The Star Gold Coast, the Broadbeach Island complex still remembered by many returning guests as Jupiters Casino, is the biggest dining destination within walking distance of Victoria Square Apartments: six venues from hatted Japanese to a casual food quarter, all a flat 12 minute walk from our front door. Here is the current line-up, updated for 2027.
How do you get there from Victoria Square?
Follow Victoria Avenue away from the beach, cross the Gold Coast Highway at the lights, then take Casino Drive over the bridge onto Broadbeach Island; the entrance is straight ahead. The walk is flat, footpathed and lit the whole way, 12 minutes door to door, which means nobody has to be the designated driver. If you do drive, the three minute trip ends in a secure undercover car park with casual rates. The complex was renamed from Jupiters to The Star Gold Coast in 2017 after a major redevelopment, so if your last visit predates that, expect a substantially glossier building around your dinner.
Which restaurant should you book for the big night?
Kiyomi remains the headline: a decade in as one of the coast’s most awarded dining rooms, it runs a Japanese menu where reviewers rate the miso-glazed toothfish as the dish to build the night around, with set menus and omakase that suit a pre-theatre timeline. Cucina Vivo is the other signature room, Italian with a terrace over the pool and a deep Italian and Australian wine list, running at a gentler pace than the show-night rush. Both book out most weekends. Reserve a week or more ahead, two hours before curtain if you are seeing a show, and dress smart casual; a jacket is never required.
What has changed since the Jupiters days?
Plenty, and the buffet question comes up most. Food Fantasy, the 80-dish buffet generations of Gold Coast families queued for, has closed. In its place the casual end is covered by the Food Quarter, a food-court-style precinct inside the complex where everyone picks their own lane and nobody books. The Asian line-up has grown into the complex’s quiet strength: Uncle Su brings a refined Chinese menu, and Mei Wei Dumplings does exactly what its name promises, dumplings made to order. Garden Kitchen & Bar rounds out the middle ground with relaxed all-day dining under greenery, and it is the room we point families toward first.
How does dinner fit around a show?
Comfortably, if you sequence it. The Star Theatre sits inside the complex a couple of minutes from every restaurant, with doors typically opening half an hour before curtain. Book the show first, set the dinner reservation two hours before it, and the timeline runs three courses without clock-watching. On big-name nights every dining room in the complex fills, so the reservation matters more than the restaurant choice. After the encore, the bars off the main floor handle the nightcap, and the walk home to Victoria Square Apartments takes 12 lit, flat minutes while the car park is still queuing.
What does a night there cost?
Whatever you decide it should. The complex covers the full spread, which is why it works for both the anniversary dinner and the fourth night of a week-long stay. At the top, Kiyomi and Cucina Vivo sit in the upper band, with set menus that make the spend predictable and worth planning around. Garden Kitchen & Bar and the Asian rooms hold the middle: a proper table-service dinner for two without occasion pricing. The Food Quarter is the budget lane, a casual feed at food-court prices with seats for everyone. Walking from Victoria Square Apartments keeps the extras at zero: no parking ticket, no rideshare surge after the show, and no reason to cut the night short. Guests who stay a week often end up using it twice, once dressed up and once in thongs, and the complex handles both without blinking.
The Star dining FAQs
Is Jupiters Casino the same as The Star Gold Coast?
Yes. Jupiters Casino was renamed The Star Gold Coast in 2017 after a major redevelopment, so anything you remember about Jupiters now lives under The Star brand. The complex still sits on Broadbeach Island, a flat 12 minute walk from Victoria Square Apartments across the Casino Drive bridge.
Do you need to book The Star’s restaurants?
For the signature rooms, yes. Kiyomi and Cucina Vivo book out most weekends, and any night with a big show in The Star Theatre fills every dining room early. Book a week ahead for weekends, two hours before curtain on show nights. The Food Quarter and casual venues take walk-ins.
Is there still a buffet at The Star Gold Coast?
No. Food Fantasy, the buffet many returning guests remember from the Jupiters years, has closed. Casual, no-booking dining is now the Food Quarter, a food-court-style line-up inside the complex, while Garden Kitchen & Bar covers the relaxed table-service middle ground with all-day dining.
Can kids eat at The Star?
Yes. The restaurants and the Food Quarter welcome all ages, and Garden Kitchen & Bar is the easiest with a family. Only the gaming floor is 18 plus. On school-holiday evenings the casual venues fill early, so a 5.30pm table keeps the night simple with younger kids.
Staying this close is the whole trick: a serious dinner, a show if you want one, and a 12 minute walk home to a full apartment instead of a drive. Check our apartments and rates to book your stay, and browse our Attractions page for everything else within walking distance of Victoria Square Apartments.
Image credit: Cucina Vivo, The Star Gold Coast