LimLay, Burleigh Heads
If there was an award for the most beautiful new opening, LimLay would be a hot contender. The latest from hospitality veterans Pattaree (Pat) Jiranuchaiwattana and Vitchaya (Alex) Hasitawet (Nahm Talay Thai in Surfers Paradise, Nahm Thai in Coomera, Chong Co Thai at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre and Valyn Thai Restaurant & Bar in Isle of Capri), LimLay has amalgamated two prominent sites along the Gold Coast Highway, formerly occupied by SuzyBBQ and Ghanda into a show-stopping 100-seater. As beautiful as the space is, it’s the menu that will keep you coming back for more. Inspired by Thai street food, the eatery brings together traditional flavours from all over Thailand alongside modern, high-end plating techniques and creativity to create a thoroughly unique and delicious dining experience. Even the drinks list is infused with Pat’s signature creativity, with the Wonder Wheel (featuring 12 shots of vodka and lemonade in a Ferris wheel), jellyfish shots, bubbles, crystal toppers and fairy-floss among the sippable selection.

Pipi’s Restaurant and Awaken Cafe, Coolangatta
In February, hospitality dynasty – the Gambaro Group – ventured down to the Gold Coast for the first time in its 70-year history to gift us with not one but two new venues. Long synonymous with elevated epicurean experiences, the group’s portfolio includes some of Brisbane’s most notable restaurants, including Gambaro Seafood Restaurant, Gambaro Hotel, the Black Hide Steakhouses and Italian restaurant Persone. On the ground level of the recently completed Awaken Residences is where you will find Awaken Cafe, a light and bright daytime noshery dishing up fresh pastries, pies and sandwiches. Upstairs is where you will find Pipi’s, a sophisticated 100-seat venue that offers sweeping views over Rainbow Bay, Snapper Rocks and Duranbah Beach. The menu spotlights Mediterranean cuisine with sustainable meat, seafood and vegetables taking centre stage.

Franc Jrs, Nobby Beach
Getting the year off to a delicious start was the news that Coolangatta’s Franc Jrs has made its way to Lavarack Road in Nobby Beach. Carb connoisseurs were quick to embrace the new slice slinger, with the pizza box at the door regularly sporting a long list of folks waiting for tables. While the original Franc Jrs in Cooly adopts a more casual, takeaway-focused, order-at-the-counter vibe, the all-indoors Nobby Beach location offers fast-and-fun table service, so you can settle in and really commit to the food coma. As for the menu, you’ll find all of your Franc faves including the Detroit-style deep-dish pizza, known here as Sicilian Squares.

Blessing of the Sun, Mermaid Beach
If you love the smaller, hole-in-the-wall spots with one chef in the kitchen, you’ll love Blessing of the Sun. A little space with a big heart, the quaint 26-seater has transformed the former Lovechild Kitchen + Bar premises in Mermaid Beach into the perfect spot for a date night and cocktail-filled catch-ups. The venue is the realisation of a long-held dream for chef Kohta Iwamoto, who honed his skills at Nao izakaya in Otsu, Kyoto before making the Gold Coast home in 2013. The menu is geared towards small plates such as citrus-cured salmon, sizzling skillets of garlic prawns and Japanese-curry arancini. Get the gnocchi and thank us later.

Big Papi’s Cocina, Coolangatta
Dedicated to contemporary Latin American street food, Big Papi’s Cocina promises to excite your senses with punchy flavours, interesting sips and one big personality. Springing to life on Griffith Street, the venue has transformed the former Holy Jala into a melting pot of flavours and influences from Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Chile, to name just a few. The venue is the latest offering from hatted chef Kevin Fredes (who previously co-owned the award-winning Paella Y Pa’Mi in Coorparoo), alongside Carrie Edgar and Corrine Klein. While Paella Y Pa’Mi was dedicated exclusively to Spanish-style eats, Big Papi’s Cocina is an expression of Kevin’s life growing up in the Latin community, and aims to guide diners outside of their culinary comfort zone in the best and most delicious way possible. The vegan tartar with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, mustard sauce and a reduced glaze is a flavour bomb for the senses, while Papi’s provoleta (provolone cheese served in a cast-iron skillet) is the culinary version of a hug. If you only order one thing from the menu (a crazy idea, but okay), let it be this – the completito, which is their take on a two-bite hotdog. Just trust us on this.

The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines, Surfers Paradise
In news that is guaranteed to tickle the taste buds of hop heads, The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines Surfers Paradise officially opened in June. Touted as the place ‘Where Beer Meets Sport’, the state-of-the-art $6.5-million venue features 60 high-definition screens (including multiple big screens) broadcasting fixtures from all around the world. Can’t find your game of choice? No worries – the premium booth seating with proprietary BoothTV® will give revellers the capacity for individual channel selection, web browsing and even games! At the centre of the gargantuan 1000-person venue is a central bar wrapped in stadium-style screens, housing 80 taps – 14 of which are dedicated to pouring the freshest 4 Pines beers that are soaked, boiled and fermented onsite in the fully operational, ground-floor brewery.

Doughed, Hope Island
When it’s not uncommon to be greeted by a line out the door, it’s pretty clear you are doing something very right. Doughed at Hope Island arrived on the northern foodie scene with a bang, dropping some seriously drool-inducing doughnuts, craving-curing cookies and some damn tasty focaccia sandwiches. The concept is about bringing together a holy trinity of food-related hankerings into one convenient outpost with the added bonus of coffee and matcha, and oh boy, has it hit a sweet spot with locals.

