Where to eat in beautiful NOOSA!
It has been over 20 years since my family first visited Noosa and in that time we have enjoyed countless family holidays, celebrated my sister’s wedding and enjoyed hundreds of delicious meals at Noosa’s amazing restaurants.
Over the years we have often been asked by friends for our family’s suggestions of where to eat in Noosa so I thought it was about time I shared a blog post dedicated to our favourite Noosa restaurants. All four of the restaurants below are absolute must-visit destinations when holidaying in Noosa and cater beautifully for guests of all ages.
25 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads
Season Restaurant is located on the beach adjacent to Tingirana Resort and opposite the Sofitel. It is a glam and modern space with superb views over Laguna Bay and stunning food.
Season offers all day dining, with breakfast served from 7.30am. There are usually mid-week lunch specials, plus daily Happy Hour.
Our family loves going for lunch at Season to enjoy the views over the beach, but the restaurant is equally gorgeous at night when lit by candlelight.
The emphasis is on local seafood and the Seafood Antipasto, Seafood Curry and Gold Band Snapper are three of our family's all-time favourite Noosa dishes.
The little ones are well catered for too, with classic fish and chips, crumbed chicken and chips, pastas and pizzas on offer.
Seriously good food and wine in a stunning setting, what is not to love?!
49 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads
Bistro C is located right on the boardwalk in Noosa and has a super relaxed and fun vibe, where it is perfectly acceptable to step straight off the beach, beach bucket and spade in tow, and in for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or perhaps an afternoon cocktail.
Our extended family loves going for lunch at Bistro C and has been known on occasion to stay on for Happy Hour, which is offered daily from 3pm - 5pm with fantastic cocktails and food and drink specials. Bistro C's calamari is an absolute must-have dish - served with a chilli, lime and coriander dipping sauce it is tender and delicious. At dinner, the pan (for one or two) of Seafood Spaghetti is a standout. The kids menu features calamari and chips, pasta, parmesan crusted chicken with sweet potato chips, beef taco and more. Our little ones ALWAYS order the calamari and a mango mocktail.
Try and save room for dessert if you can, or perhaps one of Bistro C's Cocktails, (Salted Caramel Colada, anyone?).
75 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads
Sails is an upmarket beachfront restaurant located at the National Park end of Hastings Street, a few doors down from the Surf Club. It boasts uninterrupted views over Laguna Bay and is a magnificent lunch or dinner venue.
The relaxed but professional service, beach frontage and extensive wine list makes it a perfect spot for a long lunch or dinner. (In fact, when we visited Sails during our recent trip to Noosa our little ones lasted a record 3 and 1/2 hours at the restaurant, enjoying their activity packs and some sand play in between their lunch and dessert.)
At our lunch last week we enjoyed some shared starters and entrees including the Sashimi Plate (featuring the freshest Kingfish, Ocean Trout and Mooloolaba Tuna), the Barramundi Dumplings and Duck Arancini. For my main course I chose the Moreton Bay Bug Tail with smoked corn puree and it was absolutely exquisite. Sails offers a delightful children's menu including crumbed local free range pork loin, fish and chips and there is even Eye Fillet and mash for the older kids. You can't leave Sails without trying some of their mouthwatering desserts - our family’s favourite dessert in Noosa is the Sails Chocolate pudding, a soft-centered fondant-style dessert with shards of homemade honeycomb and vanilla bean ice cream. SO delicious.
Sails, you are pure magic! We can't wait to return again soon!
194 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville
www.noosaboathouse.com.au
Noosa Boathouse is a 3-level restaurant, bar and function venue on the river in Noosaville, a 5-minute drive, or 20 minute ferry ride away from Hastings Street. It is known as the floating restaurant as is perched on a pontoon (recycled from the 2000 Olympics media pontoon, no less!) right on the Noosa River. Guests dining at the Boathouse for lunch or dinner are offered complimentary one-way ferry rides on Noosa Ferry and it is such a wonderful way to arrive at the Boathouse. Noosa Ferry leaves from behind the Sofitel and drops you right off at the Boathouse’s jetty. Downstairs at the Boathouse features Little Boaty Cafe, a kiosk for take away fish & chips and the Bistro, which offers an extensive a la carte and groups menu. The middle level is a function space and the top level is a chic Sunset Bar which is open daily at 4pm for sunset cocktails and drinks. We dined in the Bistro last week and enjoyed the most amazing seafood platters. The Boathouse’s ‘Seafood Experience’ is a celebration of Australian seafood and is a 3-tiered seafood platter featuring Moreton Bay Bugs, Mooloolaba Prawns, Queensland Barramundi, Oysters, Spanner Crab Salad, Salt and Pepper calamari, chips, fresh fruits and more. The seafood was utterly delicious, so fresh and flavoursome.
Our little ones loved the Boathouse too - they adored the ferry trip and they loved watching the boats go by, as well as the pelicans landing on the jetty. The Boathouse is a truly unique place, warm and inviting and I highly recommend adding a trip to the Boathouse to your itinerary when you next visit Noosa.
A couple of other spots worth a visit -
- For gelato you can't go past Massimos and Gelatissimo,
- The Noosa Surf Club is a fab spot for an icy-cold drink overlooking the Noosa beach.
- Betty’s Burgers on Hastings Street is perfect for a cheap and delicious burger lunch or dinner.
- Ricky's is another great restaurant on the Noosa River. Perfect for a long lunch or big night out.
- Sails also offers a daily coffee cart from 7am - 11am and is a fabulous spot to enjoy a morning coffee and muffin with a fabulous view.
