Restaurants For Hens Party
What are the top priorities when choosing a restaurant for your hens night? You want a beautiful setting, good food, and good drinks (especially cocktails), not necessarily in that order.
We’ve compiled a list of the best restaurants in which to hold your hens night on the Gold Coast in 2023, and every one of them has these three essentials, but of course, each has its strengths, so you can choose a venue according to what’s most important to you.
As a bonus, we’ve included a few other things to do during your celebration in recognition that the modern hens party often takes in a few activities.
This historic Brisbane hotel has six different function spaces ranging from the Glasshouse’s bright wood, greenery and high ceilings to the opulent dark velvet and leather of the Lounge Room. As far as the all-important drinks go, there is a wide range of beers on tap, and the cocktails are a mix of classics and not-too-gimmicky originals. The same could be said of the Osbourne Hotel’s menu, which boasts a substantial range of plant-based picks alongside the classic pub fare like burgers and steaks.
Started by two mums, Karen and Lizzy, this venue has a mother’s touch but is anything but mumsy. The menu showcases local and organic ingredients with Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern flavours. With the airy white, blue and coral decor, you’ll feel like you’re having a hens party on a Greek island.
As the name suggests, One Fish Two Fish is a seafood restaurant, and they do this very well indeed, offering a range of shared menu options ranging from entrees to more substantial fare (including a few great choices made without any seafood). There are three interior spaces for your hens party with differing capacities, but all share a similar crisp-but-comfortable whitewashed look. In addition to a great meal, One Fish Two Fish promises a hens party with ‘killer ’80s tracks for every dancing queen’.
4. Za Za Ta
The perfect hens party choice for the plant-based bride, Za Za Ta was named one of the ‘Most delicious restaurants in Queensland in 2022‘ by a team of expert reviewers from Delicious. Za Za Ta takes inspiration from the vibrant bar scene in Tel Aviv, and the menu is heavy on mezze-type shareable dishes with smoky, spicy flavours. The setting is just as evocative, with botanical murals covering the walls of the dining room.
5. Cloudland
Cloudland has set menus at three different price points focused on Italian staples like pizza and pasta, plus a solid range of drinks, but neither of these is the main attraction. The space itself makes an event at Cloudland special, or more accurately, the spaces. You can choose from seven function spaces for your hens party dinner, all as lavish as anything you’ll find in Brisbane.
6. Maggie Choo
An Asian fusion restaurant at Broadbeach, Maggie Choo offers street food influenced by the hawker markets of Southeast Asia. The decor is feminine yet edgy, a dim, dark space with masses of flowers hanging from the ceiling lit in pink neon. Not only is it an environment that may as well have been designed for hens parties, but there’s even an option to book tickets at a nearby male strip revue with a bottomless lunch at Maggie Choo afterwards.
7. Bar Pacino
One of the biggest draws for Bar Pacino is its setting overlooking the Story Bridge in the Brisbane CBD. Depending on whether you have a daytime lunch or evening dinner there, you could either see the waters of the Brisbane River glittering in the sunshine or the lights of the bridge and the city beyond. But don’t think the menu is an afterthought: there are food options to suit everyone with a distinct Italian influence, and drinks include the bar’s famous Nutella shots.
Another great restaurant on the Brisbane River, Mr Percival’s is right out over the water with the Story Bridge directly overhead. True to the name, a reference to the principal pelican in the classic Australian book Storm Boy, the menu features plenty of local seafood, but there are also lots of options for that one friend who hates fish.
9. Ling Ling’s
At Ling Ling’s, you can enjoy Southeast Asian street food made with locally-sourced, fresh ingredients, all in a dark, neon-lit setting that looks like a cosier Blade Runner. You can hire one of five different function areas or the whole venue, depending on how many people you need to accommodate. The drinks at Ling Ling’s are a real standout, with a mix of standards and original creations: you could get a Caramilk Martini or, if you’re in the mood for caring and sharing, try one of the cocktails designed for multiple people to sip out of a teapot or soup bowl.
10. Boundary Hotel
The menu at the Boundary Hotel is pub food–burgers, steak sandwiches, pizzas, salads–done well, as befits a hotel with a history going back to 1864. If you want to book a function area for your hens party, you can choose from five spaces: three indoor rooms, which can be booked together to make a fourth mega-space, plus an outdoor rooftop bar.
