Find the best restaurants in Noosa with these tips for 16 Noosa restaurants from Noosaville to the waterfront. These restaurants, bars and coffee shops will earn a place on your favourites list every time. They are the places I like to eat when I am visiting the region. Seek them out for a stellar dining experience.
New Noosa restaurants
Looking for the latest Noosa restaurants to try? Start with this list of the latest openings.
Bandita
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.
ALBA by Kuruvita
Renowned local chef, Peter Kuruvita has created the ultimate food lovers destination in ALBA. It includes a café, providore, pizzeria and a relaxed all-day bar, which transforms into a stylish restaurant and cocktail bar as the day progresses. The ALBA chefs’ kitchen will be a creative space for cooking classes and private chef’s studios.
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.
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!
Flo’s Crêperie, Noosa Junction
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, Noosa Heads
New Herbert Restaurant in Noosa Junction offers plant-centric food using local, foraged ingredients and farm-fresh vegetables. There are cocktails and an eclectic wine list too.
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.
Noosa Hinterland Brewery, Cooran
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 restaurants in Noosa
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 new Noosa finds that I recommend you check out on your next trip.
Frenchies Brasserie, Noosaville
Anyone for a spa with their coffee? Photo: Kerry Heaney
Fine Coffee and Spa is just over the road from the river, so eat Noosa like a local and plan a stroll along the Noosa waterfront after your coffee.
TIP – Next time you order a coffee, ask for a Magic instead of a flat white. You’ll sound like a cool kid and enjoy a double shot ristretto with equal coffee to milk.
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 a 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.”
Toretilli stuffed with spanner crab at a waterfront Noosa restaurant. Photo: Kerry Heaney
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.
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 definitely 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.
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.
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
At the moment, Pucca is operating on a tasting menu option with three, four or five courses. I chose the four-course option (Priced at $65 per person) because I couldn’t pass up on Aunty Carol’s Love Cake with Rose Almond Milk Ice Cream!
It 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.
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 includes 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.
When it comes to the Persian love cake, I am glad that I chose the four-course option. It is soft and unctuous with coconut ice cream contrasting sharply with the crisp crunch of pomegranate seeds.
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 waterfront 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.
I have been waiting for the restaurant to reopen and could not resist the chance to 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.
Where else can you eat Noosa like a local?
Once you have worked your way through the best restaurants in Noosa, there’s still plenty more to discover. I have been holidaying from one end of the Sunshine Coast to the other for over 30 years, but Noosa is a favourite.
Take a 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.
