Crazy Cat Cafe: At long last, the Gold Coast is getting its very first cat cafe! We will give you a minute to compose yourself … Good? Excellent. Crazy Cat Cafe will be home to 11 super friendly resident feline friends including Ragdolls, Burmese, Abyssinian and Manx breeds and is expected to open in Surfers Paradise at the end of August/early September. The cafe will feature specialty teas and coffees alongside a range of delicious treats. For food hygiene reasons, the kitchen and cafe area will be separated from the cat lounge and all food and drinks are prepared in a 100 percent cat-free environment.

Torii Restaurant and Bar: Dedicated to the twin pleasures of yakitori and whisky, Torii Restaurant and Bar is opening soon at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre. From the same culinarily gifted crew behind Torii in Kuala Lumpur, which is widely regarded as one of the top restaurants in Malaysia, the venue will feature a Japanese-inspired yakitori menu with miscellaneous skewered meats, seafood and vegetables as well as a delightful array of single malt whiskies and Japanese beer. The venue is expected to open on August 16.

The Lazy Goose: We don’t know what it is about the beachside suburb and wayward animals but first it was unruly deer with The Loose Moose and now Broadbeach is set to welcome a motivationally challenged waterbird with The Lazy Goose. The casually sophisticated venue has been envisaged as a place you can lounge around eating amazing food from around the world and sipping some sensational cocktails until your heart’s content, sounds like our kind of place! The head chef, formerly of Jellyfish Restaurant in Brisbane and Social Eating House and Bar, has created a truly global menu that is designed for sharing. The Lazy Goose is anticipated to open its doors on July 25.

Aquitaine Pacific: If you’ve ever found yourself wandering from shop to shop and suddenly got a hankering for some champagne and oysters, you’re in luck because Aquitaine Pacific is coming to Pacific Fair Shopping Centre late August/early September. The venue, inspired by L’Aquitaine in Southwest France, is the latest venture by Spiro Dimopoulos, who also owns Aquitaine Brasserie in Brisbane, and will feature a contemporary menu grounded with a touch of French class, think charcuterie boards loaded with amazing cheese and miscellaneous cured delights alongside fresh oysters and plenty of wine. 

Fu Manchu Oriental Kitchen: We don’t know about you but we can’t get enough of the Asian-food wave that is sweeping the coast at the moment so we’re just a little bit ecstatic that there’s another one on the horizon. Fu Manchu is opening soon on Chevron Island and bringing with it some amazing new Asian-flavour combinations and enticing hand-crafted cocktails. The trendy two-level venue will feature hand-screened wallpaper created by Lenny Kravitz and promises some seriously cool vibes.

Ze Pickle Food Truck: Burger lovers, brace yourselves. The lads behind Burleigh’s burger institution Ze Pickle are currently in the processes of kitting out a sweet piece of American machinery to take their show on the road. The food truck will roam between the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Byron Bay slinging burg’s, smoked meaty goodness and other deliciously fattening treats that won’t be available in the restaurants. There are even whispers of a ZP tour of the East coast in the not too distant future so keep your peepers peeled for that.

I Heart Brownies: Diet be damned! Brisbane’s ridiculously popular brownie institution is venturing south to open a kiosk-style store at Robina Town Centre but before you reach for the keys, the sweet stall won’t open until February 2017 so you still have a little while to wait. The venue will dish out I Heart Brownies’ 12 signature gluten-free flavours, as well as house-made flavoured milk, American-style filter coffee and cold drinks such as pink lemonade. Suffice to say we’re VERY excited.

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