The Gold Coast food and drink scene is hotter than ever, thanks to a young guard of local talent who’ve gained inspiration from their travels and returned to reclaim their bit of the coast.
With styles varying from industrial trendy to slick, homespun to indie alternative, take a look at some of the boutique bars which are providing Gold Coasters with treasured watering holes.
Bon Bon
Bon Bon
Bon Bon
Bin72 image sourced from bin72.com.au
Bin72 Image sourced from Bin72.com.au
Bin72 Image sourced from Bin72.com.au
image sourced from bin72.com.au
Bin72
11 Gold Coast Bars that are perfect for after-work socialising
Bin 72
Bin 72: Shop 121 The Strand, 72 – 80 Marine Parade, Coolangatta Ph: 5536 9903
Bin 12: 12 James Street, Burleigh Heads Ph: 5535 3085
With his restaurant Little Truffle well established, Daniel Ridgeway snapped up prime position in the Strand development, a bird’s eye posse upstairs overlooking the beach, to open a sister venue for his Burleigh bar/eatery Bin 12. The beautifully lit recycled timber bar, accented by shades of copper, runs from the entrance back towards the beach. Well-stocked, it’s the site of liquid action of every description – local beers poured from tap, a shakeup on the cocktail front, and some great vintage wine emerging from the cellars. Matched by tables handcrafted from recycled timber and stone accents, the venue’s an example of thoughtful concept design; earthy, grounded and timeless.
With Ridgeway’s excellent food, and drinks bases well covered, Bin 72 marks a move to sophistication that Coolangatta has not seen until now, a grown up retreat that’s smooth and jazz-sexy, despite its location as part of a shopping centre.
Bon Bon
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach Ph: 5575 2669
Bon Bon. There’s something vintage and indulgent about the words. Who doesn’t need a little hideaway, which is exactly what Bon Bon promises from Thursday to Sunday night. A welcome addition to the wildly popular Bonita Bonita, Bon Bon is a Mexican-themed hidden bar with promises of an endlessly brooding evening watched over by a moody Frida Kahlo.
A mainstay of the cocktail menu is the Bonita Margarita. Named in honour of el Jimador, the man who mastered the art of making tequila from the best blue agaves, my hit of smooth toasty El Jimador Reposado tequila has an edge of chilli salt and candied jalapeno softened out with fresh cucumber. Ask the barman nicely and he’ll even make you a bespoke cocktail, such as a ‘Tom Waits to order’.
Accompany your drinks with beautifully balanced dishes brimming with garden flavours: the freshest Trevalla served with marinated fennel, lime, fennel and pickled cucumber with a piquant chimichurra; Chargrilled king prawns with coriander crema and pineapple chilli jam; or Chicken thigh lovingly rubbed with chipotle paste and achiote.
Cambus Wallace
Cambus Wallace
Cocoon
Cocoon
Cambus Wallace
4/2237 Gold Coast Highway, Nobby Beach Ph: 5575 3420
The Cambus Wallace is a very classy nautically-themed bar inspired by history – the history of a ship run aground and the history of a nation whose currency was ‘rum’. Decked out in timeless wood, replete with nets, boating paraphernalia and even Long John Silver’s parrot, Dylan Quirk’s moody mural of a frigate at war with the stormy waves reminds us that the sea is a very cruel mistress indeed.
The Cambus Wallace, a ship which foundered off the Gold Coast in 1894, was carrying a load of whiskey, beer and explosives. There’s lots of whiskey on the menu, but it’s the range of rum that takes my eye, the currency of early Australia. The menu features a who’s who of some of the world’s best rum, (almost fifty in total), many from the Caribbean and Central Americas, our own locals from Beenleigh and Mount Tamborine Distilleries), as well as single malt whiskies. It’s not hard to get into the mood of this place, dark and dusky as it is, to imagine the stormy seas not far from here which took the lives of five sailors on the Cambus Wallace.
Cocoon
58 Cavill Ave., Surfers Paradise (enter via the Riverwalk)
When a new venue combines the talent of Joey Lamattina (nightclub owner and international DJ manager) and Carlo Percuoco (co-owner of hatted restaurant Fellini), it’s a given that the food and drinks menus will be amazing. Cocoon boasts Italian, Spanish and Japanese chefs, bringing the flavours of those nations into the share dining menu.
Beautiful by day and alluring by night, Cocoon is clad in white, from the sheer drapes around the day beds to the enveloping cocoon chairs dotted in pairs and tiny clusters around the venue. You could be anywhere – Mykonos meets Ibiza, for example, but we’re overlooking the Nerang River in Surfers Paradise. It’s a place so smart and sexy that we’re happy to be transported away!
