Newest restaurants, bars and cafes on the Sunshine Coast
From authentic Italian dishes to bright flavours from the streets of Vietnam, the Sunshine Coast’s new hospitality businesses are offering some premium dining experiences.
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From a bustling Ocean St to the Insta-worthy views at The Wharf, the Sunshine Coast has a wealth of fine dining locations.
Hospitality gurus have opened new venues across the Sunshine Coast, offering a range of dining experiences and cuisines.
See the newest foodie businesses opened on the Sunshine Coast:
Viet Haus, Ocean St
Hoang Ky Tran and his partner Nhan Huu Phan - known locally as Josh and Alex - opened Viet Haus at Ocean St in July.
The venue is a Vietnamese kitchen and bar serving an authentic menu.
The couple moved to the Sunshine Coast this year and previously Mr Tran had spent 15 years helping his mother run a restaurant in Brisbane.
Mr Tran said they have received good feedback since opening three weeks ago and already have regulars returning.
Alma by Latino, Ocean St
A globe-trotting chef from Costa Rica has opened his first restaurant at Maroochydore where he hopes to bring flavours from his mum’s kitchen to diners.
Alejandro Soto has opened Alma by Latino at the former home of Drunken Dumpling at Ocean St.
The menu features a range of hot and cold meals including Peruvian salmon ceviche, veal marinated with pickled vegetables, empanadas and a Coconut inspired Brazilian seafood stew as well as a variety of snacks.
“I want our guests to feel like they are at my mother’s home, a place where people can enjoy each other’s company in a cosy setting over authentic dishes and a nice drink while the world passes them by,” he said.
Ari Coffee Co, Nambour
Ari Coffee Co opens on Friday, August 4, at Currie St, Nambour serving coffee, pastries and sweets.
Krystal Bartley, 30 started working in the hospitality industry in her late teens but after chasing a nursing career she realised it was not her true passion.
“We just want to serve good food and good coffee for our locals,” Ms Bartley said.
She said she was keen to open her business in Nambour.
“It was always lively and as the years have gone and post covid it’s unfortunately lost a lot of businesses,” she said.
“We want to be a part of the new development in Nambour and bring our passion to its locals.”
Eventually she hopes to also offer brunch and grazing platters.
The Rickshaw, Maroochydore
Maroochydore’s new riverside restaurant that draws inspiration from Asian history and cuisine had its opening weekend completely booked out within 24 hours.
“Serial entrepreneur”, engineer and hospitality boss Kunal Miind is behind The Rickshaw, adding to his six restaurants across Sydney and Brisbane.
Mr Miind was joined by head chef Lucas Doocey and general manager Mick Wallace, who have both previously worked at Ocean St restaurants.
The group put their heads together to take “authentic” Asian cuisine to the next level.
The vision for the restaurant was to pay homage to the role of the rickshaw – a light, two-wheeled cart used in Asian countries – that travels across Asia as the “driver of spices and ingredients”, Mr Miind said.
“We want to transport people to the vibrant streets of Asia,” he said.
The restaurant opened in late May this year.
Paradise Rum Bar and Bistro, Mooloolaba
Sunshine Coast-based distillery Paradise Rum opened its second venue – a new bar and bistro in Mooloolaba – at the end of June this year.
Paradise Rum owners Chris and Cathryn Clyne opened their Warana venue – the Paradise Rum Distillery – in November, 2022 and have had “significant growth and success” since then.
Mr Clyne had transformed the former site of Good Bar Mooloolaba on First Ave into the Paradise Bar and Bistro within 90 days.
Venue manager Simon Jones said they were excited to provide a “unique destination for rum lovers”.
The new venue is a Caribbean-style space with a vibrant, beach-themed interior and the kitchen is serving a modern Australian menu with a “tropical twist.”
“Mooloolaba itself carries a connotation of paradise, which resonates perfectly with our brand name, Paradise Rum,” Mr Jone said.
“We wanted to leverage the association with paradise and create a seamless connection between the location and the experience we offer.”
Hope House Espresso, Mooloolaba
A specialty coffee shop, built with a desire to “bring hope” into the lives of struggling women opened at Alexandra Headland in May.
Mike and Gillian Foster established the not-for-profit Hope House Espresso cafe to provide emergency meals, care packages, counselling services and more to women in crisis.
The idea emerged as the couple, after living on the coast for 40 years, observed inflation and cost-of-living driving now middle-aged women into homeless and financial difficulties.
Mr Foster said he was surprised to find many middle-class people in fear of sleeping in their vans or going to charities to buy groceries.
