All-you-can-eat buffet? We couldn’t ask for more! With Willy Wonka worthy fondue fountains, seafood straight off the boat and revolving views, it really is a matter of the more the merrier on the Gold Coast. So get your stretchy pants ready as we visit five of the city’s finest smorgasbords.
BAZAAR
Bazaar bills itself as an “interactive marketplace” rather than a mere buffet. This modern mosaic is made up of chef-tended food stations showcasing dishes from around the globe. Your personal culinary army can carve you the choicest cuts of roast meats and deliver dumplings to your table. They usually save the best for last with an eye-popping array of miniature masterpieces for dessert. Bazaar is open daily for breakfast and dinner, but serves a special brunch on Sundays. Feast your eyes on flowing fondue grazing tables and customised crepes and pour hollandaise on everything you darn well please.
Where: QT Gold Coast, 7 Staghorn Ave, Surfers Paradise
GOVINDAS
This Surfers staple was well ahead of the vegan curve, serving its Indian-inspired, cruelty-free fare for the past 12 years. The all-you-can-eat buffet is so reasonably priced it blasts the “only junk food is cheap” theory out of the water. Owner Zardi Manning’s parents opened the Surfers Govindas in 2006 and Zardi has taken up the baton, experimenting with new dishes such as the spinach and “notzarella” salad. “I try to keep the food as non-acidic and easy to digest as possible,” he says. Our opinion: vegetarian soul food that won’t disappoint.
Where: 3120 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise
FOUR WINDS
From endless ocean to sparkling skyline and hints of hinterland, nobody sets the scene for a smorgasbord quite like Four Winds. Queensland’s only revolving restaurant, 26 floors up and custom-built for the hotel, dishes up ever-changing 360-degree views … just don’t take too long piling up the prawn crackers and lose track of your table (hey, it happens). An iconic Gold Coast scene deserves local cuisine, so make a beeline for spanner crabs straight off the Southport boats and salad leaves from Canungra. Our best tip: book the early dinner seating for a spellbinding sunset.
Where: Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise, 26/2807 Gold Coast Highway, Surfers Paradise
FRENZY’S
Footage for David Attenborough’s latest shark doco was filmed here … just kidding, but this suburban star has been known to spark a feeding frenzy with its great-value family feasts. Stand between a kid and the choc-dipped, lolly-loaded waffle cones to find out the hard way. With nightly themes – including build-your-own hotdogs and nachos – the trick is to get your timing right. Locals also love the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast on Sundays, regularly voting it one of the best in the Gold Coast Bulletin’s annual buffet poll. If you’re planning on an encore, it’s worth becoming a Southport Sharks member for discounts on dining – just $7 a year to join.
Where: Southport Sharks, Cnr Musgrave Ave and Olsen Ave, Southport
CRITIQUE RESTAURANT
If your buffet strategy involves eating your body weight in prawns, put this seafood specialist on speed-dial. Citrique’s seafood buffet is available for lunch on weekends and dinner Monday to Saturday evenings and it’s worth shelling out for top-quality local prawns, Hervey Bay scallops, mussels, Tasmanian smoked salmon, oysters and crab. Leave a little room on the plate for antipasto, roasts, Asian-inspired dishes, wood-fired pizza and European classics.
Where: Surfers Paradise Marriott, 158 Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.