Clifford’s Grill & Lounge, voco Gold Coast

“This town is steeped in a rich tapestry of colourful history.” The Gold Coast is not only built on a colourful past, it must grow to a brilliant future. A former holiday ground for the Kombumerri people, since the 1860s the Gold Coast has been a place of big personalities. They were people who boldly […]

The Island Boutique Hotel

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, […]

Glass Dining & Lounge Bar

If there’s a position worth coveting, it’s that of Glass. You could embark from your luxury yacht anchored on the sparkling Broadwater just beyond the windows, or fly by helicopter to the helipad at the end of the jetty… so it seems as we dine at Glass Restaurant, overlooking the Gold Coast at play. In […]

The Collective

Every so often something radically different comes along in the dining scene – an idea that, while generated from elsewhere, is given new life in our present-day culinary context. The Collective at Palm Beach is just that. A restaurant version of a food market, The Collective is a family business blending the complementary skills of […]

Potager and Carool

It’s taken many journeys to get to Potager: the 15-minute drive up the hill from Coolangatta, the journeys of owners Peter Burr and Gareth Leslie from Sydney and Ireland and, most of all, our journey away from manufactured culture to a more harmonious, grounded lifestyle and cuisine. You could live a lifetime on the Gold […]

House of Gabriel

Tucked in between the Gold Coast and Byron Bay, the Tweed Coast is a foodie destination all its own. The Tweed Fusion Festival, held annually in October, invites us away from our all-too-comfortable armchairs to explore and experience the environs just beyond our back door. Tweed Fusion is a two-day celebration of arts, music, food […]

Burgster

There’s a huge space in my heart for earth mothers. You know the sort of woman I mean – the one who’s the hub of her family; who makes everyone feel welcome, holding their well-being close to her heart. She’s the matriarch apparent. When we first meet Rochelle Smith, I know that she’s the beating […]

Mavis’s Kitchen

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 […]

The Little Plate – revisited

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 […]