Gold class dining venues on the Gold Coast

Where is it? 21a Elkhorn Ave, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast

Cali Beach day club is not in Cali, its not on the beach and it isnt a club.

This is a problem for absolutely nobody.

While the Gold Coast may have grown classier, it hasnt become any more pretentious.

Cali Beach hosts a party every weekend, from Friday to Sunday, around a cluster of rooftop pools and bars and a sand-volleyball court, a cinema and a couple of restaurants four storeys above street level in the bustling heart of Surfers Paradise.

The club launched in September last year, one of a scattering of brave Gold Coast venues to open while Queenslands borders were effectively closed.

Other notable newcomers include imaginative bars, restaurants and cafes, but also a craft brewer, a seltzer distiller and even that rarest of Australian artisans, a craft bagel maker.

But its Cali Beach that has made the biggest splash. If it were anywhere else, the cabanas and poolside lounges would be reserved for the young and lovely, but Cali Beach welcomes everyone beautiful people, not-so-beautiful people and, well me.

Entry is free, except for special events.

Where is it? 30/34 Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

A short walk from Cali Beach, on the banks of the Nerang River, is the less frantic Surfers Pavilion, which opened in April.

Surfers Pavilion has a bar dedicated to frosé and a champagne-and-oysters bar, and the kitchen serves superior, summery bistro food, perfect for the location.

Where is it? Oasis Shopping Centre, 71b Victoria Ave, Broadbeach QLD 4218

Further south down at Broadbeach, Sofias Restaurant & Bar opened in late 2020, as a restrained, sophisticated addition to the precinct of exuberant family eateries that hugs the Oasis Shopping Centre.

The atmosphere is Mediterranean date-night, the house-made woodfired bread is a work of art and the $40 lunch deal offers a canny way to sample the high-end food and wine.

Where is it? Shop 21/90 Surf Parade, Broadbeach QLD 4218

Another new Broadbeach venue with a grown-up ambience is the Vault Bar & Tapas, where the Gotham-City Art Deco interior is more restrained than the food, the entertainment or the outdoor tables (with their view of the compelling goings on at the hetero-friendly LGBTQIA+ Chameleon Lounge Bar & Restaurant across the road).

Where is it? 16 Hibiscus Haven, Burleigh Waters QLD 4220

A far younger, girls-night-out crowd parties early at Miamis Fizz HQ, home of the Gold Coasts first seltzer brewery, Hard Fizz, which opened to visitors in November. If youve never had seltzer before and I hadnt this neon-lit, light-industrial, vaguely post-apocalyptic hangout is the place to try one. Its great fun if you like your seltzer on draught, served in a sort of bin-barrel thing. Open Thursday-Sunday until 9pm.

Where is it? Shop 1/1837 Gold Coast Hwy, Burleigh Heads QLD 4220

Perhaps the nicest newish bar is the eclectically decorated, gay-friendly, relentlessly amiable Apres Surf, which functions as an unofficial soft-hipster adjunct to the popular-but-generic Burleigh Heads Hotel in Burleigh Heads. Apres Surf serves excellent locally brewed Black Hops beer poured into heavy dimpled glassware, although the glasses seem to be in short supply I think someones been lifting them, says the apologetic bartender.

Where is it? 1/445 Golden Four Dr, Tugun QLD 4224

Pretty much anything that can be served on a plate seems to count as tapas on the Gold Coast. But Lucia Tapas Garden in Tugun, opened in December, serves a Spanish-style menu and conjures a timber-and-wrought-iron Andalusian atmosphere in the Stucco-walled courtyard. Low-flying jets coming in for landing at the nearby Gold Coast Airport help create an authentic Mediterranean-resort feeling. The charming waitstaff mis-correct my correct Spanish pronunciation so its closer to Strine and remind me not get too up myself on the Goldie.

Where is it? 2176 Gold Coast Hwy, Miami QLD 4220

My favourite of all the tapas in town are the birria tacos served by the wonderfully helpful people at SPEC, a bar and beer garden in Miami. Birria is typically just goat meat in Mexico, but SPECs birria, blended from stewed beef, lamb and goat, deserves to be gazetted as a new kind of super meat. SPEC is a lively bar and, like so many places on the Gold Coast, fascinating for people-watching.

Where is it? Shop 2/2791 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach QLD 4218

The crowd is less colourful at the Gold Coasts finest new bakery-café, Broadbeachs wonderful O Bagel. Founder Nick Jang spent eight months developing his dough recipe in the test kitchen of a donut shop. His bagels are crispy on the outside, crunchy on the inside and taste even better than the ones my Jewish mother used to make.

And just saying that could get me killed.

O Bagel is deservedly busy, and Mr Jang seems a bit bemused by his own success. I never knew there was so much of an obsession with bagels for so many people, he said.

Where is it? 1748 Gold Coast Hwy, Burleigh Heads QLD 4220

Where is it? 9/2669 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach QLD 4218

Goya in Broadbeach opened late last year and serves Japanese comfort food such as omurice, a deconstructed rice omelette. Its small but very well patronised, so youre best advised to book ahead. For an unexpected thrill. try the 12-hour slow-cooked beef omurice. The coffee is good here, too.

Where is it? 135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

The Gold Coasts splendid new arts centre, Home of the Arts (HOTA), showcases another side of Surfers Paradise, offering an almost MOMA-style immersion in art, culture and cuisine.

The hangings at HOTA take the visitor through the history of artists attempts to the capture the essence of the Gold Coast through photography, painting and, more recently, installation work. HOTAs food-and-drink outlets, the ground-level HOTA café and Palette Restaurant, and the rooftop Exhibitionist Bar, aim to augment the experience with imaginative seasonal and locally sourced creations with really short names such as eggplant.

Where is it? Level 5/135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

The palates of Gold Coast locals and visitors may have become more refined, but the service remains down to earth. At the Exhibitionist Bar, my tweenage daughter, who seems pledged to eat only processed foods, wants to know if shell enjoy the potato gems in the restaurants Potato gems, dashi salt, Avruga caviar dish.

The waiter assures her that she will.

Theyre the same ones you get from the supermarket, she says.

Pretentious? Non.