“This town is steeped in a rich tapestry of colourful history.” The Gold Coast is not only built on a colourful past, it must grow to a brilliant future. A former holiday ground for the Kombumerri people, since the 1860s the Gold Coast has been a place of big personalities. They were people who boldly...

If there was a family tree of restaurants on the Gold Coast, Mario’s would be the patriarch. Since it was established in 1989, Mario’s has been a favourite of many families, whether they are locals or tourists on annual holidays. Mario’s longevity, when so many other restaurants have come and gone, is testament to its...

Eat. Drink. Play. It’s an invitation to an oasis – a bar embellished by verdant foliage opposite the famous surf beach Kurrawa – as Broadbeach Hotel is relaunched as The Broadbeach, an upmarket bar and restaurant to refresh travellers on their journey. It’s a reminder how far Broadbeach has come in a mere 63 years...

There’s something special about heritage places, especially when they’ve been reborn. It’s as though those who’ve gone before have trod the floorboards, breathed the air and imbued into the building a sense of place. There’s all that and more at The Island. The original five-level tower, built in 1964 by Greg Graham and Bill Reichelt,...

There’s always been something special about Mudgeeraba – a village feel that embraces locals as family. Typical of that spirit, Woodchoppers Inn, Mudgeeraba’s original restaurant and bar, has been family owned since 1995. A stayer in the local food scene, their recent change of menu direction has given the venue new interest. Built in 1906...

Not everyone can boast cooking for Beyonce, Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Parker-Bowles family, running the company that catered for clients such as Ruinart champagne and Kate Moss, or co-owning Barbacoa, one of the most successful restaurants in Bali. But travelling the world with his supermodel wife, cooking for the stars and running high-pressure events,...

“Eat better, Drink happy.” Opened in 2005, Nonna’s is a good example of a family restaurant that gives the people what they want. Always popular, the recent renovation will make it even more so. As they’d done with House of Brews, the Kanaghines brothers embarked on a ‘discovery’ trip to the US to uncover food...

Change is in the air in Surfers, nowhere more evident that at the Sandbar. With uninterrupted sea views and the widest offerings of beer on the coast, Sandbar is iconic. An institution. But even ‘institutions’ need to move with the times. After operating the restaurant for almost twenty years since its time as the Boardwalk...

Burgers are one of the Gold Coast’s favourite foods. It seems everyone is hanging their mouth around one, from tiny sliders to sweet brioche wonders housing gourmet delights. Of course, it didn’t take long for the big guns to get involved in the boutique burger business; guys who’d seen trends develop before, such as co-owner...

We’re dining tonight at The Glenelg Public House, a moody man cave if ever there was one. With its masculine industrial vibe, it’s a fitting home for a mythical beast, ‘the other David’ (not Bowie) the labyrinth-dwelling minotaur, poised on one wall. It’s the place I’d take a bloke on a first date, if I...