Noosa’s Best-Kept Secrets: The Best New Restaurants in Noosa

Discover the best new restaurants in Noosa! From Hastings Street to Noosaville, Doonan and beyond, I’ll help you find the best bars, restaurants, and coffee spots to become your new favourites. Enjoy a stellar dining experience in this beautiful region!

Park & Cove Noosa 

Matso’s Eumundi.

LATEST  New Noosa restaurants

Matso’s Eumundi

Matso’s, the renowned Australian alcoholic ginger beer brand established in Broome, WA, has opened its second Australian outlet in Eumundi. An extensive renovation and extension of the historic Joe’s Waterhole pub in Eumundi’s main street, this new pub boasts an engaging, family-friendly beer garden, a well-stocked bar, great food options, and a lively pool room. The expansion, which includes a brewery, is all at the rear of the property leaving the front of Joe’s Waterhole mostly untouched. The menu is crafted with inspiration from local ingredients, promising a culinary experience that celebrates the flavours of the region. Do try the bug rolls which use premium WA lobster.

Make your Matso’s visit into a stay with a super sleep at HOLA Eumundi.

Chinadina, Noosaville

Prepare to embark on a culinary journey to the heart of Hong Kong with the latest venture from the talented team behind Noosaville’s beloved Gusto Restaurant. Situated in the heart of Noosaville, this new establishment promises an exquisite Cantonese dining experience, showcasing the finest fresh seafood and locally-sourced produce. Chinadina is delightful addition to Noosa’s vibrant dining scene that’s set to captivate food lovers with its refined flavors and authentic Hong Kong-inspired cuisine.

Bask Restaurant, Peregian Beach

Formerly nestled in Eumundi, Bask Restaurant is a paddock-to-plate gem that has relocated to Peregian Square Shopping Centre and blossomed into a culinary paradise offering an expanded array of food, wine, and cocktails. Their seasonal menu, meticulously crafted to be shared, invites you to savor every moment of a leisurely lunch or dinner, making it the perfect destination for indulgent gatherings and unforgettable dining experiences.

Park & Cove Noosa Restaurant Table Spread

More New Noosa restaurants

Want to eat at the newest Noosa restaurants?

Hastings Street

Little Sparrow

Little Sparrow, newly opened on Hastings Street in Noosa, offers a wide variety of dining experiences. Start your day with breakfast and lunch, then as the sun sets, enjoy an authentic Greek Seafood feast. Enjoy a relaxed brunch, a midday pick-me-up, or a sophisticated evening out. Little Sparrow has something for everyone!

Locale Noosa

Marking a decade in existence, Locale, a Hastings Street Italian restaurant, has been renovated to a higher standard. The restaurant features green velvet banquettes curved into cozy seating, sheer curtains, dark timber panelling, and floors, all illuminated by warm ambient light. Recently, Locale was awarded Three Goblets in the Australian Wine List of the Year, making it one of eight restaurants in Queensland to receive such honour.

Park & Cove

Park & Cove is the newly reimagined dining experience at Peppers Noosa.  It’s a little walk up the hill from Hastings Street to find this one, but those steps will mean you can indulge a little extra with a clear conscience. This is sustainable farm-to-table dining with an emphasis on the Sunshine Coast’s unique flavours, championing local producers,  local farmers, wineries, and distilleries and making the most of the region’s rich eco-system. The culinary team is spearheaded by talented chef and third-generation Noosa local Andrew Wilcox bringing genuine passion for the region and its vibrant produce to the seasonal menu. Park & Cove’s collaboration with Happy Pops gives the children the perfect incentive to finish their dinner and pick their own topping for an ice-cream dessert. Guests can try a Daintree
Chocolate Melting Moment, which Mr Wilcox predicts will have you back the next night for another helping.

Sails Wine Bar, Hastings Street

With the opening of Sails Wine Bar, the renovation of Netanya Noosa is complete.  This plush bar, which used to be known as Rumba,  has cosy velvet banquets set against rustic stone floors and serves over around 40 premium wines by glass courtesy of a Coravin wine preservation system.  The impressive cellar holds one of Queensland’s largest single wine collections with over 600 wines on the inventory.

Knock Knock, Hastings Street

Perched above the bustle at 18 Hastings St, you’ll find a little hideaway bar Knock Knock where you can sit back and watch the world pass by below. With bright interiors and creative cocktails, Knock Knock is Noosa’s newest dedicated bar space.  You’ll find local wines and a selection of small-plates designed for grazing with oysters, tacos, arancini, gnocchi, chicken wings and beef burger, at any time of the day or night. Book online at Knock Knock.

