Should you need a reason (apart from the cold) to escape to the Sunshine Coast, may we suggest the three “Rs” – rest, relaxation and restaurants? After two years of pandemic-induced upheaval, the food scene is expanding fast in some of Queensland’s most popular holiday towns.

Yes, Hastings Street in Noosa is still buzzing, though a flurry of strong openings elsewhere in the resort town has taken some of the shine off the famed beachside boulevard. The more surprising news, however, is the hospitality action hotting up further afield, and in places not previously on the destination dining map: folksy Eumundi in the hinterland, fast-growing coastal Maroochydore and beyond. Here’s our pick of happening places to dine on the Sunshine Coast.