A stunning new wine and brunch bar for Nobby's.
A stunning new wine and brunch bar for Nobby's.
If there’s one thing you didn’t know was missing in your life Gold Coasters it is a perfectly placed wine and brunch bar and hold onto your hats because we have news.
Frederick’s quietly opened their doors just recently, to rave reviews might we add, and it is everything you could ask for in a wine and brunch bar plus a little bit of added luxury and you are going to love it.
Found in the space where Sparrow Eating House once stole our hearts, Frederick’s certainly lives up to its predecessor but with an entirely different, and equally loveable offering.
The space is reminiscent of a wine bar you might find on the streets of NYC but, with teal accents and timber and brass dotted throughout, it’s perfectly at home in the delightful little oceanside suburb of Nobby Beach.
In the front window, a corner comprising of four lounge-style chairs is the perfect spot for a Sunday afternoon session of sipping and people watching while stools at the bar offer more of a bar snacks and wine tasting vibe.
In the back, a low-lit area is made up of slightly more formal dining tables with plenty of peeking-into-the-kitchen opportunities. The polished concrete floor and low-hanging lighting give the space a soft, refined industrial look and we’re all about it.
Let it be known, we’re quite keen on the menu too. There’s a breakfast slash brunch menu absolutely mouth watering dishes along the lines of Local Sandcrab Omelette with fermented chilli and spring onion on sourdough and word on the street is, folks have been coming back day after day to eat this dish.
Not to mention the Waffle with whipped Nutella, roasted hazelnuts and Davidson plums and Tartine of Roasted Pumpkin with goat curd, pepitas and preserved lemon on Burleigh baker sourdough. Actual flavour sensations.
Those dishes can be found on the All Day menu while treats like Snapper Dumplings and Fresh Oysters with orange dressing on the after 11am menu.
The Bar Menu also boasts the tastiest of oysters plus Woodfired Corn (love you), with spicy aioli and pecorino and there’s a Lemon Tart with whipped Mascarpone that we could eat every day forever.
In the evening, the fun really begins with cheese and cured meats on the menu and if there are three things we could not live without in this life, they are cheese, cured meats and life-changing wine. We’re really happy Frederick’s is here.
Of course, each and every one of those dishes can be, and is, perfectly matched to one of the MANY varieties of wine on offer and a treat Frederick’s wine list is.
There are 21 tipples by the glass and 50 by the bottle and there are many Australian varieties on offer along with a select few from France, Italy and Spain. Each one is by a small batch producer and each one is absolute magic.
Also, in the name of allowing us to sample more exceptional wines, owners Andrew and Jayden (father and son) employed the help of a contraption called a Coravin which pierces the cork of the wine bottle and then reseals it so the wine lasts longer for us lucky folks.
Just quickly, Frederick’s was named after a man called Frederick Fowler who lost his bull (Nobby) in, yes, Nobby Beach and the guys wanted to pay a little homage to that fun tale.
One last thing, there is a five course degustation matched with wine and cocktails that you may partake in and the menu changes weekly so there’s a(nother) reason to go weekly.
Most importantly perhaps, you may also drink cocktails at breakfast time (from 10am).
It’s your new favourite place to be and we will no doubt see you there on the regular.
LOCATION: 2/32 Lavarack Rd, Nobby Beach
HOURS: From 7am until 2pm Tuesday and Wednesday, 7am until late Thursday to Saturday and 7am until 6pm Sunday
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
Like a phoenix rising from the (literal) ashes, Nobby’s Beach newbie Pinky’s Kitchen & Bar has landed to kick off your 2018 brunch game with a bang.
You may have noticed the corner space once occupied by our beloved Little Beans has slowly been transforming. Well folks, the time has come and we’re happy to announce the opening of a sleek new space complete with can’t-miss-em neon pink signs and plenty of beautiful people gazing opportunities.
An exposed brick bar, royal blue velvet seating and THOSE neon signs are all your interior design dreams brought to life and all smack bang in the middle of the beautiful little seaside suburb you probably don’t visit enough.
Brayden Condon and the team are serving up New York inspired eats for breakfast and lunch (for now; nighttime opening hours are on the horizon) and excuse us while we rant about the food a little bit.
Breakfast, as the most important meal of the day, is a must at Pinky’s. Start with Morning Glory, because who doesn’t love a little bit of that to kick off the day. We digress. It’s a breakfast salad with haloumi, Portobello mushrooms, pumpkin, poached egg and dukkah and it is in fact, glorious.
Definitely also eat the Latkes which are crispy potato rosti’s, salmon lox, dill crème fraiche and poached eggs. There’s also some called Mama’s Knishes, which may just translate to magic to be honest. It’s a classic Eastern European dish made famous on the streets of New York and it consists of a baked pastry stuffed with potato and onions. Honestly, food is life.
For lunch there are an array of bagels and good lord, a NYC-style loaded hot dog.
BRB, buying bigger pants.
The coffee, of course, is of the Blackboard variety and on offer is a batch brewed filter-style option, which you won’t find in places around our fair city and is SO GOOD.
