12 Of The Best Mermaid Beach Restaurants To Hit In 2025
Danielle Read
Contributor | Urban List
If you’re yet to explore Mermaid Beach’s restaurant scene, consider your next beachside hang turned up several notches. Snuggled between Broadbeach’s glitz and Nobby’s beach town vibe, Mermaid Beach has my heart for many reasons.
Back in 2016 I moved into a tiny unit in Mermaid Beach. It had a horse door and zero fly screens, but it was so close to the many eateries and nightlife buzz of Mermaid Beach that it remains one of my favourite homes ever. Apres Surf heaved every night of the week in their OG Mermaid locale, and everything was but a wander away.
Today, while my neighbourhood hang Board Culture may be gone and Apres moved on to Burleigh Heads, the dining scene of Mermaid Beach has its pedal to the metal and delivers some amazing things.
I urge you to head here, not just for the long beach days and prime sunset viewing, but also for Mermaid Beach’s mix of incredible restaurants, bars and fine dining eateries.
Here’s my top take, and the Urban List team's picks for the best restaurants in Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast/Kombumerri Country to taste your way around in 2025.
Best Mermaid Beach Restaurants At A Glance
Best Restaurants For Dates
Piatto
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Got a hunger that only Italian cuisine using local produce set in an intimate neighbourhood joint can satisfy? I know just the place. Piatto’s neat 16-seat Mermaid Beach restaurant houses an ever-changing menu.
To set the scene for your dimly-lit European dream, dishes range from baked lasagne rotolo through to roasted scallops drizzled with saffron butter and topped with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs. Spoiler alert—the concise yet creative menu consistently delivers the goods.
INSIDER INTEL
- Bookings are via text only on 0405 607 729
- Sling in your booking ahead of time since their 16 seats fill up quick from 5pm Wednesday through Saturday
- It's family-run and the dishes have that wholesome home-cooked feel
The North Room
2527 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: The North Room | Brooke Darling Photography
On the hunt for a locale to host your next date or solo dinner? The North Room is my pick for the best Mermaid Beach restaurant for fine dining. Their tasting menu is ever-changing and seasonal, which means you could visit many times and have an entirely new experience. That's quite possibly my favourite part, with the carefully selected drinks list a close second.
To give you a taster, their refined dishes may include specialities like mud crab with bone marrow crumpet, cultured cream and salted egg yolk—and the option to add matching wines. While it’ll set you back a pretty penny, this experience is truly one of a kind.
INSIDER INTEL
- A go-to to wow your date
- The wine list changes to suit the menu
- These guys received a three glass award from Australian Wine List Of The Year for their wine list two years in a row, including 2025
- Custom and secret off-menu wines are sometimes available for a unique dining experience
Muso Ramen
2484 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
If you’re craving authentic ramen in the heart of Mermaid Beach, look no further than Muso Ramen. This unassuming rock music poster-lined eatery pours the soul of Japan right into your bowl.
From the tonkotsu yokohama with pork, egg, garlic and chicken oil through to the rich karaage chicken curry. Muso’s rich ramen is best paired with pillowy gyoza and cold Asahi on tap. Not to be missed.
INSIDER INTEL
- Noodles are made onsite, daily and they are honestly the silkiest little babies to slurp down
- If it's your first time in a ramen joint, the tonkotsu original is the perfect introduction
- The spicy sesame Tantan has a long line of fans, but it's not for the faint-hearted
Little Truffle Dining Room & Bar
2444 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Little Truffle | Supplied
This Mermaid Beach establishment consistently delights with first-class ambience, service and cuisine. With its sophisticated refurbishment, Little Truffle delivers culinary journeys that range from à la carte selections like seared duck breast with pan-fried foie gras, and Moreton Bay bug and prawn stuffed tortellini.
It's the kind of place that leaves tongues wagging, conversation reminiscing and the group chat planning another visit ASAP. This is up there with the best restaurants in Mermaid Beach for fine dining, elite food and high-class service.
INSIDER INTEL
- The four-course menu for $80 is worth the buzz
- Acclaimed local talent Daniel Ridgeway is to thank for this two-hatted establishment
Cantina
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Cantina’s open kitchen and humble menu offers a refreshing addition to the Mermaid Beach restaurant lineup. It's welcoming, it's unpretentious, and it's damn good.
This intimate tapas and Spanish tipple haunt is accessible for walk-ins only, from Wednesday through to Saturday from 5pm. Expect a setting reminiscent of ‘cheers’ in all the right ways.
I interviewed co-owner Harry a few years back when he was running Lupo with his family and this guy has a real passion for food. For a blast from the past, when I asked Harry what cooking means to him, he said "Cooking is what I’ll do until I die. I enjoy that it’s the first job that is a genuine expression of myself. I’ve had other jobs where I go to and have to be another person. But here, I walk in and I’m genuinely being myself, that’s a good sign." I'll raise my marg to that.
INSIDER INTEL
- Cantina neighbours Piatto and is owned by the same family
- Walk-ins and DM bookings are welcomed
You Might Also Like:
Eska
2217 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Who would've thought that an elegant sashimi bar could so seamlessly blend with a takeaway seafood joint. Yet, it does at Eska. Within The Oxley precinct, Eska delights with its raw and Champagne bar, which makes it extra impressive.
The crispy fish sando with crumbed Red Emporer and cheese on a buttery brioche is familiar, yet refreshing. And it's the kind of place you go to for four prawns doused in black pepper shrimp butter glaze for $35 and don't one bit regret it.
