Lars Bar & Grill

LARS Bar & Grill brings a coastal, fire-led approach to dining on the Gold Coast, with its Mermaid Beach restaurant centred on live-coal cooking and carefully sourced produce. The kitchen works with seafood from nearby waters, herbs from local growers and meat from trusted producers, aiming to preserve the natural character of each ingredient rather than overcomplicate it. The result is a menu built around straightforward cooking, smoke and seasonal produce, with the restaurant describing its approach as an honest expression of coastal cuisine.

The menu covers a broad range of seafood, meat and vegetable dishes. Seafood options include fresh oysters, woodfired oysters, baked scallops, raw kingfish, yellowfin tuna, spanner crab spaghetti, grilled swordfish, pan-fried snapper and crumbed John Dory. Meat is a major part of the offering, from roasted chicken and pork cutlet schnitzel to the Stockyard NY Strip Steak Frites, a double Wagyu burger and a dedicated selection of steaks. Diners can choose cuts including rump, flank, rump cap, eye fillet, prime rib and sirloin, with sauces such as peppercorn, béarnaise, chimichurri and red wine jus available alongside.

LARS offers bookings in both its Main Dining Room and Bar Area, with each reservation allocated a two-hour dining period. The setting is smart casual, making it suited to an evening meal, while the separate Private Dining Room provides a more contained option for intimate celebrations, corporate dinners and other special occasions. It seats up to 12 guests. Groups of 10 or more dine from set menus priced at $95 or $150 per person, and dietary requirements can be accommodated where possible with advance notice. Young children and prams can be included in bookings, although pram space is limited and needs to be requested ahead of time.

The restaurant’s cooking is shaped by its head chef, Lars, whose approach is described as calm, precise and guided by the coast, local farms and the seasons. The venue is at Shop 1, 2217 Gold Coast Highway, and is open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday, with additional lunch service from Friday to Sunday. With a 4.5 Google rating from 179 reviews, LARS is an option for diners looking for a considered coastal menu, live-coal cooking and a polished but relaxed setting in Mermaid Beach.