Charcoal Charcoal, Robina
Yakitori is one of the few foods that are equally at home at street-side stalls as they are gracing the menus of fine-dining establishments. Cooked over binchotan charcoal – which is regarded by many chefs as the best in the world – yakitori is in a culinary class of its own. Mouthwateringly tender with a hint of smokey flavour, yakitori, when paired with a crisp, cold lager, is a gift for your taste buds. If you share our appreciation for yakitori, take a seat at Robina’s Charcoal Charcoal. Although technically opening in December, we’re willing to bend the rules for this neighbourhood noshery and include it.

Sandfire, Miami
Sipping cocktails against a backdrop of rolling waves is a quintessential Gold Coast experience. Encapsulating this perfectly is Miami’s newest beachfront tapas bar, Sandfire. Offering a globe-trotting menu, pina-colada flights, build-your-own margaritas and a hint of salt lingering in the air as a constant reminder you are mere steps away from the beach, Sandfire has all of the fundamental elements for a good time.

The Homestead, Currumbin
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a Gold Coast institution. Originally opening as Currumbin Bird Sanctuary in 1947, the venue has been etched into childhood memories for generations. Late last month, the wildlife and conservation park welcomed what could be its most anticipated new addition in its 77-year history – The Homestead. Restaurant by day and function and events space by night, The Homestead is housed in a magnificent purpose-built Queenslander. For daytime guests of the Sanctuary, and National Trust (Queensland) Members, The Homestead bolsters the Sanctuary’s dining offering with native and locally sourced produce including wattle-seed damper (served with whipped butter, sweet pickled baby figs with caramelised onion and bush-tomato relish), platters loaded with a selection of local cured meats, seasonal vegetables and homemade pickles, and so much more.

Kickin’Inn, Broadbeach
There’s something deeply satisfying about forgoing traditional dining etiquette, throwing on a bib and some gloves and tucking in to a seafood spread. It’s liberating and makes for an utterly memorable dining experience. If this sounds like your idea of a fun time, pull up a seat at Kickin’Inn in Broadbeach. Here, oceanic delights are served in the bag, or dumped straight on to the table in front of you for you to slurp, crack and munch your way through the mighty mound. As for the menu, it works like this – choose your favourite type of seafood from the mouth-watering selection, which includes prawns, bay bugs, mussels, baby octopus, blue swimmer crabs, pipis, crawfish and lobster, to name just a few. Then you choose the sauce – there’s garlic butter and lemon pepper for those who like a more mellow flavour profile, but if you’re up for some spice, opt for the ‘kajun’, which is based on Louisiana-style Cajun seafood.

Kefi Cafe, Coolangatta
In Greek, there’s a word with no direct English translation – ‘kefi.’ So much more than a word, kefi embodies a way of life. To live with kefi means embracing a lifestyle marked by joy, prioritising happiness, enjoying life’s simple pleasures, fostering positive connections and approaching challenges with an optimistic mindset. It’s about savouring the moment. Coolangatta’s cheerful eatery, aptly named Kefi Cafe, aims to encapsulate that very feeling with soul-nourishing food, chic Mediterranean sunset vibes complete with splashes of tangerine and crafted cocktails.

Holy Ship Bar & Restaurant, Main Beach
Dining with a view of the water offers its own kind of sensory enjoyment. The closer you are, the greater the sense of satisfaction. Holy Ship Bar & Restaurant is taking this notion to the extreme, inviting you to experience the gentle rock of the ocean and the salty sea breeze as you dine aboard two completely refurbished trawler boats that are moored at Marina Mirage. The nautical noshery arrived in March, promising a dining experience unlike any other. Moored side-by-side, the Holy Ship trawlers offer seating for 72 guests, with separate seating areas on the lower and upper decks. The seafood-heavy selection sources as much of the seafood as possible from the local fisherman’s co-op, and will only ever plate Australian-caught fare. Aye-aye, Captain.

Cafe Junie, Carrara
If you’re looking for a beautiful new breakfast spot that’s a little bit outside of your regular faves, allow us to introduce you to Cafe Junie. The new open-air caffeination station is the latest offering from Brendan Hill and Gabrielle Hows, who also own Refinery Coffee in Currumbin. Cafe Junie is located just off the motorway, and trust us when we say it’s worth the detour. With striking white arches, a beautifully neutral palette and pops of green, the 60-seater provides the perfect perch to while away a morning sipping coffee in the sunshine. A definite must-try for breakfast lovers.

That’s Whyld Coffee Roasters, Miami
Fostering genuine human connections fuelled by bloody great coffee, Miami’s newest organic coffee specialist, That’s Whyld Coffee Roasters has sprung to life on Hillcrest Parade, just a hop, skip and jump from Miami Marketta. The venue is the handiwork of Rachel-May Follan, a self-described coffee fanatic and barista of 16 years, alongside her partner Tiago Sperb. In terms of the coffee, That’s Whyld Coffee Roasters offers a whole range of sips, from espresso to batch brews, cold-brew towers and everything in between. Although Rachel and Tiago are passionate about coffee, there’s no snobbery here. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.