Turbid nearshore reefs support the livelihoods of billions of people globally, but are threatened by ocean warming, increasing populations and declining water quality. Novel restoration approaches are being developed to boost reef resilience but are primarily tested on offshore/clear-water reefs. The challenges facing nearshore coral reefs however hinder the direct translation of restoration methods developed outside this context. Drawing on decades of learnings from terrestrial and coastal restoration, but also increasing restoration trials on nearshore coral reefs, here we describe an integrated, phased approach to nearshore reef restoration. Our proposed approach includes (i) a habitat modification and enhancement stage to boost natural recovery and prepare the site, (ii) a coral delivery/seeding stage to accelerate coral recovery, and (iii) a final protection and maintenance stage to ensure restoration efforts are protected from extractive and damaging activities and that lessons learnt are shared widely with management and restoration practitioners. We discuss the need for concomitant protection and restoration of adjacent habitats, improvements in catchment and reef management, and strong action on climate change to ensure restoration investments are not wasted.