Five of the Best: Mudgeeraba’s five best eateries

The Gold Coast Hinterland is where the city meets country and you can find places locals shouldn’t be keeping to themselves. Check out Mudgeeraba’s five best eateries.

Cold pressed in house: fresh juices from Mudjira Village Eatery.

The Gold Coast Hinterland is where the city meets country and you can find places locals shouldn’t be keeping to themselves. Check out Mudgeeraba’s five best eateries.

Mudjira Village Eatery

3 Swan Lane

A delectable fresh, locally sourced dish at Mudjira Village Eatery.

Owner Kate Bennett is another local cheerleader on a quest to keep things as closely sourced and sustainable as she can.

She has been busy adding small farmers to her list of suppliers and she and the kitchen have done their best to cater for all dietary requirements.

“Being sustainable is one of the paths we’re on this year,” she says.

The other is venturing into coffee retailing with the house’s signature organic blend, Mudgeeraba Coffee Co, roasted at Burleigh.

On the current menu, Kate recommends the truffle mushrooms, grown by the Shroom Brothers in the Tweed Valley.

The mushroom dish featuring Tweed Valley mushrooms at Mudjira Village Eatery.

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“Honestly, their mushrooms are so beautiful, you could put them in a vase,” Kate says. “The chef is doing them with polenta, cultured butter, truffle oil, a poached egg and topped with toasted seeds.”

The cold-pressed juices are all made in house, as is the cold-brew coffee.

The kitchen even cures its own salmon and it’s worth popping in just to see the mural painted by the resident Kombumerri artist, reflecting Mujira’s (Mudgeeraba’s) long history as a place of many stories.

Thai Mudgee

69 Railway Street

Thai Mudgee is a fixture on the Gold Coast’s Best Asian restaurants list.

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There is nowhere else Mudgeeraba locals would dream of going for Thai.

Thai Mudgee grows all its own specialist herbs, including the rare holy basil, and its chef has learned from the best, her mum and grandmother and her partner’s mum who cooked in the Thai palace for the royal family.

Popularity forced Thai Mudgee to move to bigger premises three years ago and it’s still packing them in.

It’s also allowed them to accommodate the Royal Orchid Room upstairs where, co-owner Peter Walter says, the food is of royal standard.

“It’s a set menu, more private and quiet,” he says.

Downstairs there’s a steady stream of locals coming back for their favourite Thai dishes, including pad Thai, creamy coconut milk curries, wok dishes and salads of papaya and green mango.

Millers Espresso

Crnr Railway Street and Swan Lane

Fine coffee and a sweet treat at Millers Espresso, Mudgeeraba

When you visit Millers, you know you’re doing your bit to support local business — and we mean local.

The furthest afield owner Russell Mundy sources his goodies is bread from the Burleigh Baker.

Even the New Zealand salmon is smoked down the road and the daily fresh produce is grown in a community garden at Lower Beechmont.

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“It’s real paddock to plate,” Russell says. “We have a standard menu and anything that’s seasonal, fresh or a bit unique we just include it when it comes in.”

That said, Russell advises it’s best to pop in earlier in the day as when he says “fresh daily”, he means it.

“We get our fresh deliveries every day and they can run out ‘til we get them fresh the next day,” he says. “But if we’ve got it here, I’m happy to make up whatever a customer feels like.”

Woodchoppers Inn BBQ Smoke and Grill

64 Railway Street

Barbecued Atlantic salmon with watermelon, pomegranate and feta salad at Woodchoppers BBQ, Smoke and Grill, Mudgeeraba.

Dispel any notions of an American-style smokehouse. Woodchoppers BBQ, Smoke and Grill is distinctly Australian, using lemon myrtle wood and creating flavours Tex-Mex has never dreamt of.

Case in point: co-owner Steve O’Brien is about to launch a new menu featuring barbecued Atlantic salmon with watermelon, pomegranate and feta salad; grilled wild-caught barramundi with baby potatoes, asparagus and salsa verde and barbecued pizza — how about pork belly with an apple sauce base on homemade dough, served with heirloom tomatoes and basil?

Woodchoppers at Mudgeeraba is bringing an Australian approach to BBQ, Smoke and Grill.

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But there are some nods to American style on the menu. The southern fried chicken in buttermilk is flash fried only briefly before being put in the smoker and served with apple cider slaw and paprika aioli

“People can’t get over how good it is without any of the greasiness,” Steve says.

There are also 14 craft beers on tap, the biggest selection west of the M1 and at prices to match.

The Wine Barrel

8/59 Railway Street

This Mudgeeraba favourite is now serving breakfast — but probably not as you know it.

Owners Warren and Michelle Carnall and head breakfast chef Andrew Chapman put their heads together to come up with some original morning fare.

The runaway favourite is the Reuben benedict, a take on America’s favourite sandwich, served on a crumpet with poached egg, sauerkraut, fried green tomatoes and thousand island hollandaise dressing.

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Then there’s bao buns with slow-cooked pork rib meat, fried egg, avocado and smoked aioli.

Vegetarians are coming back for the green tea falafel fried rice, sauteed coconut kale, spiced sweet potato, corn, haloumi and poached egg served as a breakfast bowl.

“Breakfast is going really well,” Andrew says. “Now that school is back, it’s taken off. We’ve had a really great response.”

With breakfast served Wednesday to Sunday from 7-11.30am, rest assured The Wine Barrel is still doing its locally sourced, modern Australian tapas style menu by night.