Food & Drink
There’s no guessing why this was our top news category. Much like us, you guys love all of the food, and all of the drinks. This year was crazy for the Gold Coast, with so many new cafes, restaurants and bars opening up across all corners of the city. Here’s what you liked best …
Poké Poké
When we first dropped the news that Bonita Bonita and Bon Bon owner Morgan Walsh had opened the Gold Coast’s first dedicated poke-bowl eatery, you all went absolutely nuts (and still are). While Poké Poké has plenty of traditional elements for the poke-bowl purists, there are also lots of options for those that don’t dig the raw fish like grilled-chicken poke bowls and delicious Caribbean roti bowls. By the way, there’s a new venue in the works for Morgan called FuFu – get excited!
Mr PP’s
So, Mr PP’s has only been open since November, but it’s already captured the hearts of the Gold Coast and has quickly become one of our most-read foodie stories of the year. It’s Southport’s first-ever rooftop bar and has been hailed for bringing a fresh new vibe to the heart of the precinct. The two-storey watering hole, deli and bar is certainly worth putting on your hit-list this summer.
Cheap Eats
We know you all love food, but sometimes the wallet doesn’t allow for lavish meals every night of the week. Damn you, living expenses! Our round-up of the Gold Coast’s cheap eats was dedicated to the frugal folk among us, with a bunch of local options to please your purse strings and taste buds. Besides, who the heck would want to cook when you can feed yo’face and still get change out of a twenty-dollar note?
Top-ten lists from the 2017 EAT/drink Awards
The 2017 Gold Coast EAT/drink Awards supported by UberEATS was a raging success, with so many of you throwing your support behind your fave local haunts to give them some much-deserved recognition. Since the winners were announced, we have been releasing the top ten venues various categories to reveal just how the Gold Coast voted … and it also gave you guys some handy must-try lists as well. The most popular top ten lists were the Gold Coast’s ten best restaurants, the ten best cafes, ten best bars and the ten best breakfast spots – all voted by you!
Harajuku Gyoza
The Brisbane folk had already been exposed to the Harajuku goodness for some time, and back in May we raised our chopsticks to welcome the wildly popular Japanese eatery to our shores. Known officially as the Harajuku Gyoza Beer Stadium, the 120-seat venue was Australia’s first Japanese microbrewery, featuring four 1200-litre beer towers alongside a mind-blowing spread of deliciously refined Japanese street food and an incredibly fun vibe. Irasshaimase!
UberEATS
When we look back now, we wonder how did we ever live without UberEATS? It landed here in February and quickly created a food-filled frenzy across the Gold Coast. So many people quickly embraced UberEATS, as did most of our fave restaurants, cafes and eateries – and now we can’t imagine our lives without it.
Lockwood
As one of the Gold Coast’s first speakeasy-style bars, Burleigh’s Lockwood created one helluva stir when its doors opened in the alleyway behind Justin Lane. Why? Well, Lockwood isn’t like any other bar we’ve seen on the coast – it’s different. It’s not a place to get boozed and stumble home, rather the ethos here is more about respecting and learning about alcohol … and having a bloody great time while you’re at it.
The Gold Coast’s best ramen
We dropped this round-up during the height of winter and you all went wild – well, let’s be honest, there is no better way to warm up than with a piping hot bowl of ramen, right? The ramen craze has continued to sweep the Gold Coast, so we put together a list of the city’s best and most slurp-able ramen dishes we could find.
The Scottish Prince
When the team behind The Cambus Wallace announced earlier this year that they were working on a new venue, everyone stopped what they were doing and paid attention. The doors to The Scottish Prince (named after an infamous shipwreck off Main Beach) opened in Palm Beach in September and quickly garnered a hefty following of whisky-sipping charcuterie lovers.
The North Room
The relaxed vibe of Mermaid Beach has created the perfect culinary canvas for some of the city’s most popular cafes and restaurants, which sit dotted along the emerging Gold Coast Highway pocket. Back in May, The North Room became the newest addition, bringing a whole new element of refined dining to the popular beachside suburb … with a chilled-out Gold Coast twist.
