The Gold Coast's bar scene has grown up

LEAVING behind the younger revelry it was once known for, Gold Coast nightlife has grown into something beautiful.

The Island Rooftop Restaurant

LEAVING behind the younger revelry it was once known for, Gold Coast nightlife has grown into something beautiful.

If there’s one thing the Gold Coast is world famous for, aside from swooping coastlines and good looking weather, it’s what happens when the sun goes down on Australia’s gilded town.

As part of the city's make over, a new bar scene has taken growth throughout the Gold Coast with everything from roof-top beauties to micro breweries, and complicated cocktails served in laneway bijous that are rivalling all the big cities. Food, and more importantly drink, menus have grown creative and complex thanks to the easy access to phenomenal fresh produce, and big names in the restaurant business are making the sea change to set up bar. The Island

3128 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise Is there anything better for a weekend away than a hot new hotel with the perfect rooftop bar on top like a shining beacon of hope and good times? Check in, drop your bags, wash the plane off you and head straight up to your first new-GC bar. The Island rooftop looks out over the famous Surfers Paradise skyline. With live music and DJs, and an army of Acapulco chairs to sink into, you can be sipping your favourite drink within an hour of arrival and watching the sky change colour over the sea. Welcome to Surfers. Drink of choice: The Ocean Breeze: Hendricks Gin, lemongrass and smashed cucumber shaken, then served over ice and topped with soda.

SoHo Place

Shop 4 / 2713 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach

The term Small Bar gets thrown around with startling regularity these days but to legally qualify; the space can be no bigger than 100 square metres with allowance for just 100 people or 60 seats. With these official requirements in place, SoHo Place became the first official Gold Coast small bar. With its entry way of a red telephone booth, it’s bigger than it appears at first, and the inside is plastered with graffiti art referencing iconic London scenes from Banksy’s art and Doctor Who.

Because of the zero licensing requirements when it comes to serving food, manager Toby says Soho stands out, “It's the only place where you can come in with whatever food you want and settle in for the night surrounded by your mates, good drinks, charming bar staff and sensational music.”

Of the city’s maturing nightlife he says, “People are becoming more adventurous with their drink choices, the days of Corona and vodka lime and soda seem to be fading. They more interested in trying unusual spirits and are also keen on supporting local gin distillers like Brookies and Husk distilleries.”

Drink of choice: “The best drink,” says Toby “would be either the Painkiller, or for something a bit different like the Monk Movie. And Toby or Alex are your go to bartenders, but they all rock.”

Aloha Bar & Dining

18 Main Place, Broadbeach

Proudly describing themselves as a pop-up Tiki bar despite their permanent status, Aloha is a shanty oasis hidden in the laneway behind Main Place, Broadbeach. It was the first project for the crew at Exotic Pets Presents, and the concept revolves around nabbing short-term leases in various areas around the Coast, popping up specially-themed bars and casual eateries. This fun, nomadic ethos translates into a super chill ambience.

Drink of choice: In true tiki bar fashion Aloha is all about rum. They serve a huge variety from all corners of the world, quite often by way of a coconut shell.

Sandbar

52 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise

After 19 years slinging drinks to sun kissed beach goers, Sandbar has recently undergone a complete architectural and design transformation in a ‘Hamptons meets Seminyak’ alfresco fit-out. The super chic yet welcoming atmosphere means you can easily lose hours dining and drinking in the sea breeze. The new menu was created by Irishman Max Hill, a protégé of celebrity Chef Rick Stein, and is packed with clean, fresh, local produce.

The beverage menu is extensive, with the bar offering over 100 beers - the second largest collection in Queensland - and includes rotating local and international craft brews on tap to keep it interesting. Also worth noting is the exceptional service you only find in a 19-year family establishment that’s passionately managed across generations.

Drink of choice: Owners Josh and Greg Short say, “Our best drink is definitely the Espresso Martini made by our internationally experienced bartenders and baristas, Laura Lindley or Jon Slate. We use freshly ground cold drip coffee hovering just above freezing point, premium dry vodka and an organic coffee liquor to infuse one of the Coast’s best.”

Burleigh Brewery

2 Ern Harley Drive, Burleigh Heads

After more than ten years in business, they don’t so much qualify as a brand-new-bar, but they definitely have played a very deft part in bringing in the local craft beer scene that the Gold Cold is enjoying today.

A vast palace of pumps and ale, sat smack-dab in the middle of an industrial estate, Burleigh Brewing 2.0 is open to the public four afternoons a week with brewery tours, live music, and food trucks.

Drink of choice: Famed brews such as Hef, Big Head, and 28 Pale Ale, as well as limited edition concoctions from their trial system.

Lockwood Bar

7B Justins Lane, Burleigh Heads

Directions to Lockwood bar sound like something from Alice In Wonderland, ‘in the gold town there is a dark street, and in the dark street there is a red door, and on the red door there is a special number’. Text the number and a code comes back for you to get into Lockwood. With prohibition-style drinks and moody lighting, the bar lives up to the dramatic entrance.

Drink of choice: The Breakfast Martini. Just, believe us.

Witches Falls Winery

79 Main Western Rd, Tamborine Mountain

Jon and Kim Heslop’s Mt Tamborine’s Witches Falls winery has been rated a ‘5-Star winery’ by wine boss James Halliday, and they produce three different ranges of wine with varying styles, some vintages scoring 94 points on the 100 point wine spectator’s scale. That’s a pretty big deal. Set up in the lush Gold Coast hinterland, it’s an excellent way to spend a day with tasting just $6 per person for a flight of six wines. There are also picnic rugs available for you to enjoy a glass of wine in the picturesque gardens with DJs playing in the vineyard most weekends.

Drink of choice: Well, um, wine. The Award winning prophecy Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent place to start.

Bassk

52 Marine Parade, Coolangatta

Baskk at Kirra Point, on the southern end of the Gold Coast, is one of those impossibly chic, light-filled spaces that can serve things like 'ink gin cured gravelax' without being pretentious or annoying.

Everything here is fashioned out of natural materials; from the smooth Suar wood bar top, the dark timber recycled railway palings that make up the flooring, to the "definitely for grown ups" knotted rope-swing.

Their ocean fresh meals and super luxe cocktails are designed for grazing, or 'basking' - so there's none of that business where the waiter hovers over your table trying to shoo you out the second you've finished your last bite.

Drink of choice: This is one place that knows how to make a perfect Aperol Spritz.

Originally published as The Gold Coast's bar scene has grown up