INSIDER INTEL
- Pull up a stool at the wraparound marble raw bar to watch fish being expertly prepared before your eyes
- Order the Yuzu Margarita with tequila, yuzu sake, sour kiwi, jalapeno, citrus and sansho salt for a showstopping drop
Best Restaurants For Groups
The Glenelg Public House
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
This iconic Mermaid Beach restaurant on the main drag has garnered a strong reputation within the steak-lovin' community. Its nod to traditional gastro pubs makes The Glenelg Public House’s moody interiors feel as decadent as their meals themselves.
Yes, there's melt-in-your-mouth arancini. Yes, there's crispy Southern Fried chicken wings with blue cheese and dill pickles. But the real stars of the show are the selection of specialty steaks cooked to your liking.
The dedicated steak menu features everything from Rump Caps to Wagyu and MB3-9, which is code for tender and juicy cuts.
INSIDER INTEL
- The Glenelg Public House is dubbed one of the best steak restaurants on the Gold Coast
- Home to one of the most interesting wine lists on the Gold Coast
- Share menus make this a top contender for group dinners
Bonita Bonita
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach
Arguably one of the best Mexican restaurants on the Gold Coast, Bonita Bonita can do no wrong in my books. Traditional Mexican dishes feature a modern twist, like the pulled chipotle beef empanadas with shaved manchego and habanero crèma.
The agave and tequila pork belly taco is always a winner with my crew. But for me it's the and the coliflor (not a typo) taco, with crispy cauliflower fresh guacamole, rocket, cilantro crema, pickled onion and queso fresca.
INSIDER INTEL
- Gluten-free and vegan dishes and banquets are both available upon request.
- It's set in a tiny block of shops, so if possible rideshare or public transport
Norté
2217 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Moody by nature and mouthwatering by choice, Norté delivers on big Latin American flavours. And not by accident either. Co-Owner Nick Woodward travelled to South and Central America nine times, while Executive Group Chef James Brady hit the Argentinian countryside to learn how to build the traditional South American flat health in the kitchen himself.
Black slate contrasts with limestone, there's a unique waffle ceiling and a jaw-dropping red staircase. The clean lines and intentional texture throughout the space makes this one of the most aesthetically striking restaurants in Mermaid Beach.
That being said, the menu makes for an indulgent feast featuring slow-cooked short ribs with pineapple, three-figure Wagyu and milk mousse with strawberry sorbet and hazlenut frangipane.
INSIDER INTEL
- It's by the same talented crew behind the ever-iconic Rick Shores
- The space is designed by award-winning architecture firm J.AR OFFICE
- There's a $90 banquet with an impressive selection of the menu's gems
- Sueño is the adjoining rooftop agave bar, with terrace antipasti and grilled goods
Etsu Izakaya
2440 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Etsu Izakaya | Hayley Williamson Photography
Etsu is the ultimate Japanese haunt on the Gold Coast. Hidden behind a white-washed barn door on the Gold Coast Highway, it goes without saying that what Etsu lacks in signage, they make up for in atmopsphere, fine eats and a superb aesthetic.
Widely touted as serving up the best Japanese in the whole of Gold Coast, this iconic dive is home to a neon-lit, wave-lined and tree-inclusive fitout. Which totally sets the scene for your raw bar experience. Think chef-selected sashimi Santenmori and freshly shucked natural oysters with ponzu and Ikura.
Or there are only winning choices on the robata grill. I'm obsessed with the Mooloolaba King Prawns Japanese curry with yuzu kosho oil. But I'll admit that it was the lobster and prawn gyoza with soy bisque that stole my heart on my first visit here.
INSIDER INTEL
- Etsu are launching a five-course Japanese long lunch with bottomless cocktails on Saturdays
- The $115 Omakase set menu makes for the perfect group celebration (I'm not one to splurge often, but if I do, it's at Etsu)
Lars Bar & Grill
Shop 1/2217 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Lars Bar & Grill is the modern steak and seafood restaurant that's made its mark on The Oxley's impressive lineup of eateries.
Do as the mermaids do and throw back freshly shucked Pacific oysters (what else would a mermaid eat?). Followed by hearty mains like the grilled swordfish with smoked tomato and harissa oil.
Top-quality, fire-kissed steaks are flame-grilled and juicy beyond belief. Actually, they make up some of the best steaks on the Gold Coast. And, there's a choice of six signature sauces to drizzle on top.
INSIDER INTEL
- Steaks are sourced from Stockyard Beef, the most-awarded family-run beef producers in Queensland
- Lars Kollrepp, son of Gold Coast hospitality royalty, Marty Kollrepp heads the kitchen
- There's 110 seats, so it's perfect for large groups, especially corporate events
Mexicali
2223 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Mexicali | Instagram
It’s giving rooftop Mexican fiestas for days. Sip seriously note-worthy margaritas on Mexicali’s sun-drenched balcony to your heart’s content, and you’ll see why this is one of the Gold Coast’s best Mexican restaurants.
I've lost count of the amount of times I've dined in at Mexicali. They've garnered a colourful reputation for their lively vibe, strong drinks and crisp housemade corn chips that'll have you ordering minimum two bowls with zero regrets.
Open until late seven nights a week, choose from street-style entradas, share plates and tacos with a wide range of dietary requirement alternatives.
INSIDER INTEL
- The best street corn with queso on the Coast - there's even a vegan option
- If dining at golden hour, nab a seat on the balcony
Looking for more Gold Coast restaurants? Check out:
- The Gold Coast's Best Restaurants
- Coolangatta's Best Restaurants
- Tamborine Mountain's Best Restaurants
Image Credit: Etsu Izakaya | Hayley Williamson Photography
Urban List Best Of: has our highest stamp of approval—curated lists of the very best recommendations for you to eat, do, see, buy or book, carefully chosen by our Editors.