Las Palmas

Las Palmas is a stunning Latin American restaurant and bar with sea views, entered via a pink staircase off the Gold Coast Highway in Palm Beach.

Tucked away behind the Palm Beach Surf Club, Las Palmas, is perched above a surf shop. Diners can take a seat in the gorgeous pink retro California-inspired dining room or on the wraparound balcony with views over the beach.

There's nothing rustic about the menu at Las Palmas, which takes the traditional flavours of Latin America and elevates them to another level, using fresh local produce with a creative twist. 

Dishes on the menu are listed in 'from the sea', 'from the land', and 'from the earth' (plant-based), and, for those who can't decide or want to sample the best of each, there's a highly-recommended chef's menu for $60*, featuring 7 delectable dishes. 

Choices from the sea include delights such as tuna ceviche (leche de tigre, quinoa, corn, red onion & crispy rice), charcoal fish tacos (blue corn tortilla red mole sauce, capsicum oli and herb salad), baby octopus (celeriac puree, black olives, almonds & capsicum) and king fish tiradito (aquachile, salsa criolla, fresh chilli, corn and lemon balm).

From the land, dishes include beef empanada, arepas (short rib, guacamole, corn dough & coriander), pollo frito (fried chicken, bao buns, huacatay dressing & pickles), papa rellena (potato puree, slow-cooked beef and home-made sweet chilli mayo) and char-grill scotch fillet (350g Cape Grim, Tasmania).

Delicious dishes 'from the earth' include broccoli with yoghurt, parmesan & salsa criolla), grilled corn (roasted corn, cashew, huancaina, quinoa, red onion), burrata (fermented pineapple caramel, smoked and roasted heirloom cherry tomatoes, bread condiment), haloumi empanada and avocado tiradito (aguachile, cucumber, red onion, corn, lemon balm).

For dessert it's hard to go past the homemade churros with chocolate ganache, but other sweet temptations include roasted pineapple infused in marjoram syrup, passion fruit mascarpone, plum, coco crumb or flan (caramel custard, dulce de leche whipped caramel cream).

Las Palmas is also a to spot to enjoy a cocktail or two, with creative house cocktails including Tropical Storm (lime, coconut, pineapple, egg white, dark rum, light rum, green chartreuse, peychaud's), Tiki Bastard (pineapple, basil, coconut, orgeat, lime, amaretto, light rum, dark rum) and Le Peche Mode (spiced peach puree, agave, lime, tequila reposado, mezcal). There' also an impressive wine list that is a match for the food.