10 Great Restaurants in Gold Coast

Social Eating House and Bar at the Oracle, Broadbeach has been delighting guests for more than a decade with its casual fine dining style and innovative use of local ingredients. After expanding into the neighboring space, Social now offers more outdoor dining and you’re less likely to have to wait for a spot at this popular eatery.

On the menu expect modern Australian cuisine with pan-Asian flavors such as miso BBQ pork, and fried quail with Malay curry. The menu must-have at Social is its fall-apart 12-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder, a fan-favourite since opening. Don’t miss the innovative house cocktails which feature infused spirits such as popcorn rye and pumpkin seed oil-washed rum!

Etsu Izakaya on Mermaid Beach serves up Japanese pub-style cuisine fresh from their fragrant charcoal robata broil. This fun space features neon lights and a gorgeous curved wooden ceiling. Snack your way around this tasty menu of Izakaya hits with unique local ingredients such as Moreton Bay bug tempura or kingfish sashimi.

The set menus (which the entire table must order) are the best value and you can add on sake and wine pairings to enhance the zingy fresh seafood, and smoky, charred-to-perfection broiled bites from the robata.

Edgewater Dining and Lounge Bar in Surfers Paradise offers a seasonally changing menu of modern Australian cuisine with an Italian twist for lunch and dinner. Head out to the patio to enjoy water views by day and picture-perfect glittering skyline reflections at night. Bistro-style, the menu is the same for lunch and dinner service.

Edgewater offers everything from fresh-shucked oysters and small sharing plates to heartier pastas, risottos, and local seafood and steaks. Wash it down with local beer, or you can try a glass of high-end wine without buying the whole bottle. Their state-of-the-art Coravin protects the remaining wine in the bottle from oxygenation.

Mamasan Kitchen + Bar on Broadbeach’s Oracle Boulevard serves up an enticing array of snacks and mains from Southeast Asia in a funky modern room with an open kitchen. Along with their much-awarded food, you’ll also find craft cocktails and an excellent wine, sake, and whiskey list. It’s tempting to stay in the small bites menu, snacking on pillowy bao buns stuffed with meltingly tender slow-cooked Byron Bay pork, or sticky Mamasan Korean Fried Chicken.

The larger dishes are well worth sharing, though. Try the duck pancakes with the twice-cooked breast or the crispy Shandong chicken to see the deft touch the chefs have in bringing modern flavors to these traditional dishes.

The North Room is an intimate 20-seat fine dining restaurant at Mermaid Beach, which offers a tasting menu-only service of seasonal, locally sourced produce. Expect innovative flavor pairings with unique Australian ingredients, such as their signature dish of spanner crab on a toasted bone marrow crumpet with cultured cream and salted egg yolk.

You can create your own dining experience for your group by picking 5 dishes from 8 on the ever-changing menu. The team can accommodate most dietary restrictions with notice, excluding vegans.

Palette is a modern fine dining restaurant in Surfers Paradise at the iconic HOTA cultural center, serving a la carte and tasting menus. Expect fresh, seasonal modern Australian cuisine from the team, who pay homage to the local producers in the area, with a special focus on seafood. Stop in for a casual lunch or indulgent afternoon tea after exploring the art at the HOTA Gallery.

Alternately, you can make a reservation for the full tasting menu dinner with treats such as swordfish with umami consommé or dry-aged beef sirloin with sugarloaf cabbage, koji butter, and cured egg yolk. Don’t miss the playful Andy Warhol-inspired chocolate ‘soup can’ dessert!

Rick Shores (say it out loud!) restaurant at Burleigh Heads boasts one of the Gold Coast’s best views where you can feast on pan-Asian treats overlooking the rolling surf. Home to one of Queensland’s most iconic snacks—the fried bug roll, this is made from the sweet, lobster-like local Morton Bay bugs and served in a buttery brioche bun, and it’s a must-order.

Bug buns aside, the menu takes a fun ride through Thai, Japanese, Indian, and Vietnamese favorites from sashimi and potstickers to madras-spiced lamb and finger-licking sticky pork belly. If you’re dining in a group of 6 or more, you can order the set menu which takes a multi-course trip through the menu highlights.

Restaurant Labart is a few minutes from the beach at Burleigh Heads and has won a reputation for being one of the Gold Coast’s most exciting fine dining restaurants. Focusing on modern Australian cuisine with a frequently changing menu, Restaurant Labart creates magic over its charcoal broil with the absolute best local, seasonal produce.

You need to pay for your dinner tasting menu in full when you make the booking, with drink charges added on the day. There are 2 dinner sittings and the first has a strict 2-hour time limit. The team can accommodate most dietary restrictions with notice, excluding vegans.

Jimmy Wah’s is a modern take on Vietnamese culinary classics with a 1970s music playlist and food-friendly wine list—which includes chilled reds—in the heart of Burleigh Heads. The short menu includes treats such as crispy tempura soft shell crab-stuffed banh mi and finger-licking sticky Vietnamese braised pork, house-made, steamed bao.

The ‘Feed Me’ option provides excellent value with a chef’s selection of 7 dishes plus a side. Those with dietary restrictions will find plenty here for vegans, vegetarians, and gluten-free diners.

Ally Chow is at the Nobby Beach corner of Mermaid Beach, serving up an award-winning taste of modern Australian cooking with punchy Asian flavors and techniques. Pair creative craft cocktails, such as the chili margarita, with tempting snacks like betel leaf with sticky pork, Fraser Island spanner crab, smoked salmon pearls, and caramelized coconut sauce.

Gotten something to celebrate? Pre-book the multi-course ‘banquet’ menu which comes with the option of 2 hours of ‘bottomless’ beers, prosecco, and select cocktails.