The couple has already owned a “community-minded business” next door for eight years – the Milk and Beans Coffee House always donated 20 cents from each cup of coffee to support a cause.
The building formerly housed Attic Cafe which was closed in 2022 after 17 years.
Upstairs lies a room to offer job and budget training, counselling or even a space to make a friend, overseen by a team of about 30 volunteers.
Mr Foster said he hoped to partner with other not-for-profit organisations in the region to create a “community support hub.”
Pizzeria Sisily, Golden Beach
A popular Golden Beach cafe known for its authentic Italian pastries has expanded with a brand new pizzeria, bar and restaurant.
Pizzeria Sisily is described on its social media page as the “younger sister” of the beloved Cafe Sisily, owned and run by Giuliana Steppa and her partner Paolo Valvoletti.
The new business, which opened on June 22, is in the same building as Cafe Sisily but located directly behind it, Ms Stepa said. She described it as an authentic Italian pizzeria, bar and restaurant which served everything from pizzas to arancini and a range of local and imported beverages.
This was fuelled by customers throwing their support behind the expansion also, she said.
“They were sort of crying out for something closer to the area that they didn’t have to travel a long distance to go to,” she said.
The response to opening Pizzeria Sisily was “overwhelming in a positive way”, Ms Steppa said, but it was “extremely humbling” to be met with such support.
RB Bar, Mooloolaba
Within 24 hours of launching, Tony Kelly’s upmarket version of his cult-favourite Rice Boi received 1000 bookings.
The restaurateur and businessman behind Rice Boi, Giddy Geisha, Market Bistro, Spero, Bocca Italian and Piggyback opened his latest restaurant, RB Dining, upstairs at The Wharf in Mooloolaba in May.
Mr Kelly said they have had guests asking for Asian food “in the calibre of Rice Boi” in a place with reservations, a win list or more comfortable dining.
“I guess if you take that foundation of smart, modern Asian food and just elevate it to a more formal setting it’s the ultimate Rice Boi package I guess,” he said.
The venue is open seven days a week from 11.30am to 9pm and is located at Level 1, The Wharf Mooloolaba, 123 Parkyn Parade.
The Doonan
A multimillion-dollar luxury outdoor restaurant and bar opened in the Noosa hinterland after a 17-year labour of love.
Queensland family-owned company The Comiskey Group and friends and business partners Josh Jones and Neville Allen opened $65m, two-hectare venue The Doonan on Thursday, March 2.
Every corner of the $65m venue is an “Instagrammer’s dream.”
The Comiskey Group director Rob Comiskey said the Beddington Rd, Doonan project has been years in the making after his family bought the unique three-storey building and property which was formerly a German restaurant back in 2006.
The three-storey building features a bar and kitchen on the first floor, a 50-person function room on the second, and offices and a boardroom on the third.
Co owner Josh Jones, who joined the project in 2015, said there was “nothing else like it” with its plants, upcoming beehives, and onsite produce, including six garden beds growing basil, mint, and cherry tomatoes.
Spill Wine, Maleny
A Brisbane couple opened a “super luxury” wine bar at the Sunshine Coast hinterland where people can buy bottles worth a mouth-watering $1000.
Jamie Fleming and Clare Hutton’s premium wine bar and shop Spill Wine opened in the heart of Maleny in early March, starting with 150 to 200 different wines.
The most expensive bottles – at $1000 a pop – are red wines sourced from Alvaro Palacios from Priorate Spain and Domino de Pingus from Ribera del Duero, Spain.
The entrepreneur said he wanted his venue to be part of the town‘s community, give people access to premium, hand-selected wine, and become known as a go-to stop for wine enthusiasts.
He said he eventually wanted to shelve 350 to 400 different wines.
Ricardos Italiano at Noosa, Mooloolaba
Noosaville stalwart Thomas Corner Eatery reopened in early 2023 with a new name and new concept.
The beloved waterfront restaurant, which was first launched by popular chef David Rayner in 2010 before being sold just as the pandemic hit in 2020 to businessman Nathan Beasley, transformed into Ricardos at Noosa.
Mr Beasley teamed up with Jay Hodmain, owner of Ricardos Italiano in Hervey Bay, to bring the Italian concept down the coast, albeit with a few twists.
“It’s giving the locals, based on the feedback that we got, the food opportunity they’ve been asking for,” Beasley said.
The new venue will focus on seafood with an Italian flair, serving up a selection of pasta, pizza and keenly priced seafood platters using as much local produce as possible.
Ricardos has since opened a venue on the Mooloolaba Esplanade.
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Originally published as Newest restaurants, bars and cafes on the Sunshine Coast
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