16 Best Waterside Venues in Australia

Atop the luxury Townsville hotel Ardo, this rooftop bar enjoys 360-degree glimpses of the Coral Sea. Sunset is a particularly stunning time to pull up a bar stool: order a few pre-dinner oysters to pair with a Sour Blossom cocktail of Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin, elderflower liqueur, passionfruit and an egg-white foam and raise a glass to nightfall.

Replicating the Melbourne stalwart’s Asian flavours, it’s the focus on Queensland produce that sets this new Brisbane outpost, which opened in July 2024, apart. Enjoy steamed coral trout with soy, ginger and spring onion or roasted Yamba prawns with shio koji sauce while overlooking Story Bridge on the edge of the Brisbane River. If you’re not seated facing the windows, fear not; cleverly placed mirrors reflect the vista, so you can admire it – chilled sake in hand – from every angle.

Crowning the Museum of Contemporary Art in Circular Quay, the brand-new Canvas reimagines the rooftop space that previously housed an all-day cafe-style eatery. A former Tetsuya’s chef, Josh Raine, is currently at the helm, turning out dishes such as prawns with passionfruit and furikake or perfect lamb alongside daikon and Tasmanian-grown wasabi. Expansive floor-to-ceiling glass frames the harbour and its ferries; stay to see the sunset spilling over the Opera House – it’s something else. 

There’s just scribbly brush and coastal succulents between this charming coastal restaurant and the Lennox Head shoreline. The kitchen is a flurry from breakfast through dinner, serving sourdough crumpets with macadamia butter and green chilli scrambled eggs by day and sashimi of locally-caught fish and pork belly ramen by night. Upstairs, Cupola – an idyllic, ocean-facing, two-bedroom unit – offers the option to extend your stay.

Is there a waterfront restaurant as iconic as Bennelong, perched on the edge of the Sydney Opera House in Circular Quay? The fine-dining masterpiece is perhaps as famous for its captivating outlook and exceptional architecture as it is for its produce-driven menu, crafted by Peter Gilmore. The venue’s top level, the Dress Circle, provides an uninterrupted outlook of Sydney’s sparkling skyline.

This eatery in Merimbula on the south coast may be casual but it’s still stylish, with olive trees dotting the dining room and linen curtains billowing in the coastal breeze. The wood-grained table tops are the stage for a delicious menu, featuring dishes such as aglio e olio pasta with blue swimmer crab and crisp fries with saltbush and vinegar. From virtually any seat, you can watch the sailboats bobbing in Boggy Creek. 

Located in the same spot for over 20 years, Star of Greece has near celebrity status on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Despite its age, the menu is thoroughly modern: think grilled flathead with zhoug and black bean hummus, chargrilled king prawns with miso butter, salt and Szechuan pepper squid with green mango salad. Downstairs, the relaxed Port Willy Kiosk delivers catch-of-the-day fish and coffee overlooking the beach. The windows are open to the St Vincent Gulf, allowing ocean song to soundtrack your meal.

The first beachside restaurant for South Cottesloe, Perth’s Gibney delivers fine-dining without the excessive price tag. The menu is inspired by the steakhouses and brasseries of yesteryear with dishes including Waldorf salad (with grilled nashi pear instead of apple), housemade conchiglie with pork ragu and Western rock lobster with curried buckwheat and crisp fried curry leaves. Don’t skip dessert: the picture-perfect “strawberries and cream” granita is shaved and dressed at your table.

This Launceston institution, built within the old flour mill at Cataract Gorge, is a must for all visitors to Tasmania’s largest northern city. Consider the menu a shortlist of the state’s most exquisite produce, from local Blacklip abalone and Tasmanian wallaby to Cape Grim beef – served as a tartare alongside crackers made from Bruny Island cheese. Original double hung windows filter the afternoon sun beautifully and frame the masts of sailing ships in the bay.

A grand dame among the clifftops, this family-run establishment reopened in December 2023 after a revamp, revealing two restaurants and four bars overlooking the watery wonders of Port Phillip Bay. For a classic pub experience, sip a frosty draught beer and eat panko-crusted prawns with the locals; to take it up a notch, enjoy wood-fired dishes in the Dining Room; or, for the ultimate coastal moment, take a seat on The Lawn and look out over the bay and the ever-changing Mud Islands while sipping on a spritz or local wine from the Peninsula. (Mark your calendar: the rooftop bar and Salt Bar, a cocktail concept, will open in the summer of 2025.)

Named for the pipi shells that collect on the Albert Park foreshore it overlooks, this little stunner attracts everyone from morning runners grabbing a flat white and a pastry to dinner guests settling in to watch the sun kiss the horizon. It all makes for a captivating experience, especially when paired with a meal of Goolwa pipi bucatini pasta. An “oyster martini”, made with oyster shell gin and orange bitters, completes the picture.

Pee Wee’s is situated on the edge of East Point Reserve’s emerald-green waters, just north of downtown Darwin. Devour a seafood platter (the chef’s selection of the day’s best fish, crustaceans and shelled treats) or peppered Territory buffalo carpaccio as the pastel sunset reflects on the water.

The heritage-listed Bathers' Pavilion has graced the calm shores of northern Sydney’s Balmoral Beach for almost a century. These days, the building houses everything from a popsicle-slinging kiosk to a terrace bar hovering just above the sand. But it's the two-hatted, fine-dining Bathers' restaurant that's the special occasion spot du jour.

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