15 Of Gold Coast’s Most Romantic Restaurants For Date Night
Right now, you’re in panic mode. You promised you’d take your date out this Friday, but you don’t know where to go. It’s okay. Take a deep breath. I’ve got you covered.
The Gold Coast is giving big sexy energy when it comes to the wining and dining options scattered across our shores, suburbs and rooftops. Whether it's a first date you're dying to impress, a flame ready to reignite, or a question about to be popped, there's no shortage of heart-fluttering locales to share a plate and woo your date on the Gold Coast.
Here are 15 of the most romantic restaurants on the Gold Coast/Kombumerri Country—perfect for everything from first dates to anniversaries. Keep reading to find that just-right venue that they’ll absolutely love.
How we choose: Culinary excellence, consistent service, cultural relevance, moody ambiance, sustainability where possible, and real-world buzz from our team and community.
Romantic Gold Coast Restaurants At A Glance
Romantic Restaurants With A View
Nineteen at The Star
1 Casino Drive, Broadbeach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Nineteen at The Star | Instagram
Sometimes, your date night restaurant needs the wow factor—the kind of spot that looks and feels exclusive. That’s Nineteen at The Star, a glitzy rooftop venue with 19 storeys of views. Outside, it’s sea breezes and a glittering infinity pool. Step indoors, it’s modern chic and marble, the kind designed for sports jackets and high heels.
There’s plenty of seafood on the menu (no surprises there), including an oversized seafood platter that you’ll need to greet on an empty stomach. But there’s also a seriously impressive lineup of steaks, like the 400g Kiwami sirloin that earned Nineteen a spot among our favourite Gold Coast steakhouses. Don’t skimp on the drinks, either. With a cellar that’s won Wine List of the Year awards multiple times (including three glasses for four consecutive years, including 2025), Nineteen’s sommeliers know what they’re doing.
Best for: If you want to pull out all the stops
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- There's a lesser known Isoletto Pool Club located in the same building set to impress with a pre-dinner beverage until 5pm, daily
Rick Shores
43 Goodwin Terrace, Burleigh Heads QLD 4220
Image Credit: Rick Shores | Instagram
Ah, Rick Shores. If you haven’t dined at what is, indisputably, one of the best restaurants in Burleigh Heads, this is your chance. Here’s how to sell a visit to your partner: oceanfront views, a fusion menu that draws from both South and East Asia, and seafood that’s sumptuously spectacular.
Inside, expect polished concrete interiors and dim lighting that keep the focus on the food and the sea. There’s plenty to hold your attention, too. You could go with dishes like braised lamb rendang … but, if you don’t love the idea of garlic and ginger on a date night, mains like the barbecued rainbow trout with maple ponzu or Wagyu sirloin might be better options. My tip: book well in advance and request a window-side table (I love the views from the northern end of the restaurant).
Best for: If you love an after dinner beachside stroll
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- Book an outdoor patio seat for golden hour around sunset
- This is where you'll find the iconic Moreton Bay Bug Rolls
River House
2 Barney St, Southport QLD 4218
Image Credit: River House | Clayten Fowler Photography
One of the newest romantic restaurants on the Gold Coast, River House delivers dazzling views of the Gold Coast's iconic waterways and cityscape. Tucked away in plain sight beside Southport's main bridge, this is a hot contender for exceptional fare and service.
"Optimised for lost afternoons", there's a sprawling deck, a refined dining room and lounge with wine noks where the drinks flow on forever. Chef Grant Madgwick is often out and about, describing dishes and giving insights into how they came to be.
Best for: If you love hidden gem, under-the-radar restaurants
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- Natural oysters with Aperol, Campari and Limoncello Sorbet is a sensory experience
- If you can, the Trust The Chef 5 course degustation comes highly rated
Fine Dining Romantic Restaurants
Little Truffle
2444 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Little Truffle | Instagram
Don’t let the name fool you. Little Truffle might be intimate, but it overdelivers in every way that matters. Warm pools of light. Dark, brooding décor. Midnight-blue velvet and soft piano music. If you like your romance elegant and understated, this is the restaurant for you.
The menu is equally pared back, featuring European-style dishes that seem almost designed for date nights. Tuna belly sashimi oysters? Tick. Gorgeously plated zucchini flowers? Tick. An MB 9 Wagyu porterhouse that your partner might just fight you for? Big tick. And, yes, if you still have room, you can get the very grand Cherries Jubilee. Finish off with a cocktail or three from the bar—there’s no need to rush, so sit, sip, and soak up the moment.
