The Dish: Gold Coast food news you need to know
The Gold Coast’s dining scene never seems to sit still, and frankly, we’re not complaining. Consider this your bite-sized serving of everything worth eating, drinking and knowing about on the Gold Coast right now.
Thursday nights just got tastier at The North Room
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to revisit The North Room, this is it. The exceptional Mermaid Beach restaurant is making Thursday nights a little more enticing, bringing its much-loved lunch offering into the evening for a limited time. Tucked away on the Gold Coast Highway, The North Room is one of those rare venues where every seat feels like the best in the house. With just 20 seats, chef-owner Tim Stewart champions seasonal produce, inventive flavour combinations and the kind of personalised service that’s increasingly hard to find. Now, diners can choose between a two-course dinner for $67 or settle in for the full four-course experience for $119, with both options including snacks, the restaurant’s signature pretzel bread and a side dish. Available every Thursday from 5:00 pm until the end of November, it’s an excellent opportunity to experience one of the Gold Coast’s most intimate dining rooms, whether you’re after a quick midweek dinner or something a little more leisurely. Bookings are recommended.
All-you-can-eat Japanese dumplings are arriving to Broadbeach
Forget dull, uninspiring Tuesday night dinners with the arrival of Harajuku Gyoza’s all-you-can-eat Japanese dumplings. Starting on Tuesday October 13 and continuing every Tuesday throughout October from 5:00 pm, customers can feast on unlimited dumplings and sides for 75 minutes. Guests can select between two menus, either the Classic ($39 per person) or Premium ($49 per person) to eat dumplings until their stomachs can’t take anymore. With a smorgasbord of crowd favourites available, from pork, lemongrass chicken and vegetable gyoza, edamame, steamed rice and miso soup, to more fun flavours such as mozzarella gyozas, there is plenty to keep everyone happy. Bookings can be made here.
Get hungry – Third Wave BBQ is coming to Surfers Paradise
Carnivores, this is your cue to start salivating. Third Wave BBQ is heading north, with the cult barbecue brand set to open its first Queensland restaurant at Soul Boardwalk in Surfers Paradise later this month. Known for going gloriously overboard, Third Wave has amassed almost four million social-media followers with its slow-smoked meats, towering burgers, loaded share platters and wildly OTT monthly specials. The Gold Coast outpost will serve the full menu of brisket, beef and pork ribs, pulled pork, burgers and loaded fries, plus a new breakfast offering. To kick things off, Third Wave is also running a free lottery, with selected winners scoring access to unlimited 12-hour slow-smoked beef ribs for $59 per person across the first two days. An exact opening date is still under wraps, but it’s expected to fire up oh-so-soon. We’ll bring you all of the drool-inducing details when it does!
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Burleigh Heads Hotel unveils $3.5-million makeover
One of Burleigh’s most familiar watering holes has emerged from a major makeover, with Burleigh Heads Hotel unveiling the results of a $3.5-million redevelopment. The refresh has given the sports bar and bistro a new lease on life, but the biggest change is out front, where a brand-new beachfront deck makes the most of the pub’s prime position overlooking the Burleigh foreshore. The food has had a shake-up too, with a new menu leaning into share plates, fresh seafood and pub classics, while the bar is shaking Burleigh Palomas, Passionfruit Caipirinhas and Yuzu Cucumber Collins. The refreshed Burleigh Heads Hotel is open now, just in time for long lunches and sundowners heading into summer.
Pipit Restaurant launches new monthly art lunch
Since 2020, Gyotaku printing (‘gyo’ meaning fish and ‘taku’ translating to impression), has been a unique and creative part of how Pipit Restaurant explores seafood, dining and seasonal menus. Originally used by fishermen to record prized catches, the Pipit team is taking it up a notch by combining an intimate dining experience with this ancient Japanese art ritual. Guests are invited to gather around the Chef’s Counter on the last Saturday of the month, while chef and restaurant co-owner Ben Devlin demonstrates whole-fish ink printing, engaging stories of the process and a five-course set menu, with canapes and drinks during the art presentation. This two-and-a-half-hour sitting offers a glimpse into the ritual, while also connecting art and food to the Tweed’s coastal landscapes. Tickets for the experience are $255 per person, with additional art and posters also available for purchase. Head to the Pipit Restaurant website to book your seat.
