St Helens Bar & Burgers

St Helens Bar & Burgers is a family-run burger restaurant and cocktail bar at Shop 2, 78 Musgrave Street, Coolangatta, a short walk from Kirra and Coolangatta beaches. It does American-style burgers backed by a serious bar list, and well-behaved dogs are welcome in the covered outdoor seating, which makes it a solid early-dinner call after a beach walk.

The dog setup

Dogs sit with you in the covered outdoor section, which holds up in the weather and gives a dog room to settle beside the table. Water bowls are available on request. Keep the lead on and the dog close, because this is a popular dinner venue and the evening service squeezes the walkways. If you are booking for a group, confirm dog seating when you book.

Worth knowing

The draw is burgers, from a BBQ beef build to a bay bug burger, with wings, sliders and jalapeno poppers around them, plus salads and sides for the lighter orders and vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. There is a happy hour and a full cocktail list, and being a bar as well as a kitchen, nights build. Hours run from midday Friday to Sunday and from 2pm Monday and Thursday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, so plan the dog dinner for the back half of the week.

Getting there and parking

Musgrave Street sits between the Coolangatta and Kirra beachfronts, easy off the main coastal road. Street parking runs along Musgrave and the surrounding blocks, and it is a flat walk from either beach.

Close by with the dogs

Kirra and Coolangatta beaches sit a short walk away for a pre-dinner stroll, with the beachfront path running between them; Gold Coast beaches are mostly on-lead, so check signage for off-lead hours. The Point Danger Lookout to Currumbin Alley coastal walk makes a longer on-lead outing, and Cafe Kirra and Switchfoot Cafe cover the mornings on the same strip.

More options are on the QLD dog friendly restaurants guide and the Coolangatta destination page.

Max: Thursday to Sunday only, St Helens is closed Tuesday and Wednesday, so anchor the beach-and-burger day on the weekend side.