Chanoyu Japanese infused cafe

NOTE: In July 2023, Chanoyu moved to a new location in 56 Nerang St., Nerang. It’s the Matcha chocolate ganache tart that gives it away – a pretty little pie case filled with two shades of green chocolate filling… “Oh my! There’s real talent here,” we think. “I wonder who’s in the kitchen?” There’s something […]

Dine at Cabukee on our own Italian Riviera

There are few suburbs on the Gold Coast built to encourage a sense of community well-being, however Emerald Lakes is one of them. Oozing the charm of a modern European-inspired village, its centre is surrounded by a village, an 18-hole golf course and clubhouse, along with 13 kilometres of walking and bike tracks around a […]

Café Catalina

If there’s an eatery with a top location, this is it: Café Catalina, an eatery offering fine casual dining with superb water views across the Broadwater to SeaWorld. Situated adjacent to the expanded Broadwater Parklands leisure area, the Rockpools play and picnic area and the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, Café Catalina is well worth seeking […]

Stones Throw

You can always tell when there’s an owner/chef in the kitchen. There’s an assurance to the menu, a passion that is evidenced in almost every aspect. Stones Throw at Currumbin is a good example.  Owned by brother and sister duo Cameron Chartres and Melanie Windsor, Cameron had worked his way around the world in kitchens […]

Madisons Café & Patisserie

Every town needs a beating heart where people gather, be it the town square, the piazza, marketplace or other venue at its geographical centre. Madisons Café, situated right at a main entrance of the busy Oasis Shopping Centre, is a meeting place where ‘See you at Madisons’ slips as easily off the tongue as ‘Meet […]

La Cha Cha Cabana

It was the smile that first got us in. The young couple gave customers such a warm welcome that of course we had to buy their food, even though it looked different: arepas, the crunchy pocket bread stuffed with filling that’s the most common food of Venezuela and Colombia. We tried arepas and loved them […]

O-Sushi Coolangatta

One of the benefits of living in a tourist destination is being around after the day-trippers have gone home. Finally, when buses and boats have pulled away, carrying their camera-toting guests, we are left with the locale that we love, the reason that we settled there in the first place. That’s exactly how we feel […]

Pacific Fair Dining

Pacific Fair is well on the way to creating an ‘eat or shop’ dilemma. As part of a $670 million redevelopment, high end fashion shops with huge investment fit outs have been opening along the boulevard attracting international shoppers and lots of onlookers. The centre is also well on the way to establishing itself as […]

Salt Meats Cheese

There’s nothing sexier than men preparing food. Especially Mediterranean men preparing really good rustic whole food. The ladies know it. They saunter in just before midday, hips swinging slowly, arms extended, looking for him. ‘Where’s Alessandro?’ Young and gorgeous, he crosses the restaurant to meet them, a huge smile lighting his face before being enveloped […]

Espresso Moto

‘Moto’. Choose your meaning: ‘motorbike’, ‘motorcycle’, ‘motivated’, or ‘in motion’. In a way, the café is all of these. Espresso Moto was the brainchild of business partners Jordan Stubbs and Shannon Baier-Dry who, with their partners Nikki and Krista, came up with the idea of melding a bike shop and café – a first for […]