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 […]

Mano’s Tedder Ave

‘Famous since 1996’ The restaurant industry is all about restaurateurs connecting with people. On that front, Mick Ellison is the master. The seemingly laidback restaurateur, who has run one of the most successful eateries in town for 13 years, stands in the front window of his restaurant surveying the street, answering questions from tourists and […]

The North Room

Lunch at The North Room is an exquisite pleasure. Without the distracting clamber of other conversation, our senses are heightened to the appreciation of Tim Stewart’s amazing cuisine. We’ve popped in to check out his use of native ingredients in dishes, such as local Pottsville pippis with fresh squash, pickled green tomatoes and coastal greens […]

The Lamb Shop

NOTE: Peter Gloftis now co-owns The Lamb Shop, Brisbane with Stephen AKA ‘Cappa’, the owner of The Lamb Shop Broadbeach. “Fast food done well,” The Lamb Shop’s former owner Peter Gloftis had told us when we first visited. I’d looked at him, glanced into the shop, and then down at my food. That’s his mission? […]

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 […]

Mario’s Italian Restaurant

If there was a family tree of restaurants on the Gold Coast, Mario’s would be the patriarch. Since it was established in 1989, Mario’s has been a favourite of many families, whether they are locals or tourists on annual holidays. Mario’s longevity, when so many other restaurants have come and gone, is testament to its […]

The Wine Barrel

Coast dwellers now have a new reason to cross the highway, as The Wine Barrel opens its doors for breakfast. Besides our love of ‘the village’, The Wine Barrel holds a special place in our hearts. Nothing about it has been ordinary from the start, nor is it now. Their new breakfast menu is a […]

Rick Shores

Rick Shores brings a warm tropical breeze to Gold Coast dining. Opened by the owners of LONgTIME, Brisbane, Rick Shores occupies one of the most revered spots on the coast, the ground floor level of the iconic Burleigh Pavilions, seaside dining at its best. Today, the sea is calm. We enter the restaurant down the […]

Yamagen’s Friday Lunch by Asahi

Yamagen’s ‘Friday Lunch by Asahi’ is an introduction to delight; a finely nuanced mini-degustation of the best of the best. I’m a huge fan of the long lunch. There’s no better start to the weekend than the Friday afternoon ‘flex’. As you leave work early to slip away for a sneaky lunch, there’s a hint […]

Budapest. What’s not to love?

In a travelscape of flashy beach and slick city destinations, too often Budapest escapes notice, much like the child who slips sideways, unnoticed, across the edge of our peripheral vision. Yet when we turn our attention to it, we find Hungary and its people fascinating, intelligent and complex. It’s a land abundant in culture and […]