Finders Keepers
Finders Keepers
Finders Keepers Gold Coast
Glenelg Public House
Finders Keepers Bar & Dining Lounge
49 James Street, Burleigh Heads Ph: 5659 1643
There’s a secret that lies behind the leadlight windows and wooden door of 49 James Street, Burleigh; a secret that has been known for centuries. We all have a secret hideaway. Finders Keepers! Find the key, and this secret is yours as well!
There’s no grass on the ceiling, no backwards clock or teacup chandelier, but there is more than a touch of mystique to Finders Keepers, a vintage dining room and quirky bar all rolled into one. The bar carries us through the ‘wardrobe’ door into the Alice-like world of the upside down bookcase. In its nooks and crannies hang all sorts of treasures: books and a clock, candlesticks and teacups… Curiouser and curiouser! To celebrate our ‘un-birthdays’, we choose from boutique wines, local craft beers, and classically inspired cocktails from the 1920s made over from scratch.
The formal dining area is surrounded by tongue-in-groove timber walls and magnolia wallpaper. Behind us, leadlight bay windows hedged by Chesterfield lounge chairs provide a quaint locale for a quiet intimate glass or two. Tapas plates arrive in a well-paced procession, each with their own twist of invention: Scallops with watermelon, Persian fetta and crispy prosciutto; Tempura king prawns with seaweed, radish salad, tea salt and aioli; Arancini balls filled with piquant gorgonzola balanced with a nashi pear sauce. Delicious!
The Glenelg Public House
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach Ph: 5575 2284
‘Simple things done well’ is the motto of The Glenely Public House. Growing according to customer preferences, the owners want to develop a Gold Coast take on a traditional English pub, starting with steak and classic cocktails, such as the Manhattan, Cosmopolitan, Old-fashioned, and ‘old school’ Martini.
Talking of which, my choice of a James Bond-style martini, ‘shaken not stirred’, is technically not a martini at all, but a Bradford! It takes a well-trained mixologist to tell me that: owner/bartender Tom Sands, who’s constructing my cocktail from the best ingredients: The Botanist 22-year-old gin, Lillet Blank instead of Martini vermouth, mixing in a bit of olive ‘dirt’ for flavour.
Chef/co-owner Aaron Smith has the kitchen covered in the venue, already dubbed the coast’s first gastropub. While the steaks include less common cuts such as chuck tail and petite tender, there are some interesting starters which could comprise a meal in themselves: rabbit terrine served with pickles and toast, cured snapper with fennel, grapefruit and herbs or lamb breast with carrots and yoghurt. For those who prefer a wine with their meal, there’s a well-curated list of Aussie boutique wines with a few internationals thrown in for good measure.
House of Brews
House of Brews
Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon
30 James Street, Burleigh Heads Ph: 5520 0998
Tucked away in Burleigh’s Central Arcade, Diana and Jason Nairn saw an opportunity to showcase two of their great passions: Diana’s Middle Eastern heritage and Jason’s love of Margaret River wines. By day a cheery café, it transforms on weekend nights to a stylish bar with chilled live music; a place quiet enough for couples or small groups to enjoy intimate conversation, a classy glass of wine or a craft beer and plates of tapas.
Among a short selection of craft beer, Burleigh Brewing’s no carb Big Head and Stone and Wood Pacific Ale are both on tap, and there’s a carefully curated range of keenly priced boutique Margaret River wines. A standout in the cocktail section is the cold-pressed juice cocktail. Watermelon with a little lemon gets helped along by a shot of vodka. It’s a dangerous drink, easy enough to down without hitting the sides, it tastes so good for you!
House of Brews
17 Orchid Avenue, Surfers Paradise Ph: 07 5526 2601
Owners Sacha, Damien and Ben Kanaghines have a long history of managing bars in Bucharest, Romania, Budapest and Cyprus before coming back to the Gold Coast. Now they’ve chosen to combine their skills in an American-inspired eatery and taphouse boasting by far the largest number of beers on tap on the Gold Coast.
Thirty-two shades of amber, from pale ale to stout, and lager to cider stretch out along the wall. Who could pass up a foaming lager channeled straight from the barrel-laden keg room to your glass, chilled to below zero degrees Celsius and poured using one of those gorgeous handmade taps, all Gold Coast hardwood turned by a local craftsman! It’s a process worthy of the brew.