Milk Bar, Bay Village

Thoughtfully re-imagined, this milk bar/grocer in Hastings Street’s Bay Village features locally sourced produce, everyday essentials, curated pantry items and freshly made food. Convenience has never been so luxurious. Pick up all your essentials at Milk Bar Grocer.

The Spit Van

Stroll down the Noosa spit to where the river meets the ocean and you will find the Spit Van. Enjoy ice cream, coffee, and toasties to keep you fuelled throughout the day. The Spit Van are proud members of Plastic Free Noosa!

Noosaville

Team a meal in Noosaville with a stroll along the Noosa River. I like walking here at all times of the day, but the Noosa River sunrises and sunsets are especially beautiful!  The sound of the parrots in the trees in the late afternoon is amazing.  It’s a great place to walk your dog too.

Lanai Noosa

Lanai Noosa sits along Noosa River and serves up a selection of share-style dishes crafted by local chef Ryan Fitzpatrick. The menu is a celebration of the region, featuring sustainably sourced seafood, native ingredients, and artisan products.

Rickys 

Just when we thought the divine Rickys Noosa couldn’t get any better, they proved us wrong! Rickys Noosa has recently completed an extension of their beautiful restaurant, creating more space and even more absolute Noosa River Frontage.

Lucio’s

Sydney’s Italian institution Lucio’s has opened an Aperitivo bar with river views at the Noosa Marina.  The restaurant is run by Lucio Galletto’s two children, Michela and Matteo, and Matteo’s wife Dieuwke Albertsma, who was a chef at Lucio’s for seven years.

Seabourne Distillery

Pull up a chair and enjoy an exciting gin-blending class, an interesting distillery tour or simply sip on Seabourne’s signature gins. You can find Seabourne Distillery tucked amongst the creative spaces of Rene Street, Noosaville.

Bandita, Noosaville

Gympie Terrace in Noosaville has a new Mexican restaurant from Victorian favourite Jason Jones.  Known for his popular restaurant Mamasita, Jones has taken over the old Lazy River Bar & Bistro site and filled it with Mexican food created with fires and smoke.  It’s all about tostadas, quesadillas, lamb ribs, ceviche and oysters. If you’ve been dining in Singapore, you may have stumbled across his Mexican restaurants there. They include Lucha Loco, Chico Loco and Super Loco.  Look for Jones and his wife, Amy Watts, in Bandita.

Noosa Junction

Noosa Junction is the shopping area before you go up the hill towards the beach and Hastings Street. Parking is a little easier here during peak periods and there’s often a bus which will take you into Hastings Street. I like to check out what’s new in the Junction’s IGA store.  They have a great selection of high-quality local products at reasonable prices.  There’s also quite a few women’s clothing stores and a surf shop.

Coya Noosa

Find Coya Noosa on a coveted corner position in Noosa Junction´s thriving fairy-lit Arcadia Walk precinct. This modern Peruvian eatery with coastal styling, bold flavours, globally-curated interiors and laidback atmosphere. The menu features a selection of cured ceviches, traditionally cooked meats and rice dishes, and interesting pisco cocktails.

Nilla´s Pantry

Located next door to Vanilla Food in Lanyana Way, opposite Noosa Fair shopping centre, Nilla’s Pantry is stocked with a tempting array of healthy baked treats and pantry provisions and offers a catering menu featuring a selection of savoury tarts, salads and desserts, all in the same wholefoods, vegan, paleo and superfood style that Vanilla is known and loved for.

Flo’s Crêperie

If you love crepes, you will be excited to know that Flo’s Creperie is very serious about crepes! From savoury to sweet to vegan crepes, there is something for everyone! They also have a delicious cocktail menu to compliment your crepes.

Herbert Restaurant

Herbert Restaurant offers plant-centric food using local, foraged ingredients and farm-fresh vegetables. There are cocktails and an eclectic wine list too.

South of Noosa

Head south of Noosa to find a stretch of beachside villages with high quality dining.  My favourites are Sunshine Beach and Peregian.

Mariella Mexicantina

New in the seaside village Peregian Beach is Mexican taqueria and bar Mariella Mexicantina. Here you can retreat into a leather-lined banquet within the on-trend Mexi-Mediterranean-inspired interior with a crisp cocktail. Browse the menu of updated traditional Mexican street food, including ceviches and inventive tacos.