Best for: If you love moody, traditionally romantic restaurants
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- It's the brainchild of husband and wife duo, Daniel and Ruggie Ridgeway who are also the masterminds behind Palm Beach's Madame V
Citrique
158 Ferny Avenue, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
Image Credit: Citrique | Instagram
You want a restaurant that feels like fine dining—but without the tiny portions that leave you hunting for a post-meal treat. Enter Citrique, the JW Marriott bistro headed up by award-winning chef Paul Smart. The crowd-pleaser here is the weekend seafood buffet, but, if you’re in the mood for table service and paired vino, you’ve also got a la carte dishes and a six-course degustation up for grabs.
Settle into your table, soak up the casually modern ambience, and peruse the menu. Options like mushroom gnocchi and Wagyu flank steak are outnumbered by a sprawling array of seafood that ranges from caviar and octopus to Tasmanian snow fish. For a little bit of fun, grab two Oyster Odysseys from the buffet and compare notes with your date—each one features six Australian oysters with a selection of garnishes.
Best for: If you want to turn your romantic dinner into an overnight stay
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- The Citrique Sunday Lunch Fiesta is your answer to a long lunching date every week from midday. Where your seafood and grill buffet is backed by a live music soundtrack and a neat $109 per person
The North Room
2527 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Sometimes the best dates are the ones that let the conversation breathe, leave time for silence and allow you to analyse their drink selection like it says as much about them as their star sign. Hosting a maximum of 20 guests, The North Room delivers a refined, ever-changing and seasonal menu that champions local produce.
It's exclusively open Thursday through Sunday and you can expect the likes of succulent pork jowl with corn and tomatillos, as well as decadent spanner crab with bone marrow crumpet, cultured cream and salted egg yolk. It's the type of date that says, I want to get to know you and experience something new too.
Best for: If you're adventurous in the dining room
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- It's a lovers affair, founded by husband-wife duo Tim and Shannon Stewart
- These guys received a three-glass award from Australian Wine List Of The Year two years in a row, including 2025
Palette
HOTA, 135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
Image Credit: Palette | Instagram
Located on the ground floor of HOTA Gallery, Palette offers a unique blend of art and food. Given the locale, it's the perfect date and dine duo. Wander around a gallery, catch a show or croon to live music at the ampitheatre before heading in for an indulgent lunch or dinner that's more immersive experience than meal.
The dishes themselves become conversational pieces, with each inspired by an exhibition showing at the time. Take, for instance, Southern Bluefin Tuna caught by Jake Jacobson with tapioca and genmaicha inspired by Ken Done's 'Black Lava Reef' work. Or the peach souffle with vanilla, yuzu and oat cookie. Consider the perfect ice-breaker exactly what's on your plate.
Best for: if you like dinner and a show
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- On a date you never want to end, head to the rooftop Exhibitionist Bar for a nightcap
Norté
2217 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Norté | Two Birds Socials
The curves alone at Norté are enough to send you swooning. If it's a date with extra spice you're on the hunt for, look no further than this addition to The Oxley Precinct. An artfully designed space illuminated by warm, low lighting and a towering wine selection, it's Mermaid Beach's standout space that's warm, inviting and dangerously sultry.
The Banquet is my pick for a no-fuss night filled with surprise. I won't give too much away, but what I will say is the Ballina King Prawns are well and truly a match made in heaven with their accompanying coriander oil.
Best for: Big Latin American flavours
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- The whole layout centres around a custom-built hearth, made by Executive Group Chef James Brady who took to the Argentinian countryside to learn how to make it
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Casual(ish) Romantic Restaurants
Restaurant Labart
8 West Street, Burleigh Heads QLD 4220
Image Credit: Restaurant Labart | Lucy Lumen
If Rick Shores epitomises oceanfront dining, Restaurant Labart is all about European sophistication. I'm talking walnut tables and warm leather seating illuminated by soft pendants, artfully arranged around the open-plan kitchen and grill. It’s the kind of fine dining restaurant that would feel equally at home in Sydney or Melbourne—no surprise, given that Sydney is where owner Alex Munoz Labart hails from.
The menu is equally elegant, blending Italian and French influences. There are really no wrong choices here, but, if you want to impress your date, go for something off the grill—Labart’s team nails that perfect combination of succulence and smokiness. Bonus points go out to the very extensive wine list too.
