Down tequila flights and devour tacos at the new-look Hail Mary in Burleigh Heads
One telltale sign of a really excellent restaurant is a consistently packed dining room. When you spy an eatery filled with spirited (and potentially spirit-filled) patrons animatedly conversing over plates of food, you know you’ve found a spot worth checking out. The downside, however, is that it often comes at the expense of spontaneity as last-minute tables become harder to snag. It might sound like a good problem to have in such ‘unprecedented times’, but turning people away became a real bugbear for Hail Mary’s owner Simon Oxley, who has gone to great lengths to ensure there’s room for every taco lover with its fresh facelift.
Tucked halfway down James Street in Burleigh Heads, Hail Mary has been satisfying our collective hankering for tequila and tacos since opening as Tacocat in 2017. So popular is the neighbourhood noshery that its bar staff frequently knock elbows with the kitchen crew as the venue pushes the limit of its confines. The recent departure of the nail bar and hair salon next door presented Hail Mary’s team with the perfect opportunity to expand the restaurant’s existing footprint and better cater to its heaving peak-hour services. This extra elbow room has allowed for the creation of a separate bar area that not only gives the kitchen team more space to work its magic, but an increased capacity to house the venue’s ever-growing list of tequila and mezcal.
The striking new bar fit-out was envisaged by Owen Thompson of OJ Thompson Design & Build and continues Hail Mary’s signature palette of salmon-pink everything. Venetian plaster and back-lit archways create a show-stopping aesthetic, which can be appreciated from one of the plush velvet barstools. The brand-new booths are likely to become a hot commodity come summer, and speaking of, the team has also invested in fancy fans and air conditioning in anticipation of balmy nights. Hail Mary’s extensive menu meanders from share plates such as jalapeno poppers and chilli-and-lime squid through to 11 different types of taco – yes, 11. There are plans to extend the venue’s cocktail offering and add tequila flights, but good things come to those who wait.
If you’re keen to check out the new-look Hail Mary, skip over to our Stumble Guide for opening times.
The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Gold Coast dining guide with more than 870 places to eat, drink, shop and play.