The Doonan

Noosa Country

Step outside Noosa and Noosaville into Noosa Country, and you’ll find authentic eateries that focus on the flavours of the region.  This area is perfect for roadtripping and I’ve done many fabulous trips through here.  Try this Noosa Country Drive.

Catbird Restaurant Collaboration

Catbird Restaurant at the Fairhill Native Botanic Gardens has teamed up with Three Little Birds, a First Nations catering company, to create a menu featuring locally-sourced, homemade, seasonal and Indigenous produce. 

The Doonan

Noosa Hinterland Brewery

This family-owned Noosa Hinterland Brewery and taproom in Cooran, is located in a significant heritage-listed building. Try their handcrafted beer and enjoy the atmospheric location.

Above: Salmon tartare and a cheese souffle at Frenchies Noosaville restaurant.

How to eat Noosa like a local at the best Noosa restaurants

Canny Noosa locals know where to find the best food in town all year round. Try some of their favourite haunts along the Noosa River waterfront at Gympie Terrace, in the industrial area of Noosaville, and back from the beachfront at Noosa Junction. These are my super eight Noosa finds that I recommend you check out on your next trip.

Frenchies Brasserie, Noosaville

Noosa Waterfront Restaurant

I can’t believe that I didn’t know about Noosa Waterfront Restaurant, but there it is!  This Noosaville restaurant is a gem on the Noosa River at the top end of Gympie Terrace near Noosa Yacht & Rowing Club.

 Chef Andrea Ravezzani. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Chef Andrea Ravezzani is Italian by birth and frequently travels back to see his extended family.  His food is a thoughtful mix of local produce with Italian flavours. Think plump toretilli stuffed with spanner crab combined with premium Taggisasca olives and tomato crab butter.  (I will be sharing this recipe soon)

Andrea says other chefs dream about the quality of the produce that he finds in Noosa. “Less is more.  I like working with four or five ingredients, and I don’t throw anything away,” he says. “You don’t need a battle in your mouth.”

Decorating the plate are herbs from Andrea’s own garden grown by his father-in-law.  Other seasonal produce comes from local organic grower Falls Farm.

TIP: Try Noosa Waterfront Restaurant for lunch or dinner. It is especially pretty here during the day, with a large lawn area shaded by oversized Moreton Bay figs.

 Toretilli stuffed with spanner crab at a waterfront Noosa restaurant. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Jungle & Co, Noosa Junction

If you are not feeling tip-top when you walk into Jungle & Co, you will be when you leave!

Jungle & Co-owner, cookbook author, gut-health specialist, and nutritionist Vladia Cobrdova is brimming with good health and enthusiasm to share her plant-based cuisine.

Jungle & Co is one of the best cafes in Noosa for healthy options.  Photo: Kerry Heaney

 Vladia Cobrdova at Noosa cafe Jungle & Co. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Located inside The Pavilion in Noosa Junction, Jungle & Co could be Australia’s first gut-health bar. Here you will find local, seasonal produce such as spray-free oranges, lemons and limes from Woombye, Yandina passionfruit, carrots from the Scenic Rim, Chevallum mushrooms and Eumundi vine-ripened tomatoes. This is a place where you can eat Noosa like a local. There are also Bunya Farm pastured eggs and honey from Castaway Beach.

 Enjoy a fresh smoothie at Noosa Junction cafe Jungle & Co. Photo: Kerry Heaney

This is a place where you can top up with a smoothie or enjoy Vladia’s flavour-filled vegan cuisine.  I tried one of her collagen-based drinks and learned so many tricks on using vegetables during a short cooking lesson.  Check the Jungle & Co Facebook for more cooking lessons.

After holidaying in Noosa for 18 years, Vladia opened Jungle & Co two years ago and never wants to leave.

TIP: Look out for Vladia’s Seasonal Wellness Box, which is packed full of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Boiling Pot Brewing Co, Noosaville

Boiling Pot Brewing Co happened when John Scott Madill finally decided to follow his passion for beer and opened a craft brewery. It is a relaxed and welcoming space with a striking street art wall and a beer garden where you can watch the nightly bat migration (which inspired its own dark ale) at sunset. Although the beers are inspired by local flavours, this Noosaville restaurant menu is European with a range of pizzas and platters designed to share.  The German chef has also included German sausages and sauerkraut.

 Noosa Restaurant Boiling Pot Brewing Co. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Brew Master Petro kindly matched his beers, Bat Migration, Guava Sour, 22 Patels, Mary Valley Farm House Ale, Best Behaviour and Rye Voltage, to the share plates of oysters, smoked trout, and pizza that I tried.  My favourite beer is the Guava Sour which includes both guava and yoghurt!

