Bringing the best of Australia to a glass near you.
This sunny little spot at beachy Burleigh Heads is as go-Aussie as it gets. It’s a celebration of the best of home turf, in the best of ways. Bright and breezy, it’s designed along clean yet classic lines, with an occasional well-placed nostalgic knickknack to help set the tone – check out those stained-glass Tiffany-style pendant shades over the bar, and the top-shelf line-up of Rosella tomato-sauce bottles. You quickly get the (correct) impression the only things taken absolutely seriously here are the drinks and customer service.
There are bunches of native stems in vases and colourful poster art adorning the side wall. These works depict the native fauna of our sunburnt country. And yes, flaming galahs, budgies, and bulging Speedos all put in an appearance. If all this doesn’t put a smile on your dial, make like a Hollywood A-lister and order a Margot-rita Robbie, a clever cocktail made with Mt Compass agave as a tribute to local-girl-done-good Margot Robbie, who was raised right here on the Goldie.
Blow the froth off a few Gold Coast brews – a tinnie of Black Hops Pale Ale maybe, or a Lost Palms Bitter. Or sink an Aussie-made spirit or two. The variety will make your head spin. Considering where you are, it’d be rude not to try the Rosella Australian gin, made by Applewood Distillery in the Adelaide Hills. It’s pink and rich (just like some of the regulars) and packs a double-dose of juniper. Or maybe you’d prefer a native yam vodka from the Top End. Rosella’s cocktails are made on craft spirits, too – like the Blinky Bill, suitably enough built around a eucalyptus vodka distilled at nearby Tamborine Mountain. And as you might expect, there’s an extra feel-good factor to Blinky: Rosella’s donates two dollars from every one sold to help the local Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.
These days wherever you hail from, a Border Pass is probably in order. The one here’s heaps more fun than most – a vigorous mix of un-aged Husk rum and Brookies Gin, both made nearby in northern New South Wales and blended with native quandong, apple guava and prosecco. Prefer a wine? Toast your good fortune at living in the Lucky Country with a bubbly glass of Violetta Happy Nat from WA. Or try something new, natural and not easy-to-find, like a fragrant Moscato Giallo by South Australia’s Architects of Wine.