QT Gold Coast to transform into a spooky sanctuary for Halloween
Enter if you dare because things are about to get a little bit spooky at QT Gold Coast. Available throughout the month of October, the Trick or Tea Halloween QTea invites guests to indulge in a tower of spellbinding sweets and savoury creations at FIXX Café, with the optional Little Monsters High Tea for $39. Feast on a tower of delicacies, from Dracula’s Eyeball beetroot arancini, a choux pastry witches cauldron and Veliche white chocolate Zombie Fingers. High tea is served with tea, espresso coffee and QT Gold Coast’s signature colour-changing Halloween tea – with alcoholic options available for an additional cost. Make sure to book your seat at the table here.
Pink Ribbon lunch at Sandfire
Gather the girls, rally the guys, round up your colleagues or grab your favourite people together for an afternoon by the ocean for the Pink Ribbon Lunch at Sandfire. The North Burleigh oceanfront venue is raising funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) on Thursday October 22 from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. Tickets for the lunch are $45 per person and include two drink tickets and canapes, with $10 from every ticket going directly to the NBCF. Champagne, a splash of colour and a great cause? That sounds like a plan. Book here.
Pipit extends its Vietnamese-inspired pop-up throughout October and November
Back in the dark days of the 2020 lockdowns, Pottsville institution Pipit launched Mr Trinh’s, a takeaway-oriented concept inspired by the food traditions and flavours of co-owner Yen’s Vietnamese heritage. Now, the Pipit team has brought Mr Trinh’s back as a pop-up dine-in residency, serving Vietnamese-inspired fare made with Northern Rivers produce (sourced from growers like Concisous Ground and Boon Luck Farm) every Sunday lunch and Monday dinner throughout October and November. From Sunday October 18 to Monday November 30, expect an offering that weaves together family favourites and contemporary takes on Vietnamese classics, with chef Ben Devlin and his team turning out the likes of banh mi choux bun sandos with duck pate, pork chả lụa cold cut and pickles, grilled snapper fish cakes on lemongrass skewers, grilled duck sausage with betel leaves, snapper fillet with makrut lime brown butter, and slow-cooked duck leg with green pepper and ginger. Head to the Pipit website for booking and menu details, and follow Mr Trinh’s on Instagram for updates.
Cowboy core comes to the Tweed for Husk Rum’s Harvest Fest
Dust off the cowboy boots and limber up your throwing arm because Husk Rum Harvest Fest is returning to North Tumbulgum for two days of rum-fuelled revelry on October 17–18. The annual celebration of the Tweed’s sugarcane harvest will bring live bands, pop-up bars, fresh-pressed cane juice, low-and-slow barbecue and plenty of cocktails to Husk Farm Distillery, alongside some brilliantly unconventional entertainment. Saturday will see competitors hurl stalks in the fan-favourite sugarcane javelin, while the Cowboy Catwalk runs all weekend with prizes for those who commit hardest to cowboy core. There’ll also be rum tastings, distillery tours, a new Harvest Deli and pop-up market, plus a hay maze, cow feeding and face painting for little festival-goers. Tickets are $20 for adults and include a Husk Rum with freshly pressed cane juice on arrival, while under-18s enter free. Grab tickets here.
Velvet Cafe & Lounge leans into after-dark dining with new After Hours sessions
If you’ve ever walked into Velvet Cafe & Lounge and thought it felt more like a European wine bar than your average neighbourhood cafe, you’re not alone. With its deep maroon velvet booths, warm golden glow, walnut panelling and nostalgic mid-century interiors, the Miami favourite has always hinted at life after dark. Now, it’s happening. Velvet has launched After Hours, extending service every Thursday to Saturday from 2:00 pm as the cafe seamlessly shifts from leisurely lunches to relaxed evenings centred around good wine, share plates and conversation. As the light softens and the music settles into a house soundtrack, guests can graze on hot-honey halloumi, anchovy toast, steamed mussels, Basque cheesecake and generous cellar boards alongside a curated wine list and cocktails including an Espresso Carajillo, Velvet’s signature coffee-infused gin and tonic, or a classic Aperol Spritz. Head over here to make a booking.
Distilleries across the state pour up for Queensland Rum Day
For the fourth year in a row, Queensland Rum Day will celebrate the state’s top distilleries and raise a glass to the bottles produced in our sunny state. Founding distilleries Beenleigh Rum, Bundaberg Rum, Kalki Moon Distilling and Brewing, Nil Desperandum Rum will join returning guest distiller Burdekin Rum and first-time participant NFQ Rum Co. to create the Rum Consortium 2026, bringing all distilleries into one bold bottle. The Rum Consortium 2026 incorporates rums made from molasses, sugarcane syrup and fresh-pressed sugarcane juice for a unique blend distilled and bottled in Queensland. As a limited release, only 5,280 bottles will be available in stores from October 17 with a series of festivities taking place across Queensland distilleries.
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