Gentlefolk
So, 2017 saw plenty of Gentlefolk goodness come to the surface, from rad local labels to new beauty parlours and plenty of cool happenings for ladies and gents alike. Here’s what come out on top …
House porn
Who doesn’t like a little bit of house porn? We do and we’re not ashamed. Despite housing affordability issues, we chose to deal with our increasing house envy the only way we knew how – by spending hours looking at some of the world’s most beautiful homes. There are thousands of architecturally stunning homes all over the world, but we picked five of our most lust-worthy properties that had us contemplating entering the lottery every week. You’re welcome.
Spell Designs Byron
It’s one of Byron Bay’s most iconic online brands, so when we told you that Spell Designs had opened a Byron Bay boutique, a fashion-fuelled frenzy erupted. Chances are you’ve got a Byron day trip planned over the summer, so make sure you check this dreamy space out. Credit cards at the ready! Actually, we mean Afterpay, duh.
Inspirational women killing it in the food industry
We celebrated International Women’s Day this year by giving a little shout-out to some badass Queensland ladies who are doing amazing things in our favourite industry – food. While the food and hospitality sector is notorious for being a boys club, the landscape is (slowly but surely) evolving to become more inclusive, so we put some fabulous faces in the spotlight.
The Lost Boys Barber
This rad new addition to The Brickworks Centre in Southport got all the dapper gents pretty darn excited. Combining elements of a traditional barbershop with modern techniques, Lost Boys offers a fresh and trendy approach, with little snippets of pop-culture to give it an unpretentious vibe.
Clean Beauty Market
It was great to see the light shining on Nobby Beach with the opening of the Gold Coast’s first all-natural, non-toxic and cruelty-free makeup emporium. The Clean Beauty Market stocks around 50 different hand-selected brands, many of which have not been available in Australia.
Design
This year had everything from new property developments to glorious getaway homes and exciting new designer retailers – these are the stories that you, our readers, thought were the ones to take the cake.
North Residences
Rarely do you see brand new luxury apartments pop up along the Burleigh Heads beachfront, let alone in one-per-floor configurations. With uninterrupted ocean views and beachside parklands at the doorstep, our story on North Residences caught your eyes in a very big way. Got a spare coupla mil’, anyone?
Cornerstone Stores
Perched along the Gold Coast Highway on the border of Currumbin and Tugun (near Currumbin Sanctuary) is Cornerstone Stores. Many of us spent weeks rubber-necking at the construction site, but then we delved a little deeper to reveal exactly what was coming – a swag of new retailers and foodie hangs including a wholefood cafe called Stable Coffee + Kitchen, plus a boutique fromagerie and wine cellar called Quince. We’ll have all of the cheese, thanks.
Mantra at Sharks
It’s not every day that a brand-new hotel is announced on the Gold Coast – so the news of the $25-million Mantra at Sharks created a bit of a stir. The new project, which is due to be completed in early 2018 in time for the Commonwealth Games, is one of Southport’s first hotels and will be a unique landmark in the area.
The Bower Byron Bay
You know we love the weekends, and we also love nothing more than a sneaky getaway. We took you inside The Bower, revealing the newly renovated boutique property on Byron Bay’s Bangalow Road, which is the latest luxury accomodation offering in the Byron Beach Abodes stable. If you’re looking for a stylish place to hang out and rest your head while you’re there, then this newbie is worth checking out … um, we mean check in.
Six Things Shop
Hooray for local goodness! Purveyors of all things cool, Six Things Shop, made the shift from its premises at the Old Burleigh Arcade to a fabulous new 50s-style house in Tweed Heads back in May. Well-known as the place to go when shopping for ‘the person who was everything’, the new Six Things showcases an expanded collection of its eclectic wares, accessories and gifts with a tasty new addition – coffee, toasties and treats.
Honorable mentions
- Your favourite The Locals were Andrew Whiting, Simon Gloftis and Adam Haralampou.
- You loved it when our Captured photographers snapped your fine selves at NightQuarter’s Ministry of Sound Reunion Tour, Blanc de Blanc and the Justin Lane Rooftop Party.
What a corker of a year, Gold Coast! Keen to check out what our pals in Brisbane have been up to this year? Jump over here to peek at the goodness.
