It seems that bakeries are moving in one of two directions: rustic homebaked goods or fine patisserie. Baked at Ancora gives us the best of both worlds: an artisan bakery producing rustic sourdough, fine patisserie and a select menu of brunch dishes with casual dining inside or out. All bases covered. Opened by the PLB...

UPDATE 2019: How far this cafe has come since it opened! The menu of raw cakes is now only one part of a complete plant-based a la carte menu. My generous serve of Corn fritters is served on a bed of spinach, layered with tomato relish and a tasty avocado salsa finished with balsamic glaze...

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...

Fancy a coffee with your new lounge suite, or something to eat? How about some fresh cannoli? Robina’s Home + Life Centre, opposite the Auto Mall, opened late last year with a great array of lifestyle shops –  James Lane, Nick Scali, DecoRug, Vast Interior, The Good Guys, and Kitchen Connection, to name a few....

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...

“There is no greater love than the love of food,” George Bernard Shaw wrote. Conversely, great food is often the result of great passion. At least that’s the way it is for the Mumma’s Greek Cuisine’s mother and daughter team. Their food is not only about a love affair between Cleo’s parents, who waited five...

Sometimes, you need to go a little out of the way to find beautiful things. That’s so with Pasture & Co. Sitting alongside organic co-op Ground Grocer, facing the entrance to Currumbin Valley’s Eco Village, the café is situated on the newly-named precinct, Ground at Currumbin. With a new tenant comes new life. Dani Riley,...

“I’ve been told that this place has positive energies and a good aura,” Devi tells me. I look around at the two huge mandalas painted on the mirror-tiled back wall of the restaurant, a bronze goddess resting on a pedestal beside me, the accent colours vibrant and rich. I could use some ‘good energy’ right...

Every so often you meet someone whose enthusiasm is the driving force of an establishment. So strong, in fact, that it’s like a magnetic field, drawing you into its energy. At Mockingbird Café, Kingscliff, that force is Jo Jackson. We’d first met Jo at her very successful restaurant, Signature Dish in Varsity, where she not...

There’s something special about heritage places, especially when they’ve been reborn. It’s as though those who’ve gone before have trod the floorboards, breathed the air and imbued into the building a sense of place. There’s all that and more at The Island. The original five-level tower, built in 1964 by Greg Graham and Bill Reichelt,...