Springfield

It’s our first visit to Springfield, the suburb advertised as ‘a place where you can truly live, learn, work and play’. We’ve heard the stories. Now it’s time to pay a visit. The story of Springfield’s development is almost mythical, how in 1992, despite having little money of his own, Maha Sinnathamby raised the money […]

Sandbar

Change is in the air in Surfers, nowhere more evident that at the Sandbar. With uninterrupted sea views and the widest offerings of beer on the coast, Sandbar is iconic. An institution. But even ‘institutions’ need to move with the times. After operating the restaurant for almost twenty years since its time as the Boardwalk […]

Taverna

Every town has its iconic places, including Kingscliff. The sleepy little coastal village, so loved by many, has such a place: a simple cottage overlooking the beach. For forty years, it housed restaurants, such as Tracey’s Garden Restaurant and Baja, where families would dine while on holidays. For many, including present owners Mark Wilson and […]

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 […]

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 […]

Balter Beer Dinner at The Glenelg Public House

We’re dining tonight at The Glenelg Public House, a moody man cave if ever there was one. With its masculine industrial vibe, it’s a fitting home for a mythical beast, ‘the other David’ (not Bowie) the labyrinth-dwelling minotaur, poised on one wall. It’s the place I’d take a bloke on a first date, if I […]

Hideaway Kitchen & Bar

Hidden away behind a rather bland concrete-rendered façade, Hideaway Kitchen & Bar is the latest addition to the Gold Coast’s Asian street food scene. It’s the dark backstreets of Asia that co-owner Scott Imlach visits in his latest restaurant; those shady alleys with overhanging awnings and neon sign lit dodgy bars, with hawker food carts […]

The Loose Moose Tap & Grill House

Step inside The Loose Moose and you feel like it’s been there forever. Or maybe it just should have been! There’s an ‘old but new’ feel to the joint – a heady mix of Romania’s steampunk Enigma Bar and a Canadian taphouse that belongs in both the Old and New World, its detail meticulously aged […]

The Fish Emporium

There are times when I hanker for great fish; something more than a battered bundle of joy wrapped in paper with crispy chips – that’s another delight entirely. No, I want the real thing, unadulterated; a perfectly cooked buttery piece of coral trout or red emperor, or the indulgence of tasting the salty brine of […]

Garden Kitchen & Bar

Outdoors comes inside at Garden Kitchen & Bar, part of The Star Gold Coast’s $345 million transformation. The hotel foyer’s wall of cascading greenery is the first statement of intention: Garden Kitchen & Bar is a fresh take on all day dining. With bar and pergola areas bathed in natural light and a large back […]