It’s the Matcha chocolate ganache tart that gives it away – a pretty little pie case filled with two shades of green chocolate filling… We may be in Southport suburbia, but we’ve just stumbled upon a well-respected chef in a most unexpected locale. ‘Chanoyu’, meaning ‘a gathering of people to enjoy food and coffee together’,...

Gold Coast café culture has done well from the downward shift in fine dining culture. Hot Shott is no exception, with owners Chef Kellie Rolfe and barista Jenna Finch leaving Palazzo Versace to open their own business in Main Beach in 2016. Named after their chocolate-lined waffle espresso cup, this ‘play on words’ café bears...

Named after world class rower Thomas Clifford, Clifford’s Grill & Lounge in the newly launched voco Gold Coast (formerly the Watermark Hotel), is a classy open grill restaurant and upmarket city bar. One wall is dotted with Bakelite radios, overlooking the central focus of the restaurant: the ten-burner grill where chefs are on display preparing...

In a tiny clutch of shops on Monaco Street you’ll find the hugely popular Coffee Sisters café owned by Kylie Jennings. Favoured by fitness-oriented clientele and locals, it’s a place that encourages us to take a stop on the road, enjoy a slower pace, sip great coffee and eat healthy food. Dining alfresco, there’s plenty...

We might find it difficult to name a food that dates back 3,000 years in our culture, however that’s not so for the owners of Fiery Deli. Arepas, the flat round pockets of maize meal that form a core menu item in the Venezuelan-born Perez family’s Robina restaurant, date back to the first use of...

My parents were courting during the Great Depression, and got married during World War II, when Dad was a soldier. Failing the medical, he worked his way up to Staff Sergeant in charge of Stores, South New Zealand. To me, I think these experiences defined them, having a direct impact on the way they lived...

Simon Scott lives and breathes the ocean. Born and raised on the Gold Coast, Simon’s a keen surfer and fisherman. When he’s not out on the ocean, he’s in the kitchen cooking the catch. So, it’s understandable that when he and his wife Buffie opened a seafood shop in Burleigh it would be within sight...

With the village-like hub of Chirn Park a rising star in Gold Coast dining, Tonic on Chirn is a tried and true local hero, an establishment where we can recommend food, drink, ambience and service as being equally important and on point. Owners Colleen and Shaun Measday have embraced the venue’s heritage, building its sophistication...

Cambodian-born Bernie (Bunnath) and his wife Ivy are the owners of the Gold Coast’s only Cambodian restaurant, Bunnath Kitchen, where they serve traditional Khmer dishes, modernised just a little for the Australian palate. The distinctly exotic flavours and aroma of lemongrass, turmeric and other herbs hand-pounded into a paste known as ‘kreoung’ distinguishes Khmer dishes...

Beached on the Terranora mountaintop lies The Inky Squid Fish & Chippery, carrying all things salty and umami, caught from the ocean just within sight. Owned by chef Ben Jones (ex-Gwinganna and Taverna) and his partner Jessica Price, the shop has the dual role of selling freshly prepared seafood-based meals as well as fresh seafood...