“This town is steeped in a rich tapestry of colourful history.” The Gold Coast is not only built on a colourful past, it must grow to a brilliant future. A former holiday ground for the Kombumerri people, since the 1860s the Gold Coast has been a place of big personalities. They were people who boldly...

Coast dwellers now have a new reason to cross the highway, as The Wine Barrel opens its doors for breakfast. Besides our love of ‘the village’, The Wine Barrel holds a special place in our hearts. Nothing about it has been ordinary from the start, nor is it now. Their new breakfast menu is a...

If there was a dining ‘Hall of Fame’, then Jo-Anne and Greg Short would be among the first to be inducted. It’s twenty years since the couple opened the Broadwalk Café, the forerunner of today’s iconic Sandbar. Migrating from NSW with their young family, the couple were excited to start their own new venture in...

For the first time in several years, the crunch is on for eateries with almost as many restaurants closing as opening.  In 2018, cafés and restaurants are facing stiff competition for the food dollar. Prepared foods from grocery and convenience stores and meal delivery services continue to attract busy consumers who seek convenience over experience....

If there’s an unsung hero of the northern dining scene, it’s the Black Sheep Bistro. Located not far from the Oxenford turnoff, the Black Sheep is a local favourite, especially for its weekend breakfasts and lunches. To Australians, ‘black sheep’ carries the connotation of a stray, or disreputable family member. However, my New Zealand childhood...

In a busy life, it’s important to plan times of retreat; weekends of relaxation, sharing time with your partner surrounded by green. Somehow, we find that lawns, gardens and wilderness are nourishing for the soul, far more so than concrete and bitumen! The InterContinental Sanctuary Cove is one of our favourite retreats, an expansive resort...

‘Success breeds success,’ they say, and for Substance Espresso that’s certainly true. There were tears when Jareth and Leah Smith sold Daark Espresso in Chirn Park, in fact the lights dimmed a little on the northside of town. But there were better things coming, with the pair opening a coffee shop, Substance Espresso, in Runaway...

It’s a pleasant surprise when you don’t expect too much from a corner coffee shop and then find out that all the food’s made by the chef in the oven you can see, that the coffee’s great and the service friendly and attentive. Euphoria Espresso Café is a rare watering hole in the urban jungle...

Sunday Brunch has become the new meetup; a time to relax and enjoy an indulgent weekend with friends before launching into another working week. Where better to meet than at Bazaar in the QT, the retro-themed hotel famous for its award-winning interactive breakfast and dinners, now offering ‘The Bazaar Brunch’ every Sunday from 11am –...

Adrian Grazioli always had a dream of opening his own patisserie. After training at Brunetti’s in Melbourne, Adrian moved back to the coast, working for different cake shops before opening his own premises, ironically in the same block as the restaurant his parents founded: Riviera. Hidden away in a tiny suburban shopping centre in Sorrento,...