Much like the menu, the indoor rooms at the Boundary are the classic pub given extra polish: there are dark green walls and timber furnishings, but high, white ceilings and large windows help to create a feeling of airiness and space.
11. Pawpaw Cafe
When you walk into the bright space that is Pawpaw Cafe Woolloongabba, with its light woods and palms (both actual and painted), the first word that comes to mind is ‘tropical’. What doesn’t come to mind is ‘kitsch’: this venue feels more expensive than it is. Providing your party has more than four hens, you can enjoy one of five different banquets, including brunch or lunch, with all but the brunch option offering Southeast Asian classics like satay chicken, Pad Thai and papaya salad.
12. Hello Gorgeous
Modern yet comfortable, Hello Gorgeous is fitted out in jewel-toned velvets, neon and palms for a hens party you’ll want to take photos of no matter what the guests get up to. There are four beautiful function spaces plus the option of hiring the whole venue, so no matter the size of your hens party, they’ll be able to handle it. Hello Gorgeous has a selection of light meals, canapes, and, more importantly, an extensive range of cocktails. If you want to include an activity, you can add a flower crown workshop to any event with 15 to 30 people.
13. Cru Bar
Situated on fashionable James Street, Cru Bar is a hens party venue for the sophisticated bride. One of their available function spaces, The Cocktail Lounge, looks out onto the street, so you’ll be able to watch the passersby who aren’t currently lucky enough to be enjoying an impressive modern menu and a wine list that was judged best in Australia in 2022. You can even slip into the cellar and get the bride a last-minute gift.
14. Sixteen Antlers Rooftop Bar
Sixteen Antlers is a rooftop bar with incredible views across Brisbane. Depending on the size of your hens party, you can book a booth for up to 10 or have the staff carve a space for you out of their open-plan venue. Sixteen Antlers has one of the best selections of cocktails out of any of the venues listed here, including mocktails and jug cocktails, with a tapas-style menu to line your stomach. If you want to add an activity to the party, you can book a private cocktail masterclass and learn how to make two of their signature cocktails.
15. Las Palmas Bar And Restaurant
With stunning views of the ocean courtesy of a balcony that extends around most of the building, Las Palmas brings a taste of Latin America to Palm Beach on the Gold Coast. The menu by executive chef Dayron Concepcion features flavours from Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Colombia and Chile. You can follow your meal with the restaurant’s original cocktails, some of which also draw inspiration from Latin America, like the wittily-named Le Peche Mode with spiced peach puree, lime, agave, tequila reposado and mezcal.
Other Things To Do For A Hens Party On The Gold Coast
There’s no need to limit yourself to only restaurants for hens party, and the average hens party will usually move from place to place and take in a few activities. Here are a few ideas to round out your day.
1. Water Sports
If you want to see the beautiful sights of the Gold Coast Broadwater at incredible velocity, try piling the hens into a jet boat or booking a fleet of jet skis. If your bridal party isn’t into the extreme stuff, there are also more relaxed options like stand-up paddle boarding and sailing.
2. Mini Golf
If you think your friendships can survive it, unleash your competitive urges in a game of mini golf. Some courses are even licensed to sell alcohol, so there’s no need to stick to soft drinks even as you indulge the child within.
3. Massage
If the crew needs more relaxation than excitement, book the whole group for massages. You can either hit a spa or have a team of massage therapists come to you. With all the stress of wedding planning, the bride (and maid of honour) could probably do with it.
4. A Performance By A Male Stripper
Okay, so it’s not really a ‘thing to do’, but neither is getting a massage. Not every bride will be keen on this traditional hens night entertainment, but if you decide to go for it, we’ve got a guide with everything you need to know.
5. Hot Air Balloon Flight
What better way for the bride to say a final goodbye to singledom than to drift over the Gold Coast with some of her best friends? See the city and its canals from 1000 feet in the air.
6. Chartered Boat Cruise
Depending on how you arrange your day, this one could be a venue, an activity, or both. If you book a hens party cruise through Party Cruises Gold Coast, you have the flexibility to hire a boat for the whole day or make a leisurely cruise up the waterways of the Gold Coast only part of a hens party before you head off for a night in the clubs and pubs of the city.