The Oak Café
Somehow, every time we visit Mudgeeraba we fall in love again. It’s because little things count. A greeting from wait staff or a friendly smile from the open kitchen, water immediately brought to the table, a bowl of water for someone’s dog… it all adds up to make a village. The Oak Café, Mudgeeraba’s latest […]
Silipo Coffee, Southport
The coffee roasting company, Silipo Coffee, is hidden away in the light industrial area of Bailey Crescent, Southport. Local workers can refuel with excellent coffee carefully brewed by barista Richard Silipo, grab breakfast or lunch, or buy their own takeaway coffee beans. After owning the trattoria Basilico in Southport and Oompahs in Burleigh, Richard decided […]
Pasture & Co
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, […]
Helena’s Espresso
A couple of years ago, there was a little tranquil haven overlooking the lake at Royal Pines, a cute bakery and espresso bar named after its owner, Helena Jaffar. But times change. Despite its merit, Helena’s Espresso was subsumed by redevelopment. Now, eighteen months later, Helena has found a new site for her café in […]
Best kept dining secrets – Cafes
Everyone has their favourite café. Some of them are places only locals know about; tucked away places they share with friends. You know you’ve found one when people greet each other by name and you, the newcomer, score a subtle surreptitious glance. They’re not necessarily the latest trendy spot, in fact they may be well […]
Guilty Café
Sitting in front of me, resplendent in its calorific glory, is a huge chocolate milkshake topped with two lamingtons. Piled high with cream, a strawberry perched on top, it’s magnificent! Gasps escape from diners around me. Yet I feel nauseated. My internal dialogue has taken over: ‘It’s just fat and sugar. It may taste good, […]
Double Barrel Kitchen
Having kitted out some of the smartest restaurants in town (think Etsu and Mamasan), Jess Winters had plenty of ideas for what she wanted in her first cafe, so her partner Peter Tutton learned new skills to complete the vision, the pair harnessing some great talent to be part of their team. So, Double Barrel […]
Mockingbird Cafe
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 […]
Lakeview Espresso
They say that location is everything, but for cafés, that doesn’t always mean being in the main street. Sometimes, being the only café in a neighbourhood can be a winning formula, especially when the venue provides great service to the community. When Dylan and Kira Rackley took over the Lakeview General Store just over four […]
Hot Shott
Gold Coast café culture has done well from the downward shift in fine dining culture. Hot Shott is no exception. An example is owners and business partners, Chef Kellie Rolfe and Barista Jenna Finch, who took the opportunity to move from their jobs at Palazzo Versace to open their own business in Main Beach in […]