Today marks the first day of service for Burleigh Heads’ newest resident. Restaurant Labart is the first venture from acclaimed chef Alex Munoz Labart, a man who trained under the likes of Mark Best, Brent Savage, Pasi Petanen and Karl Firla, and worked at beloved Sydney venues Marque and Est.. The venue is the latest addition to the burgeoning fine dining scene of the Gold Coast, and is a joint project between Munoz Labart and his wife Karla, founder of Hospitality Communications group, The Exchange Agency.

The venue will champion sustainability, seasonality and simplicity in its menu. Dishes will be focused on share-plates and divided into categories of snacks, small plates, and large plates. Snacks will include Charred carrots, hazelnut butter and manchego, followed by small plates of local spanner crab, charred leeks and roasted crab sauce. Large plates range from BBQ flank steak and creamy egg yolk with charred onion sauce to grilled lamb rack, with charred turnips, and green herb sauce. Desserts thankfully are plentiful land include an apple ice cream paired with rhubarb and a yoghurt sorbet, with glazed pear, star anise and milk skin. For those eager to not have to make any decisions there will be a six-course set menu available, which will rotate depending on what local and seasonal produce is available. Even the ceramics on which dishes are served have a local focus; ceramicist Marloe Marloe has crafted bespoke tableware for the venue, adding to a portfolio that already includes Paper Daisy, Hellenika and Nel Restaurant.

Unique Australian producers and international winemakers both make an appearance on Restaurant Labart’s wine list. Fans of the natural in nature will be pleased to find a plethora of biodynamic and natural wine options. Australian craft beers and seasonal cocktails are also available as drinking options, the perfect partner to the Gold Coast’s sunnier weather. Drinks can be sipped inside the 60-seat venue which is warm but simple in design; equipped with an open kitchen (charcoal grill included) and adorned in polished concrete floors and walnut tones.

“Our sole purpose is to make people happy,” explains Alex of Restaurant Labart’s intentions. “We want to do away with the idea that delicious food needs to be served with stuffiness and formality. Service at Restaurant Labart will be carefully considered, yet effortless in its delivery – I want our guests to enjoy the experience, as much as they do the food. For me, one is as important as the other.” Alex brings with him much experience from the southern dining scene, having worked as head chef of both Monopole and Cirrus Dining in Sydney. Gold Coast local Karla was the first to recognise a gap in the district’s fine dining scene and believes Alex’s cooking is a much-needed addition to the area. We’ve been visiting Burleigh Heads for years, and for us this is the perfect opportunity for a sea change. We want locals to embrace Restaurant Labart as their own and treat it as the kind of place you can visit once or twice a week, discovering new dishes and interesting wines each time.”

Restaurant Labart, 8 West Street, Burleigh Heads, restaurantlabart.com.