Cold beer, hot pizza and good times – Padre Brewing Co. arrives in Miami
A new era of drinking and dining arrives in Miami today, Wednesday November 26, as Padre Brewing Co. swings open the doors to its long-awaited, custom-built home. Three years in the making, the venue emerges as one of the Gold Coast’s most striking debuts – part love letter to the great Aussie pub of days past, part retro-cool social hub, part playful culinary playground. Here’s what you’ll find inside …
Like so many excellent ideas, Padre Brewing Co. started over a beer. Come 4:00 pm, the gate will slide open on one of the Gold Coast’s most anticipated new arrivals, bringing a heady blend of craft beer, retro design and seriously craveable comfort food to Ozone Parade.
Out front, a glowing BEER sign hovers above the roadside, drawing thirsty folk like moths to a flame – a bold promise of what awaits inside. The enormous venue is the newest venture from long-time mates Mitch Carlin and Pete Morris (friends longer than they haven’t been), alongside hospitality lords Aaron Wilson, Nathan Zukerman and JD – the crew behind burger-slinger Ze Pickle. This time, they’re doubling down on something different – a brewery that feels like a neighbourhood hangout first, a culinary playground second, and a showcase of local talent always.
“At Padre, we care about two things – good company and great beer,” says Pete Morris, Padre’s co-founder and brand director. “We’ve done our best to create the perfect space for one, while making the other.”
Step inside and the energy hits immediately. Warm timber, acid-green framing, a curved bar wrapped in glossy mosaic tiles. It’s nostalgic and cool without trying. And instead of the usual rainbow of spirits, the backbar is stacked with vintage vinyl, old Polaroids and knick-knacks collected from decades past.
Behind the bar, Padre will eventually pour a dozen taps of house-brewed beer ranging from crisp lagers and hazy pales to IPAs with bite, French pales, a rotating line-up of seasonal sips and a scattering of limited-release drops like the Mango Weiss, which is already causing a stir. For opening day, you can blow the froth off Padre’s core selection alongside two staples – a Mexican-style cerveza and the Marathon ale. There’s cocktails too, and plenty of them. The Pot of Gold is a delightful agave-based beer alternative, designed to look just like a frothy schooner.
When it comes to the nosh, the food program has its own heartbeat – a menu built around the kind of food you want to eat with beer. Simple, nostalgic, dangerously addictive. Think New York-style pizzas with perfectly blistered rims, birria-style tacos dunked into molten consomme, and soft, glossy house-made pretzels created in collaboration with local legends Burnt Croissants, who helped finesse the dough to achieve that perfect chew. Even dessert has a local lean, featuring small-batch scoops from Al Bacio Gelato Naturale, a Burleigh Heads favourite.
The space itself is made for lingering – communal timber tables, high-tops around the bar, a beer garden built for golden afternoons and slow-rolling sessions that stretch long into the night.
Perhaps the most striking part about Padre is how quickly it already feels like it belongs here. Miami’s creative scene has been bubbling for years, and Padre Brewing Co. slides in with the confidence of a venue that understands its neighbourhood intuitively – relaxed but character-rich, a little eclectic, deeply local.
Reservations are open and the gates will officially open at 4:00 pm today, Wednesday November 26. Expect cold beers, hot pizzas, saucy pretzels, a buzzing bar and a new Miami meeting place destined to become a weekly ritual.
Head to The Directory for details.