Ten years ago, Broadbeach dining meant surf clubs and schnitzel. Today the strip between the beach and the casino precinct holds some of the state's most interesting kitchens — and the shift started, not coincidentally, when the resort dining rooms raised the bar.
Our own chef's counter anchors the scene — twelve courses of Queensland produce that critics drive down from Brisbane for. But the real story is the neighbourhood around it, which our concierge maps better than anyone.
Inside the tower
Start with the counter if you can get it — seats release monthly and disappear fast. The dining room is the fallback that doesn't feel like one: à la carte, the same kitchen, a 1,400-label cellar underneath. The late supper menu until 1am is the locals' secret.
The cellar tastings at 5pm are the ideal pre-dinner move — six glasses with the sommelier, then a table upstairs. Private dining rooms handle the celebrations; the chef's table inside the kitchen handles the obsessives.
Around the block
Within ten minutes on foot: a serious yakitori counter, a tiny pasta room that doesn't take bookings (we hold two seats), the best wood-fired seafood on the coast, and a wine bar with a list that rivals ours. The concierge's current map changes monthly — ask for it.
- The yakitori counter — 14 seats, omakase only
- The pasta room — no bookings, we hold two seats nightly
- Wood-fired seafood — order whatever came off the boat
- The natural wine bar — small list, strong opinions
- Late-night gelato on the beachfront — the correct ending
For a bigger night, the hinterland's vineyard restaurants are forty minutes out — our concierge pairs them with a driver and, in one case, a private lunch that isn't technically open to the public.
How to eat it
The pattern locals use: early drinks somewhere with a view, a late sitting somewhere excellent, gelato on the beachfront after. The tower covers the first two; the concierge covers the rest.
Book the counter the day seats release — the first of the month — and let the concierge fill the edges around it. Broadbeach rewards a plan with just enough slack in it.
