Christmas in July on the Gold Coast: A Seafood Feast Menu for 2026

TL;DR Build a winter feast from two or three cold seafood items, one warm centrepiece, and order ahead so the best prawns, bugs and oysters are set aside for your date.

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Christmas in July is one of the warmest traditions on the calendar, even when the morning air finally turns crisp on the Gold Coast. Locals call it a chance to do the festive table again, this time with mulled wine, a fire pit, and food that suits a cooler night. Seafood belongs right in the middle of it.

A good winter feast does two things at once. It keeps the generous, celebratory look of a summer seafood spread, and it adds warmth with a hot dish or two so nobody is shivering over a cold platter. Here is how we build it.

Start with a cold centrepiece

The visual heart of the table is still a platter. Pile cooked king prawns high, add freshly cooked Moreton Bay bugs split down the middle, and finish with freshly shucked oysters on a bed of ice. A few lemon wedges and a bowl of seafood sauce are all the dressing you need.

Browse our cooked prawns and platters and ask the team to cook bugs to order so they arrive at their best.

Add a warm dish for the season

This is where a winter feast pulls ahead of its summer cousin. A pot of seafood laksa or a smoky fish chowder gives everyone something hot to wrap their hands around. Both can be made ahead and gently reheated, which frees you up to enjoy the day.

If you want a true centrepiece, bake a whole fish. Snapper or barramundi, scored and stuffed with lemon and herbs, feeds a crowd and fills the kitchen with the smell of celebration.

A sample menu for eight

• To start: freshly shucked oysters, natural and Kilpatrick
• Cold platter: cooked king prawns, split Moreton Bay bugs, lemon and seafood sauce
• Warm bowl: smoky fish chowder served in cups
• Centrepiece: whole baked snapper with lemon and herbs
• On the side: crusty bread, a green salad, roast winter vegetables

That spread mixes hot and cold, rich and fresh, and leans on seafood without asking you to cook every dish at the last minute.

How much to order

For a seafood focused main, plan on roughly 300 to 400 g of cooked prawns per person, one to two bugs each, and a few oysters per guest. Scale the chowder to a cup per person as a starter or a bowl per person as a course. Always round up a little. Cold prawns and bug meat make wonderful rolls the next morning.

Order ahead so you get the best

Winter celebration weekends move a lot of premium seafood. The surest way to get exactly what you want, at peak freshness, is to order a few days before your date. The team can set aside the right number of bugs, shuck oysters to order, and cook prawns so they land on your table at their best.

Visit us at Labrador (5 to 7 Olsen Ave) or Varsity Lakes (20 Casua Dr), open 7 days from 7 AM, or order online for delivery across the Gold Coast.

Make this Christmas in July the one people talk about until December. Good seafood, a warm bowl, and a table that looks like a celebration.