Hope Island Blue Water Grill — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

Last night, Thursday 26 May, I attended the Blue Water Bar Grill at Hope Island. My friend wanted to eat at a new restaurant and I told him that I had previously attended a Jazz night at this venue and the service and the food was good, so we decided to go there for dinner. One of the things that I like to see from a restaurant is consistency of service and food quality.

We arrived at 6:15 and ordered drinks and I guess that I should have become aware of the impending service as it took 15 minutes to be served a Bloody Mary and have a bottle of champagne delivered to the table. Our male waiter, was incompetent but pleasant, because he passed the champagne glasses holding the top of the glass where our lips will be when drinking and which is an extremely unhealthy practice, then told us that it was his first night working there. (we cant think of what he did in his last job) What he didn't tell us is that he had no previous experience and no training which was obvious based on his actions.

In this post Covid environment, where older people like our party, are very careful about any infection, this wasn't a positive starting experience. In fact, the service was so poor, like waiting 14 minutes for entrees, then 15 minutes to get the main course order in, and like waiting another 15-20 minutes for main, required me speaking to the duty manager and when he saw the time of the docket, he blamed the kitchen staff. I blamed him, as he is in charge. He is responsible for every patron having a “coming back’ experience. The poor female waitress, who had experience was terrific, but the kitchen let her down so badly, that all she could do was apologise.

Without writing 10000 words about an horrific experience, my recommendation to anyone reading this and thinking of going to this venue is to GIVE IT A MISS, SPEND YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE!

Venue’s like this which are hit and miss in their service and food quality, can’t be trusted with providing a good service and good food experience consistently, which resulted in people like us, walking out vowing to...

For my 18th birthday, I made a booking at a restaurant nearby (won’t disclose name but you could take a couple guesses) with 10 friends, but upon arrival they kicked us out because we had to have an adult at least 10 years older than the youngest person, who was 17 years old (not to mention we also had four 18 year olds attending, and we did not intend to go to the pokies…we were just there to have dinner. They did not clearly state this age requirement on their website AT ALL, so please be careful).

Desperate to quickly find another restaurant, my best friend and I then popped into Blue Water Grill on a whim, and we asked the waiter at the front if they could do walk ins and sit a group of 11 people. After the waiter checked with the manager, he confirmed that it was all good and he took us to a table. (By the way, to the tall waiter with glasses, I apologise for my rambling at the start; I was so stressed with trying to find a new restaurant that most of my sentences came out half finished. Thank you for being patient!)

Our orders came in a timely manner, and the staff allowed me to store my birthday cake in their fridge. Personally, I didn’t finish my burger as I was full, but there were no complaints from my friends about the food so I would say it is pretty good.

The service was amazing. Every staff member was friendly, and my friends and I felt very welcomed even though we were probably an inconvenience as we didn’t make a booking and we were a slightly large group. I’m almost glad that the other restaurant kicked us out, because we got to experience the great service at Blue Water Grill instead. There was also no time limit, so my friends and I were able to have a lovely dinner together without stress.

Overall, I would definitely recommend eating at Blue Water Grill because of their great food and exceptional hospitality. Thank you so much for making my 18th birthday such a memorable night, I couldn’t be more...

As someone who avoids awkward situations and deeply respects the hard work of others, writing a negative review is not something I take lightly. I also consider myself fairly easygoing when it comes to food. However, this dining experience left me so disappointed that I feel compelled to share my thoughts.

My companion and I were genuinely excited to dine here for the first time, hoping to enjoy great food, a beautiful sunset, and the festive Christmas atmosphere. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of our expectations.

The disappointment began with the entrees—oysters that were shockingly the least fresh I’ve had in at least five years, even including the pandemic period. They were warm, slimy, and unpleasant to the point where my companion had to spit one out. We asked for a refund, and the restaurant admitted the oysters had been delivered three days prior and stored in the fridge. While they did apologize and remove the dish from the bill, the initial experience was already ruined.

Then came the main course—a seafood pasta that delivered yet another shock. The fish and prawn tasted unmistakably like they had been frozen, but the bigger issue was the sand and shell fragments mixed into the pasta. It was not just unappetizing but downright unsafe. I couldn’t help but worry about the elderly patrons and children dining around us—had they encountered the same issue, the consequences could have been severe.

To top it off, the final bill exceeded our expectations for a meal of this quality. While the staff were friendly and polite, their kindness couldn’t make up for the unprofessional handling of the food.

I sincerely thank anyone who has taken the time to read this. It’s not my intention to unfairly criticize anyone, but this experience turned our anticipation into deep disappointment. We won’t be returning, nor would we recommend this...