Ryan Fitzpatrick to open Lanai Noosa at former Thomas Street Corner site

The riverfront site of a once famous Noosaville eatery is about to get a major facelift with experienced chefs to open a unique modern Australian restaurant.

Lanai Noosa will open in late May 2023.

An iconic Noosa dining spot will be brought back to life with a new restaurant to showcase modern Australian cuisine with a focus on native foods and sustainability opening later this month.

Executive chef and director of The Ohana Group Ryan Fitzpatrick said the new restaurant, Lanai Noosa, will have big shoes to fill given the popularity of the previous eatery Thomas Street Corner at the Gympie Terrace, Noosaville block.

Lanai Noosa chefs Elwyn Watkin and Mr Fitzpatrick said they often visited the former restaurant and were excited to build on what previous owners David and Belinda Rayner had created.

“Being such an iconic Noosa venue many years ago we are really wanting to bring the same vibe as it had previously,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

“The location is quite unique as it is elevated off street level and provides a great view of the river and its surrounds, for the majority of guests.”

Lanai Noosa will feature sustainable and under utilised seafoods as well as local native ingredients.

Mr Fitzpatrick said rather than reinventing the restaurant wheel, they were “polishing it up” and offering something different to diners.

The restaurant will serve “under used” seafood and cuts of meat sourced sustainably, as well as native ingredients from Cooroy.

“We are very fortunate to be working with Sevgen (an indigenous social enterprise) that have Galeru, which is Australia’s largest indigenous owned native orchard,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (above) will work with Elwyn Watkin at new restaurant Lanai Noosa.

“Terri Waller or Aunty Terri runs an amazing organisation, and her team are so knowledgeable and caring when it comes to their produce.

“We are looking at using Davidson Plum, Illawarra Plum, Native Tamarind, Cinnamon and Lemon Myrtles, Blue Almonds, Satin Ash and a few others as the year rolls out.”

Lanai Noosa will take over the iconic Noosa dining spot formerly known as Thomas Corner Eatery.

Mr Fitzpatrick said sourcing seafood from sustainable farms that “do it right” was a main focus of Lanai Noosa.

“It’s basically looking at the product and seeing how the physical environment and people around it are treated, is it better after producing it rather than before? To us that’s what sustainability is,” he said.

Lanai Noosa will open from late May for lunch and dinner from Thursday to Saturday, as well as a long lunch on Sundays.

Originally published as Ryan Fitzpatrick to open Lanai Noosa at former Thomas Street Corner site