Boiling Pot takes its name from the lookout on the Noosa National Park coastal walking track where the view ranges from Noosa North Shore to Tea Tree Bay.   This is an excellent place for whale watching too.

Wall art at Boiling Pot. Photo: Kerry Heaney

The brewery is open Thursday to Sunday.

TIP: To eat Noosa like a local, find Boiling Pot (130A Eumundi-Noosa Rd, Noosaville) the first time (unlike me) turn left into Venture Drive and it is right on the left just before the corner. There is a drive-in car park too.

Noosa restaurant Pucca

Puca, Noosa Junction

If you are looking for Butter Chicken, keep going. Still, if the idea of modern coastal Indian food with a boutique gin bar takes your fancy, have I got somewhere for you! Chef Neale White started his career in London, England, more than 20 years ago, training under notable chefs such as Gordon Ramsey, Marcus Wareing, Stephen Bull and Richard Corrigan. With its rattan chairs, lush greenery and cool coastal décor with a foot-tapping Motown playlist, Pucca does not look Indian. It is not until the trademark double-handled metal plates start to arrive on the table that the secret is revealed.

Buffalo fillet tartare at Pucca. Photo: Kerry Heaney

My meal started with puff ball Dad’s Puchkas, spicy lamb and mint curry puffs and a plate of crisp fried okra chips. Chef Neale likes to make the food his father enjoyed and finished with Aunty Carol’s Love Cake with Rose Almond Milk Ice Cream!  Pucca’s signature fermented beetroot dish with toasted puffed rice looked amazing and tasted exactly the same.  There is also a baked scallop dish and buffalo fillet tartare with hints of spice.

 Dad’s Puchkas at Pucca. Photo: Kerry Heaney

The third course was a fragrant Mooloolaba prawn curry, veal shin Masala and a layered buttered paratha that is both crisp and soft at the same time.  I would return for this alone! We cannot finish all the dishes, so the waiter kindly whisks them away, and they return in take-home containers for tomorrow’s lunch. The Persian love cake is soft and unctuous with coconut ice cream contrasting sharply with the crisp crunch of pomegranate seeds. This is one of the Noosa restaurants that deserves a place on your list.

TIP:  Easy parking is available in a car park behind the restaurant.

Third course on the four-course menu at Pucca. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Noosa Boathouse, Noosaville

When it comes to Noosa restaurants, Noosa Boathouse (194 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville) has an enviable position floating over the river.  Surrounded on three sides by water, even the pelicans look in longingly at the lunch menu. Executive Chef Shane Bailey works closely with local suppliers and offers a premium selection of local seafood along with other meats.

Noosa locals Zeb Gilbert and Deb Caruso enjoy the seafood platter at Noosa waterfront restaurant, Noosa Boathouse. Photo: Kerry Heaney

The seafood tower for two was a natural choice here. It came laden with freshly shucked oyster, plump Mooloolaba prawns, Moreton Bay bugs, tender Fraser Isle spanner crab, battered fish and prawns, and salt and pepper calamari.  It was almost too much to eat, but we did our best!

TIP: The Sunset Bar on the top deck is a local favourite and promises the best sunset views in town. Eat Noosa like a local here with a drink and charcuterie or chilled prawns.

Noosa Boathouse on Noosa River. Photo: Kerry Heaney

Sunshine Beach Surf Club, Sunshine Beach

The Sunshine Beach Surf Club is a local institution that has recently undergone a significant renovation resulting in a stylish new-look building. If you want to eat Noosa like a local, you really have to dine at a surf club. During the day, the million-dollar views of Sunshine Beach below are stunning, and it’s also a perfect sunset drinks spot. Do try their signature Nasi Goreng.  It comes with pork belly, coriander salad and a fried egg.  I took the additional king prawn option as well and was delighted with the authentic flavours.

TIP: The Sunshine Beach Surf Club courtesy bus runs from Peregian Beach Hotel to Noosaville Yacht and Rowing Club. Call the Surf Club to book a seat.

Nasi Goreng at Sunshine Beach Surf Club.

What else can you do in Noosa?

Once you have worked through the best Noosa restaurants, there’s still plenty more to discover. I have stayed from one end of the Sunshine Coast to the other for over 30 years, but Noosa is a favourite. Look at my top things to do in Noosa Heads, try the Noosa Heads Distillery, explore the Peter Phillips Art Gallery and enjoy your time in this fabulous part of the world. Explore the region with this drive that takes you on a Gympie to Noosa food trail which includes more Noosa restaurants to try.