8 Street
A vibrant Asian street-food precinct called 8 Street is underway in Cavill Lane in the heart of Surfers Paradise. Due to open in late 2017, the expansive laneway development will feature more than 30 street-food vendors, which will deliver an authentic oriental marketplace experience. The vendors are yet to be selected, but were told to expect cuisines from China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and India. The fit-out is set to be dotted with crimson and gold lanterns, featuring traditional timber-clad open kitchens with chefs creating theatrical displays as they whip up mouth-watering eats. The innovative new foodie laneway is being curated by David Wu, who has operated 8 Street in Brisbane’s Westfield Garden City since 2014. Named after the Chinese culture’s most auspicious number, the Gold Coast precinct will be larger than its Brisbane sibling – expect a loud, bustling hawker-style food market right in the heart of Surfers Paradise. You’ll be munching barbecue duck, dumplings, dim sum, pho, bibimbap, banh mi and all of the Asian delights by December – we’ll have more details soon!

The Scottish Prince
The geniuses behind popular Nobby Beach haunt The Cambus Wallace have a second venue underway in Palm Beach. It’s called The Scottish Prince, which is named after a ship that sunk off the Southport Seaway in the late 1800s. The new southern venue, which takes over the Gold Coast Highway space formerly occupied by Bstow, will basically be The Cambus Wallace’s bigger brother. We’re told to expect a similar vibe to The Cambus Wallace, with a wider whisky range, a belly-warming menu, live music and ‘good old-fashioned service’. There will be hidden booths, a private dining room plus …wait for it … a whisky tasting room. The team – Dave Ferry, Timothy Hoult and head chef Vitor Ditlef will spread themselves across both venues, so we can well and truly expect a replica of the delicious food, killer bar list and fun vibe that we’ve all come to love at The Cambus Wallace. The Scott Prince will set sail in a few weeks time – we’ll have all the details for you then!

Iku Yakitori Bar
Mitch and Nerissa McCluskey, purveyors of all things delicious and cool, are working on a second Japanese eatery and bar in Burleigh Heads called Iku Yakitori Bar. The owners of Etsu Izakaya and Commune (they recently sold Aloha Bar), have kicked off works on the new 50-seat venue, which occupies part of the space left by long-standing surf shop Mt Woodgee on the Gold Coast Highway. We’ve been told to expect a similar ‘dark and loud’ vibe to Etsu, with a menu that will focus heavily on yakitori. Instead of your run-of-the-mill chicken yakitori, you can expect to see all parts of the bird being used in delicious ways – think chicken hearts, liver, skin, and thighs on the robata grill. There will also be plenty of vegetarian yakitori options, as well as wagyu variations for the red-meat lovers. Whilst the vibe will be similar to Etsu, there’s going to be a completely different fit out, with seating around the yakitori bar, traditional Japanese booths (the type where you cross your legs) as well as a blue-velvet banquette lounge. There will be two entrances – one on the highway, and one back alleyway entrance. The back entrance will lead into a wood-clad whisky bar, which will house a swag of Japanese whiskies, sake, schochu, umeshu, and (of course) top-notch cocktails. Sounds amazing, right? We’re pretty pumped for this one. The opening of Iku is pegged for early October – we’ll have all the details for you then.

Hula Girl Espresso
The laid-back precinct of Koala Park (the precinct that’s nestled west of Burleigh Headland overlooking Tallebudgera Creek) is getting a cool new coffee house. Hula Girl Espresso is due to open in late August and will double as a takeaway coffee bar with baked sweets and savouries, as well as a showroom for vintage guitars and clothing. Byron Bay’s Marvell Street coffee will be pouring, and there are plans to eventually extend the house to accommodate a dinner service too. Keep your eyes peeled – we’ll have all the details for you when Hula Girl shimmies its doors open.

Fresh Coffee Bar
Varsity Lakes locals and workers would be very familiar with this quaint little coffee bar – it’s been located in the lobby of 194 Varsity Parade building for nearly 12 years, and was one of the first espresso bars in the suburb. Fresh Coffee Bar is spreading its wings for the first time – and is relocating and expanding to a huge space at the front of the building, with street frontage to the bustling Varsity Parade. Works are currently underway on the new space, which is expected to open toward the end of the year. In the mean time, the original premises will operate as normal. Expect fresh, healthy sit-down meals and on-the-go eats, plus delicious Gabriel Coffee. We’ll have more on this one when the doors open.

Image credit: Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash