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 […]
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 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, […]
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 […]
Nonna’s
“Eat better, Drink happy.” Opened in 2005, Nonna’s is a good example of a family restaurant that gives the people what they want. Always popular, the recent renovation will make it even more so. As they’d done with House of Brews, the Kanaghines brothers embarked on a ‘discovery’ trip to the US to uncover food […]
Balboa
It’s hard to miss Balboa as you drive through Palm Beach. Its red brick two-storey building, once a quite unremarkable office block, now forms an imposing picture; even more so at night when the interior emanates a warm glow and the tables spill over with food, drinks and good times. The latest venture of Avvia […]
De Vito Waterfront
There’s something special about De Vito’s Waterfront that warms your heart. It’s not just the warm welcome, the comfort of the venue, or the well-executed Italian cuisine, it’s like a well-loved song – familiar, emotive and endearing. De Vito’s Waterfront sits on the southern edge of Southport looking across the Nerang River to Surfers Paradise. […]
Baritalia
Sometimes a really solid little restaurant can be hiding in full view, waiting to be discovered by locals. Perhaps you, like us, have walked past the olive trees too many times. All along, Baritalia has been sitting in the corner beckoning us with hooded eyes and somehow we’ve missed the overtures. Located on a triangular […]
Rare Delights – A Month of Truffles at Cucina Vivo
It’s winter, which means it’s the month for truffles, and we’re heading to Cucina Vivo in The Star Gold Coast to enjoy a ‘truffle feast’. It’s been a slow love affair for me. To be perfectly honest, you’d never pick a truffle for a first date! A large, darkish blob covered in wart-like nodules hiding […]
Alfresco Italian Restaurant
Alfresco Italian Restaurant presents Surfers Paradise with a glimpse of Naples through its frescos of the Amalfi Coast, its authentic Southern Italian cuisine and its bustling friendly service. It’s the casual dining restaurant celebrities keep coming back to, a place where locals like us are made to feel like family. Little could Raffaele Velardo have […]