Peace. Joy. Love. These three words herald a time that for many is a tiring gauntlet of present buying and family commitments, the rite of passage marked by the consumption of copious amounts of food and drink. Somehow we emerge, breathlessly gasping into the New Year. We sit on the couch, exhausted and over-satiated, swearing...

‘Paleo Pinup.’ Peter Dufty would be really uncomfortable with that tag, but there’s an element of truth in it. From Versace to raw (and we’re not talking clothing), Pete’s one of Gold Coast food’s quiet achievers – a classically trained ‘master chef’ who has jumped the culinary fence from haute cuisine to healthy eating, leaving...

The Dune Café is a bit of a secret. Located in one of the most beautiful spots on the Coast, it’s well frequented by southern Gold Coasters, but apart from that, many other people don’t know of its existence. Bit of a shame, really, because a trip to Palm Beach Parklands’ Dune Café reminds you...

UPDATE January 2014: Commune has achieved cult status on the Goldie, with a huge band of loyal followers won over by its rustic organic food and generous servings. It’s also highly affordable, with the most expensive dish priced at $17. Whether you want blueberry pancakes, Mushrooms and asparagus piled on toast with Persian fetta, the...

Top Noodle’s quite a surprising package. Although it’s in a prime position directly opposite the beach, at first glance it’s an underwhelming generic laminex-tabled eatery squeezed into a corner beside a shopping centre entrance. It undersells itself too in its presentation, with menu items pasted on the walls and an odd assemblage of crates, containers,...

There’s a bit of dining competition around the Aqua building in Labrador, and it’s not hard to see why. From there you can cast your eyes over an amazing view of the sparkling Broadwater, follow the action of boats and seagulls, and take your pick from a few restaurants’ menus. So why does Café Gold...

I walked into the Woodbox Café at West Burleigh and felt right at home. There’s that spacious ‘earth mother’ vibe going on which is rare on the Gold Coast: that of a large open country kitchen, where the bread is freshly baked, the heady aroma of coffee wafts through the room, produce picked in the...

Bumbles, on Budd’s Beach, is only a short walk from Surfers, but it could be miles away. There’s a relaxed sleepy feel to this riverside suburb. Even the cars drive slower on the flip side to the surf beach. It was a top spot for Kate Madison to open a café in 2000, following her...

It’s the lunchtime rush at Govindas Pure Vegetarian, Burleigh Heads, and the line runs past the counter of bain-maries to the back of the shop. We’ve heard that the food is fresh and extremely well-priced, and on a cold day we feel hungry enough to tuck into some decent vegetarian food. We’re in a group...