The idea behind this particular style of venue was to bring something a little different to the classic Acai bowl breaky option to Nobby’s and aren’t the extra-hungry people among us happy about that.
Get down there for a weekend brunch date with your gal pals.
LOCATION: Cnr Lavarack Street and Gold Coast Hwy, Nobby Beach
HOURS: 5am until 2pm daily
Words and photos by Kirra Smith.
Magic has moved into Nobby’s Beach and it comes in the shape of an Asian-inspired wonderland with dishes that will sing to the very depths of your soul.
Dramatic, yes. Accurate, also yes. Ally Chow is the latest addition to the Nobby’s restaurant strip and the game has well and truly been upped.
Featuring elements of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, the menu is filled with stunning flavours put together in picture-perfect style. It’s way too good.
Hold that thought though while we gush about the interior a little bit. You’ll be hard pressed not smile from ear to ear as you enter what may in fact be the perfect representation of Alice’s wonderland, Asian style.
Greenery drips from every inch of the ceiling creating an intimate, fresh, are-we-really-on-the-Gold-Coast vibe. Glossy black concrete floors, a high ceiling and pops of colour offset by wooden window and door frames give a grungy, vintage feel unlike anything else you’ve seen in our fair city.
Charred wood lining the outside of the building is a nod to the 2016 fire that allowed Ally Chow to be and a subtle hint to the mood you’ll experience once you set foot inside. Alleyway seating, on the eastern side, is lit up by a beautifully coloured mural depicting traditional Japanese village life.
That’s a lot of words but it really is something else.
So, the food. Two-hat Chef and owner of Ally Chow Trent Scarr has created a pan-Asian menu with punch-packing flavours loaded into unique but simple dishes and traversing a range of Asian cuisines. There’s three choices of banquet menus if you and your gal pals are keen to sample a few tasty delights.
The Sticky Pork Belly with Crispy Saddle Tail Snapper, banana flower salad and ginger with lemon dressing is a combination for the ages and the Beef Short Rib with coconut and banana flower salad is tender, flavoured filled and melt in your mouth.
The cocktail list is, of course, Asian-inspired with plenty of Chinese and Japanese spirits in the literal mix. The Espresso Martini is made with Vietnamese cold drip coffee and condensed milk, which is how coffee is done in Vietnam.
So many words, thanks for sticking with us.
Do yourself a favour though, go get lost in the jungle as soon as possible. Trent and his partner Leisha, previously of Honey Eater Kitchen fame, have absolutely outdone themselves (and everyone else).
We’ll probably be there every night of the week for awhile, come say hi.
LOCATION: 2215 Gold Coast Highway, Nobby Beach
HOURS: 11.30am until late Tuesday to Sunday
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
One of your favourites has come through with the goods again, this time in the form of a sleek, breezy rooftop bar that brings all your European summer holiday dreams to life.
Bar Hellenika is the long-awaited venue perched on top of the Nobby’s institution of the same name (but without the bar part). It’s a fresh, colour-filled space decked out with an abundance of white, grey tiled floors, a marble bar perched right in the middle and yellow umbrellas to give it a very laze-by-the-beach-with-mimosa-in-hand kind of vibe.
Bright, eye-catching art adorns the walls depicting well-known Greek folk and a HUGE wine cellar boasts hundreds of bottles that we will certainly enjoy sipping over the next few years. Maybe months, depending on how 2018 pans out.
A big old olive tree takes pride of place in the front reminding us all how very lucky we are that olives are a thing and that we can now eat as many as we like while gazing out over Nobby’s at our new fave spot.
So, the rooftop bar part. Quite obviously the idea is to be roofless but as we all know, the Gold Coast is going through a (quite annoying) wet season right now. But, because he’s a man of the people, owner Simon Gloftis has that sorted. The roof is retractable and it’s quite the sight to behold so, no matter the weather, you can enjoy a tasty tipple in a semi-outdoor space without a care in the world.
Not only can you drink up there though, you can eat and hooray for that because everybody knows Hellenika’s food is the goods.
The menu, known as a mezze menu, is a share plate style scenario filled with delicious eats along the lines of Tiganito Kalamari (flash fried calamari), Gavros (cured white anchovies) and Arni Sti Schara (grilled lamb ribs) to name a few.
Wash those down with an Ari Onassis made up of Tanqueray gin, elderflower, lemon and cucumber (among other things) or a Pimms Cup and your life may just be complete.
As you’d expect from the man with a slew of the Coast’s best restaurants under his belt, Bar Hellenika is a beautiful space oozing good vibes and promising plenty of fun times. It’s casual chic (sans thongs and singlets thank you) at it’s very best and the perfect spot to spend some time with your crew sipping tipples and thinking yourself lucky you live in this increasingly epic city.
You’ll be seeing us there A LOT.
LOCATION: 2235 Gold Coast Hwy, Nobby Beach
HOURS: 5pm until midnight every day throughout the Commonwealth Games and 5pm until midnight Wednesday to Sunday after that.
Words and photos by Kirra Smith.
