It was a case of ‘when life gives you lemons, brew beer’ for the owners of the former Louis Vuitton space on the corner of Orchid and Elkhorn Avenues in Surfers Paradise. When the high-profile site was left vacant, the chance of them finding another tenant during a global pandemic was looking slim. The family-owned business went back to the drawing board to find a use for the space and what they ultimately came up with was a venue that brought together their love of good food and booze. The end result is BOBs, which is already proving to be somewhat of an over-achiever being a fully functioning brewhouse, taphouse and restaurant. The impressive fit-out has transformed the former retail space into something truly remarkable with growlers suspended from the ceiling as pendant lights, booth seating bathed in natural sunlight from the gigantic windows as well a bar that just might take the prize for the prettiest one we’ve seen in a long while.

Since BOBs is first and foremost a brewery, let’s talk beer. Overseeing the 12-hectolitre craft brewery is Ryan Fullerton, who was lured from Victoria where he previously worked at Red Duck Brewery in Alfredton. At present, BOBs has capacity for 16 different creations – eight of its own alongside eight guest taps. Despite only being operational for three weeks, the are currently four of BOBs core beers ready to sip including the Surfers XPA easy-drinking pale ale, a hazy IPA called Techno Viking, a ruby-red ale aptly called Sunburn and a curious porter named Chocolate Swordfish. The guest taps will feature a rotating selection of brews from Australia and New Zealand such as Willie Smith’s organic apple cider and Crankshaft IPA from BentSpoke Brewing Co. Beer not your vibe? Accompanying the bevy of brews is a creative cocktail menu stacked with signature sips including a banana-flavoured espresso martini, sunshine spritzes and even a beer cocktail.When it comes to the food, BOBs is not your regular pub grub. The venue’s head chef Norbert Szlama, who was born in Czechoslovakia with Hungarian heritage, has compiled a worldly selection of sophisticated bites ranging from the sweet-on-the-outside-savoury-on-the-inside profiterole craquelin filled with ricotta and king island mousse through to a hearty halaszle (a Hungarian chowder). The oysters, which are served mignonette-style with shallots, shiitake and topiko, begin their life in the rough waters of the Tweed before being moved to the calmer, saltier waters of Stradbroke Island to grow. They are then transported live to BOBs’ kitchen where they are shucked onsite to ensure maximum flavour and freshness remains. Even the rustic plate they are served on is made from leftover grain from the brewing process (the rest is donated to the City of Gold Coast’s composting program), to enhance the overall dining experience and leave a lasting impression. BOBs has lofty ambitions to become Australia’s first hatted brewery restaurant.

If you’re keen to blow the froth off a brew at BOBs, surf over to our Stumble Guide for opening times.