Touted as a ‘destination’ farm, a ‘community of growers, producers, eateries, educators and more’, The Farm at Byron Bay is an 86 acre property owned by Tony and Emma Lane, heirs to the Oroton empire. Turn off the Pacific Highway to Byron Bay, and The Farm’s most visible signpost is a full carpark. With a...

Coffee Sisters is a great place to enjoy a coffee and a bite to eat off the beaten track; a perfect nook to bask in the winter’s sun. Once owned by barista sisters Penny and Susan Strophair, hence the name, since Kylie Jennings bought the cafe in mid 2014, it has continued its rise in...

Kingscliff always reminds me of holidays: days when you can amble past a few shops, grab a chair in the sun or an armchair just inside the door of a café, catch up with friends for an all-too-rare chat as you wistfully imagine that you lived in this sleepy town! Although less than two years...

Just like in football, loyal caffeine drinkers know and follow their brand, or at least their type. So when Jess and James Wren moved to the Gold Coast three years ago, they found little ‘Melbourne-style’ coffee, hence the idea of starting a laneway espresso bar on the coast serving the coffee they love. Enter Caffeine...

It’s rare for me to be completely ecstatic about a dining experience. Despite extensive research about where we’ll dine, more often I’m quietly enthralled with some parts of the experience or people we’ve met, pleased with the overall meal, sometimes hopeful and occasionally disappointed. But our trip to Mavis’s Kitchen is stellar. It’s a rare...

Coffee shops are the new community centres. They’re the places we meet, read the papers, catch up with friends and generally hang out. If you live in Burleigh or Palmie, you’ve got tons of choice. In those suburbs, the coffee shops are as busy as Central Station. Everyone has their favourite place. (Bad luck for...

A vision statement, total designer concept including furniture and styling, piped music… You may think we’re talking about a very expensive specialist medical centre or even a private school but no, welcome to The Wattle Hotel. Intrigued, we accepted the invitation to dine at The Wattle as guests. Recently purchased by the Redcape Property Group,...

Dressed up for date night, coiffed, perfumed, accessorised. Should I pack my camera? It’s our fifth wedding anniversary and The Main Squeeze has managed to keep the venue a secret. “Be ready at 5pm,” was all he’d said. I cast my memory back to our first date. Dressed up, coiffed, perfumed and accessorised, I’d anticipated...

“Treat celebrities like locals, and locals like celebrities, because everyone loves being made to feel special.” New York restaurateur Gabriel Stulman It’s such a breath of fresh air to walk into a café and be greeted warmly! Do we take it for granted? No, not at all! How much fun do we have as diners...

There’s a beer revolution going on in Australia. Not long ago there were only a handful of beers to choose from, with the choice being dark, light or Guinness. As quickly as the larger breweries were bought up by multinationals, microbreweries have sprung up. Eager to design newer cleaner flavours, microbrewers have discovered and tweaked...