April 2022: When visiting the Gold Coast, the sun gleaming on the Broadwater and luxury craft makes for a magnificent and restorative sight. Glass Dining and Lounge Bar at Marina Mirage is complementing one such perfect vista with a sparkling, high-quality dining experience. It is perfect for special occasions, business and every day.
On this particular day, I walk into the restaurant for lunch. I am swiftly greeted by a cordial and professional member of staff. The restaurant’s manager, Suzie, then offers a warm welcome and a selection of comfortable seating with views of the water. On this day, I decided to sit inside.
From this fine vantage point, I have a perfect view across the marina, dozens of luxury watercraft and beyond.
Great menu
I order the sparkling water, Sanpellegrino, which is served well chilled and kept on ice beside the table. The Gold Coast dining scene is synonymous with the freshest seafood. This restaurant soon seems like the front of house for gourmet paradise. In part, this is because the menu at Glass Dining and Lounge Bar is a veritable feast for the eyes. If I’m entirely honest about it, I found it to be a bit of a difficult choice. It’s such a great menu. After a bit of soul searching, I decided to order the Grilled Market Fish (GF). It’s served with Tom Kha, Coconut Rice, Pickled Veg, Crispy Shallots. The market fish of the day is barramundi.
While I am waiting for lunch to arrive I note the array of birdlife. They are happily revelling in waters next to the clean, white hulls of the luxury launches docked at Marina Mirage. There are pied cormorants, little black cormorants, luminous white seagulls.
The taste test
The dish arrives and it is a generous serving of the barramundi. The skin pan-fried to satisfying and delicious crispiness and the fish cooked to absolute perfection. There’s freshness in the form of a few thin slices of mild chilli and just the right amount of herbs. The Tom Kha is a mouthwatering, Thai inspired combination including coconut milk or cream. It is bursting with lemongrass and galangal and is as heavenly as it sounds. Pickled vegetables add a crunchy, fresh and quite delicious foil. The dish eats particularly well.
The good advice is to leave room for coffee. The flat white that arrives is a fresh brew and the perfect slingshot into the afternoon.
I ask the manager Suzie about the provenance of the barramundi. As it so happens, this much sought after premium table fish is wild-caught from Queensland. Suzie tells me that Glass Dining and Lounge Bar aims to provide satisfying, flavoursome dishes for their customers. The menu’s influences include Japanese and Thai cuisine. There’s also the finest quality beef. I mention this for anyone with a hankering for the finest restaurants in the United Kingdom or the United States.
It seems to me that this waterfront restaurant is a special haven of contemporary flair. I ask about the private dining booth which offers an elevated dining experience. Suzie says the dining booth seats 11 with special views on offer for business meetings or special occasions. Dining booth technology includes HDMI. Bookings are required. With sufficient notice, the entire restaurant springs to life for functions and events.
Dine in or takeaway
Suzie explains that the restaurant can prepare most of the items on the menu as takeaway. The venue sells nicely stocked platters for Marina Mirage watercraft when they are weighing anchor and heading out and about.
Glass Dining and Lounge Bar at Marina Mirage is easy to find. You know you are walking in the right direction when you see a water fountain. It is on the shopping centre’s main floor. Simply keep walking past the water fountain and you will find the restaurant beside the boats in the marina.
A lunch at Glass Dining and Lounge Bar leaves me with a fantastic, enduring impression. I have enjoyed a world-class dining experience beside one of the most picturesque waterways on the planet. I will not hesitate to return here and bring friends.
Glass Dining and Lounge Bar. Shop 27 at Marina Mirage, 74 Sea World Drive, Main Beach Gold Coast. (07) 5527 1009.
Nicely Occupied rating ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
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