Best for: If you love casual fine dining with exceptional service
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Consider warming up before your reservation with a cheeky glass or two at sister venue Paloma Wine Bar, located just around the corner on James Street
Balboa Italian Restaurant
1069 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach QLD 4221
Image Credit: Balboa | Instagram
Relationships start in places like Balboa. Cool ocean breezes. Candlelight against raw brick. Ragu and red wine. This is classic Italian delivered in the best possible way—and, if it’s not on your date night roster, you’re missing out.
Antipasti is a must-have for a proper Italian feed, so I suggest starting with the Byron Bay burrata, a chef’s special served up with house-harvested honey, followed by any of the pasta or gnocchi mains. Ask for a vino pairing when you order—Balboa’s wine list is stacked with great finds from both Italy and Australia.
Best for: If you want to impress a first date
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Check the weather before you book. If it’s slated to be fine, request a seat on the upstairs outdoor balcony
Etsu Izakaya
2440 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Etsu Izakaya | Instagram
One door down from Little Truffle is Etsu Izakaya, a spritzed-up take on Japanese casual dining from Mitch and Nerissa McCluskey, the OG husband-and-wife team behind Burleigh's Commune (before selling in 2024). You won’t find any harsh lights or lifeless décor here. This is dark, funky moodiness that’s all timber and black paint, bathed in the red glow of Japanese-style lanterns. You’ll be seated at the bar or under the wave—a sweep of polished timber that feels more like one half of a tunnel than a wall.
Some dos: be prepared to share, try the sake, and don’t rush. There’s sashimi—or, for the less adventurous, sushi. But there’s also gyoza and skewers and tempura if your date isn’t a seafood fan (although maybe Etsu could be your chance to convert them).
Best for: If you're after a hideaway haunt
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- For an extra-special date night, go the omakase—a procession of dishes that ranges from fresh oysters to Wagyu with Shimeji butter
Lars Bar & Grill
Shop 1, 2217 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Lars Bar & Grill | Instagram
If hustle bustle is your middle name, firstly wow I am really getting to know you. And secondly, you will really love Lars. It's the energetic joint that nails service, ambiance and melt in your mouth dishes that use only the finest quality produce. It's the type of place that has zero red flags in my books. Wood-fired steak and fresh seafood sourced from family-run fisheries in the local area make for unpretentious dishes to inspire you and your date to let your true selves shine.
White anchovies on toast are the perfect precursor to juicy baked king prawns with jalapeño butter and crumbed John Dory with celeriac remoulade and lemon. Or, spin the bottle on the menu. There's no wrong choice.
Best for: those who love a lively atmosphere
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- It's got extra buzz at night and bouncing tracks to match
Gemelli Italian
2685 Gold Coast Highway, Broadbeach QLD 4218
Image Credit: Gemelli | Instagram
“Italian is the food of love.”—someone wise, probably. Gemelli is the OG of Roman cuisine on the Gold Coast, a Broadbeach phenomenon that’s spawned siblings in Mermaid Beach, Carrara, Nobby’s Beach, and Bundall. It’s quality chow without pretension, the kind that goes down best with red wine and laidback conversation.
Warm light, rich wooden cladding, and exposed brickwork combine to deliver a delightfully rustic vibe. Relax and enjoy it over a plate of antipasti or head straight to the mains: woodfired pizza and handmade pasta. Both are available gluten-free, but there’s also a handful of less carb-y options too, including a 350g Black Onyx Scotch fillet. Just remember to leave room for dessert. Your partner will want the tiramisu, and no-one likes stuffing their face alone.
Best for: If Italian food is the way to your special someone's heart
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- All except Bundall are open 'til late, if the chat's too good to stop
The Glenelg Public House
2460 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach QLD 4218
Inspired by the dark, smoky pubs of England, the Glenelg Public House does two things very well: steak and booze. Pull up a chair in the al fresco dining area or head indoors for an aesthetic dominated by rustic brickwork and varnished timber.
You’ll probably head here because you and your date are committed carnivores, so kick things off with either the beef carpaccio or roast bone marrow with onion jam. (It’s much tastier than it sounds.) Wash that down with one of Glenelg’s signature cocktails, then prepare to tackle any one of the 12 steak options. Want to make it memorable? My recommendation's to order the truly monstrous Black Onyx rib on the bone, a 1.8kg MB 8+ behemoth that requires a team effort to finish.
Best for: If steak is your love language
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Main image credit: Balboa Italian | Instagram
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