Labrador is back in style

One of the first suburbs of Queensland’s Gold Coast to be developed (back in the 1950s), Labrador sits with Broadwater beachfront to the east and the hills to the west: a pleasant mix of wide tree-lined streets, original retro-style housing, sparkling new townhouses and impressive up-market high-rise developments.

The whole area has jumped up a class from it's heyday as a sleepy little Gold Coast suburb and the recent developments have seen dozens of new restaurants spring up.

One of the more established restaurants is the Aqua on Broadwater Steak and Seafood Restaurant and Bar located on Marine Parade -- offering a pocket-friendly all-day dining menu and a more serious cafe-style menu for dinner.

Aqua on Broadwater has most of its seating on a long terrace, which offers great panoramas of this tranquil part of the coast. From spacious open windows, you look out over the Broadwater to Seaworld and the exclusive Versace Hotel.

I had dinner at Aqua recently, accompanied by a friend who is the scourge of restaurant owners with her views on value for money, and I have seen head waiters and sommeliers coming close to a breakdown when she feels that what she is eating or drinking is not worth the price on the menu.

I mention this because Aqua came out of it fairly well – much to the relief of manager Cristian Costantini, who came to our table a couple of times during the evening to ensure we were enjoying our meal.

My guest started with Balmain bugs, served with a garlicky white wine sauce and a touch of tomato and parsley, while I went for salt and pepper squid -- both of which proved to be excellent choices.

Located on Queensland’s Gold Coast, I would have expected Aqua to be serving Moreton bugs rather than the Balmain variety, which are usually found further south in Australia.

You can tell the difference as the Moreton Bay bug is a little thinner in the body than the Balmain bug: obviously my guest was getting more bug for the buck, so this satisfied the value-for-money criterium.

For a main course, I went for a grilled barramundi fillet with a liberal serving of chunky chips and a rainforest-sized salad (there was a bit of a discussion as to whether the barramundi was farmed or wild – I believe it was farmed).

My guest wanted a change from fish and decided on veal limone, an Italian favourite, but served with steamed vegetables rather than the normal pasta. Both dishes passed the quality/price demand.

We chose an unprecocious Hunter Valley chardonnay as our wine (alas, I have mislaid my wine notes for the evening) and finished the evening with an Australian cheese plate, coffee and a grappa.

The total bill that came to just under AUD 125 – for which we got a taste of the lifestyle of the Gold Coast’s rich and (in)famous for a fraction of the cost in many of the region's other seafront restaurants.