There’s a part of me that always returns to country. It’s the yawning openness, the homeliness of imperfection, and the people who populate these spaces that make all the difference. So, when I find one of those places, I immediately feel at home. I breathe out, relax and look around me in wonder. That’s exactly...

There were waves of anticipation among foodies when Brenda Fawdon and Sonja Drexler embarked on their latest project, North Stores. The venue comprises three buildings, an environmentally sustainable and architecturally designed food, art and nature hub in Main Street, North Tamborine. After three years of planning and development, North Stores finally opened in 2021. It...

The new HOTA Gallery at the Gold Coast’s cultural precinct, Home of the Arts, opened in May 2021, including two new dining venues, Palette and The Exhibitionist Bar. Palette, on the ground floor, is a fine dining restaurant featuring Australian cuisine, especially fresh, high-quality seasonal produce from within the ‘100-mile table’. Complementing the gallery, the...

There’s never been a better time to explore our local region than the present. With restrictions lifting and the weather simply gorgeous, why not step out and enjoy Flavours of Ipswich, a food festival held from April 7-24, 2021. During this time, some of Ipswich’s favourite restaurants are offering fixed price lunches and dinners aimed...

If you’re seeking a warm welcome on the Southern Gold Coast, then look no further than Café All Sorts. Founded in 2019, to many it’s a second home; a community hub that welcomes its patrons to enjoy a coffee, cake or light meal overlooking one of the Gold Coast’s most famous surf breaks. It’s magic!...

Every tribe has its favourite places, and nowhere is that more evident than at Morena Espresso. ‘Morena’, meaning ‘brunette’ in Spanish and ‘good morning’ in Maori reflects the Latin-Kiwi heritage of its owners Bel Pesantes and Stefan Bradley. Situated on an ‘awkward’ corner of the Gold Coast Highway in Mermaid Beach, you could almost miss...

There’s something about distilleries that reminds me of the saying ‘The stolen apple tastes the sweetest.’ Maybe it’s the hangover of a prohibition upbringing, or the connotations of ‘hard liquor’. Whatever! Actually, the first liqueurs came about with herbal concoctions sweetened to make them more palatable; an easier way to swallow medicine. Founded in 1993...

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...

Steampunk brings something different to Surfers Paradise: a retro industrial world that exists only in the imagination. Opened in April 2017, the venue brings us the age of machines, of retro-futuristic inventions, robotics and air travel, recreating a world of science fiction inspired by the steam-powered industrial period of Victorian England. Modelled on the Romanian...

Burgers are one of the Gold Coast’s favourite foods. It seems everyone is hanging their mouth around one, from tiny sliders to sweet brioche wonders housing gourmet delights. Of course, it didn’t take long for the big guns to get involved in the boutique burger business; guys who’d seen trends develop before, such as co-owner...