There’s a sense of theatre to the menu and the cocktails, providing entertainment through dramatic presentation of the dishes and drinks and pushing boundaries on every front. There’s much to keep punters entertained here, from live rock and blues artists filling the airwaves to the newly added insects (ants and crickets) which have crept onto the plates, a first for the Gold Coast and one sure to keep tongues wagging! The biggest party trick dessert of all is one for a very sweet tooth or two: an enormous cotton candy tower – all part of a conscious effort by the Kanaghines brothers to be aware of the changing demographic of Surfers Paradise.
Pigs and Pints Sobrasada Poppers and Horseradish gems
Pigs and Pints
Not Tonight
Not Tonight
Not Tonight
Not Tonight
Bine
Bine
Not Tonight
50B Nerang Street, Southport Ph: 5532 5000
Sitting pretty on the top corner of Davenport Street opposite the Southport Q:Link station, Not Tonight is the only small bar in town.
Yet it’s so much more. It’s a music-pumping sassy craft beer and cocktail venue at night, a tapas joint with fancy Melbourne laneway-style nosh in late afternoon, a clandestine lunch spot on the weekend or even a catch up café for a quiet Toby’s Estate coffee and cake. Owners Arran Woollams and Julian Luckhardt had a vision of a boutique city-style bar serving smart yet affordable gastropub food, great cocktails and local craft beers at the best prices in town. Not just any beer, either! It’s small batch run beers, such as Beard and Brau Farmhouse Amber Ale from Mt Tamborine, the ever popular Stone & Wood from Byron Bay, or find someone special to share your own chance encounter Dream Date, on tap from Burleigh Brewing’s ‘A Bit on the Side’. Besides that, the bar boasts internationally award-winning Australian cocktail base labels we’ve never heard of, pot-distilled gin and cold drip extracted coffee liqueur that makes as good an Espresso Martini as an IV drip!
So when he says ‘Not tonight’, be sure to say ‘Sure! Let’s meet for a drink this afternoon’. Catch the tram, meet the man!
Pigs & Pints
9 Hamilton Avenue, Surfers Paradise Ph: 0455 676 223
1823 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads Ph: 5535 8805
Even in the midst of a big city, it’s possible to find a place where you walk in the door, sit down and an ‘Ahhh!’ escapes your lips. Its subdued lighting, choice of comfy couch or table seating, and an enveloping ambience invites you in off the street, away from the glare of cars and neon, to enjoy a bite to eat and relaxing drink. While Pigs and Pints Burleigh is a rustic country-style pub bar, Surfers Paradise carries the sophistication of a city bar with high ceilings, warm colours of brick and timber panelling lit by a wall of vintage Queensland stained glass.
This is food from one of our best chefs, UK-born owner/chef James Brady, ranging from bar snacks and belly fillers of Sobrasada poppers, confit pork belly sliders and smoked chips, to share plates and grazing boards of smoked brisket with pomegranate molasses, arancini and BBQ pork ribs.
“We want to encourage people to slow down,” James tells us, “to enjoy the moment and the experience. It’s all about the company – who you’re spending time with. We just facilitate.” As you sit in a lounge slowing down with one of the smart boutique pints on tap, the world may pass you by, but that’s the point, isn’t it?
Bine
Bine Bar and Dining in Nobby Beach was one of the first Australian craft beer bars on the Gold Coast and takes ale appreciation to a new level. The unique beer bar, described as a “craft beer haven” celebrated its first birthday in November this year. Bine offers over 80 different craft beers and regularly rotates eight taps of brews sourced from a number of microbreweries from around the country. Favourite labels include Stone and Wood, 4 Pines, Moo Brew and Two Birds.
Bine is all about authentic beer. The extensive menu includes lagers, pilsners, kolsch, ciders, pale ales and more. There are new beers to try every week, which makes the bar particularly popular with the locals return every weekend to taste what’s new. Sampler paddles are a popular choice from the menu as customers can try three boutique beers of their choice. The upmarket, pub style dining menu includes inferno chicken wings, fresh prawns and pork knuckles.
Five more Gold Coast bars you should try
Hidden Bar 455 Golden Four Drive, Tugun
Institution Ale House Level 1, 3113 Surfers Paradise Blvd., Surfers Paradise Ph: 5526 2223
K-Bar & Meze 2557 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach Ph: 5679 2813
Nineteen Orchid Avenue19 Orchid Avenue, Surfers Paradise
Tonic on Chirn1/37 Musgrave Ave., Southport Ph: 5532 2201
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