Supernormal’s Ex-Executive Chef Is Opening A Nostalgic Fish And Chip Shop In Burleigh

Just days after farewelling one of Brisbane’s most celebrated kitchens, chef Jason Barratt has revealed his next move, and it’s bringing him closer to the coast. Paradise Fish Shop will open in Burleigh Heads on Wednesday 23 September, a slightly more nuanced take on the classic Australian fish and chip shop.

Barratt spent almost three years as executive chef across Supernormal Brisbane and Bar Miette, helping establish the Melbourne heavyweight’s Queensland outpost as one of the city’s most exciting restaurants. His departure was announced only days ago, following a career that has also taken him through Attica, The Stokehouse and Paper Daisy, as well as the launch of cult Melbourne sandwich shop Hector’s Deli.

For his second independent venture, the chef is swapping the polished dining room for paper-wrapped fish, hand-cut chips and a 20-seat neighbourhood takeaway near North Burleigh Beach.

The idea draws on the fish and chip run as a once-weekly ritual for Australian families: heading to the local shop on a Friday night, unwrapping dinner from its paper and sharing everything across the table. Paradise Fish Shop will preserve that easy nostalgia while giving the produce and preparation front of mind—applying the same focus on sourcing and consistency that has defined his fine-dining career.

The menu centres around fresh, sustainably sourced seafood from fishers along Australia’s east coast, battered by hand and joined by seasonal salads and chips cut onsite each day using potatoes sourced directly from a Gippsland farmer, with the crumbed whiting sandwich already tipped to become a signature.

Even the dim sims are made in-house, combining organic chicken thigh with ground Bangalow pork belly and arriving with seasoned soy sauce and black vinegar. House-made salsa verde, spicy tomato mayonnaise and citrus-and-dill tartare will cover the all-important sauce order.

The venue will also look to an earlier era of the Gold Coast, when local motels, shops and attractions proudly carried the “Paradise” name. That sunny nostalgia will run through the branding and interiors, with the familiar coastal takeaway stripped back and sharpened up for modern Burleigh.

Keeping with the neighbourhood fish shop experience that inspired it, Paradise Fish Shop will take orders in-store only, with no delivery available—although the beach is only minutes away, if eating hot chips by the water is more your speed.

Image credit: Paradise Fish Shop | Supplied