A night out at Burleigh runs on foot from our door. From Sandbar Burleigh, five of the best places to eat and drink sit within an eight minute walk on Goodwin Terrace: a beachfront terrace, a hatted dining room, a rooftop pizza bar, a cocktail den and a late dive bar. Here is how to plan a night out in Burleigh Heads, in walking order.
Where should you start with dinner by the beach?
Start where the view is, at the Burleigh Pavilion, a two minute walk from our lobby at 43 Goodwin Terrace. The Pav opens from 11am, takes no bookings and does wood-fired pizzas, beer-battered fish and chips, burgers and freshly shucked oysters on a terrace right above the sand, with a proper kids menu for early family dinners. Weekend evenings get busy around 6pm, so put your name down and order a drink while you wait for the light to drop over the point. Right next door, The Tropic runs a quieter, full-service Mediterranean menu of shared plates and whole fish and takes both bookings and walk-ins, which makes it the easy pick when you want to hear each other talk.
Is Rick Shores worth booking for a special night?
For the dinner worth dressing up a little, Rick Shores is almost next door at 3/43 Goodwin Terrace, a hatted Pan-Asian room with the water nearly at your feet. Bookings are essential and go weeks ahead on weekends, so reserve before you travel rather than chancing a table. The dish guests keep mentioning is the Bug Roll, a warm milk bun packed with Moreton Bay bug meat and chilli caramel, served alongside market fish and local prawns. It leans celebratory and sits at the higher end of the price range, which is fair for one of the coast’s best-known tables. Ask for an earlier sitting and you get the sunset over the headland with your first course.
Where can you get pizza and a rooftop drink?
When you want something more relaxed, Justin Lane is about a six minute walk toward James Street, known for its sourdough wood-fired pizza, handmade pasta and a rooftop bar with an ocean outlook. Head upstairs for a drink as the sun goes down, then settle in for a pizza and a bottle in the buzzy downstairs room. It suits couples and groups equally, and the kitchen runs late enough to catch a post-beach dinner without a rush. Guests keep mentioning the rooftop as the spot to start the evening, so time your arrival for golden hour and work your way down from there.
Where are the best cocktails near Sandbar?
For cocktails, Naami is a Vietnamese-inspired bar at 47 James Street, about a six minute walk, pouring well-made drinks from 6pm with DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. The entrance hides behind a banh mi shopfront, so look for the small doorway rather than a big sign, which is part of the fun. Order a signature cocktail and a few share plates to line the stomach, and let the room shift from quiet early-evening bar to livelier party spot as the night goes on. It suits couples and groups after a proper drink rather than a quick one, and the short, flat walk home means nobody has to nominate a driver.
Where do you go for a late drink and live music?
Finish where the music is, at Nightjar, the rock and roll dive bar tucked into Justin’s Laneway off the Gold Coast Highway, about a seven minute walk. It runs Thursday to Sunday from 7pm to midnight, with live music or a DJ most nights and a stripped-back list of cold beers and sessionable cocktails like margaritas and daiquiris. Guests keep mentioning the happy hour between 4pm and 6pm, when tap beer, house wine and basic spirits are keenly priced. The industrial, no-fuss room is the last stop on a Burleigh night out, and from here it is a short, easy walk back to Sandbar and the sound of the surf.
Burleigh night out FAQs
Where is the best beachfront dinner near Sandbar Burleigh?
The Burleigh Pavilion, Rick Shores and The Tropic all sit at 43 Goodwin Terrace, a two minute walk from Sandbar Burleigh with the water right there. The Pavilion is casual and walk-in, Rick Shores is the hatted special-occasion table, and The Tropic is the full-service Mediterranean option in between.
Can you have a night out in Burleigh without driving?
Easily. From Sandbar Burleigh the beachfront restaurants are a two minute walk, and the James Street cocktail bars and the laneway dive bar are six to eight minutes on foot. Park in our secure garage on arrival, wander down for dinner and drinks, and stroll home along the foreshore.
Do you need to book restaurants in Burleigh Heads?
For Rick Shores, yes, and weeks ahead on weekends. The Tropic takes bookings and walk-ins, while the Burleigh Pavilion is walk-in only, so arrive early on busy nights. The cocktail bars and Justin Lane take casual crowds, though a big group is always safer with a booking.
Where can you get a late drink near Sandbar Burleigh?
Nightjar, the rock and roll dive bar in Justin’s Laneway off the Gold Coast Highway, runs Thursday to Sunday from 7pm to midnight with live music, about a seven minute walk away. Naami on James Street pours cocktails from 6pm with DJs on Friday and Saturday nights.
One walkable night, sorted
The best night out at Burleigh needs no car and no plan beyond a booking or two: dinner by the sand, a rooftop drink, cocktails on James Street and a late one to the sound of a band. From Sandbar you can walk to all of it and stroll home along the foreshore. When you are ready to book the base for it, check availability and book direct for our best rates, then browse more tables on our Burleigh Heads restaurants guide.
Image credit: Burleigh Pavilion