s this one (and not just because of its name). Set on a 26-hectare wagyu beef farm 45 minutes’ drive west of the Coast, an ever-changing menu revolves around what’s in season in the region. Nothing is wasted in the kitchen – a philosophy started by its founding chef, much-celebrated Queenslander Cam Matthews, and carried on by Simon Furley. Part of Beechmont Estate, you’re served meals in a clubhouse restaurant with barn-like ceilings, a big wrap-around bar, couches by an open fireplace and a terrace looking across paddocks of cattle.
422 Binna Burra Road, Beechmont. Phone: [phone]. See beechmontestate.com.au/restaurant

Isla Cantina

Nerang River views and Mexican flavours.

Stunning SoCal-style Mexican in a place that sounds Italian
It’s not just the southern Gold Coast and Broadbeach where the hottest new restaurants are opening, though most visitors won’t have heard of this northern GC location. Opening in April last year, Isla Cantina is found on the Isle of Capri, a quick drive from Surfers Paradise that feels nothing like the tourist hotspot. Instead, you’ll sit outside on an alfresco deck with a breeze off the Nerang River. The menu’s heavy on seafood – don’t miss out on the spanner crab tostadas – though meat lovers must sample the eight-hour slow-roasted lamb barbacoa. There’s a cocktail bar to advance to after your meal.
Shop 4, G7 Via Roma, Surfers Paradise. Phone: [phone]. See islacantina.com.au