We’ve all been there: one minute we’re minding your own business, the next, our heart skips a beat at the sight of our screen alight with “the name” we’d done our very best to forget. Well, good news Gold Coasters, because today we can rekindle our love affair with an old flame (sans regret), because this is one instance where answering the allure of that proverbial ‘u up’ call doesn’t spell big trouble truffle.

Oh yes, friends – if you haven’t yet heard the whispers (good news truffles fast) Mermaid’s beloved Little Truffle Dining Room & Bar is back.. and looking finer than ever #lickslips

Ever since we copped the dreaded ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ when they temporarily shut up shop for renovations late last year, southern Gold Coasters have been nursing the heartbreak of a big ol’ Little Truffle shaped hole in their eats scene.

Local hospo power couple Daniel and Reggie Ridgeway this week unveiled the fresh new facelift for Little Truffle – and it’s every bit as jaw-droppingly good as you’d expect. While at heart, thankfully it’s the same signature cuisine the GC’s fine dining fans have been smitten (some might say obsessed) with for some 13 years now.

Among the impressive culinary empire the duo has since built – BiN 232 Pacific Fair, Palm Beach Avenue and now Kwila Lodge, though for many – much like owner and chef Daniel, our secret soft spot for his OG venture has endured.

The intermission has been hard on all involved, none moreso than Daniel, musing that the 11-month wait has been far too long, “our loyal customers have missed us and we have certainly missed them.”

He adds “but the wait is finally over… We cannot wait to welcome everyone back to see what we have created.”

And with those dark days officially behind us, it is safe to say it was every bit worth the wait.

Little Truffle 2.0 has been treated to a grown-up glow-up to match its refined eats, combining moody Hollywood Glam elements with Jazz Bar vibes for an aesthetic that we’ve officially dubbed ‘Gold Coast Grandeur’.

The suave new space is just about as opulent as our eateries on the GC get – bedecked with opulent baroque mirrors, chandeliers, luxe herringbone floors, strategically draped velvet curtains and two private dining rooms. The second of which remains shrouded in mystery, as a very exclusive vault-vibing space for 20 guests with its own private entry (in sad news for our star spotting ops).

The dream team went to just a little truffle for the revamp – the timing of the massive million-dollar renovation being a tactical move to coincide with light rail works in the area. Stopping just short of a knock-down rebuild, the head-to-toe spruce up features a complete change of layout, new kitchen and a generous, marble bar ample plush seating for the most boujee ‘bar food’ we might ever encounter.

Fans of the signature amuse bouche starter will be relieved to find it has retained its rightful place, so we can pick off exactly where we left off… One taste, and it’s like we were never apart.

With the palette very pleased, move on to entrees such as beef tartare, confit tuna or heirloom beetroot salad, though the pillowy, wood fired focaccia, mozzarella, balsamic appetiser is a little slice of culinary cloud 9.

For the main event, the selection between main and grill & wood fired is every bit as sumptuous as you’d expect. Our flaming hot tip? Don’t make the ‘misteak’ of skipping the beef rib eye on the bone, for 1kg of Cape Grimm and mustard goodness in all its glory.

Though for seafoodies there’s little ‘trout’ the ocean trout made with crustacean mousse line encased in zucchini flowers, all finished in champagne sauce will have you hook, line and sinker.

Finish by diving into the dessert developed by angels themselves, with a raspberry souffle served with white chocolate sauce – though, the strawberries Romanoff also had us under their spell.

Which, fittingly, is exactly what we would say about the new Little Truffle 2.0 experience across the board, tbh.

Where: 2444 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach
When: Lunch: Friday & Saturday 12pm till 3pm, Dinner: Monday – Saturday 5.30pm till late.

Words by Kellie Leader.
Images by Mathilde Bouby.

Over the past couple of years Palm Beach (or Palmy as it’s affectionately known) has well and truly been embracing it’s new found cool kid status.

While we can’t pinpoint the exact moment it officially transformed to ‘it’ suburb, lucky locals have been living large of late, with the emergence of all the beachside haunts to frolic between (though they do have to compete a little more for parking these days).

While in years gone by, the only thing reliably making Palmy a ‘must stop’ destination was a quiet-ish (albeit stunning) beach, and the high chance of catching a red on the way through. With an influx of laidback eateries, noteworthy restaurants, swanky bars and luxe boutiques popping up left right and centre, there’s never any shortage of things to do. These days, we can think of at least 17 epic reasons that make this buzzing suburb THE place to be.

Las Palmas
Overlooking the ocean with the perfect pastel palette, Las Palmas is bringing Latin America to Palm Beach with a share-style menu, made up of mouthwatering flavours and a fresh cocktail list to match. Head in there for a Sunday arvo session or long lunch with your loves. It’ll be your new summer fave for sure.
Where: Level 1, 1097 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

The Scottish Prince
Tucked away, all moody low-lit with wild times written all over it, The Scottish Prince, sister venue of The Cambus Wallace and is one of the best drinking holes we have here on the Coast. It’s primarily a whisky bar boasting over 300 varieties of the tasty tipple plus a perfectly complementary menu including Steak & Ale Pies, Scotch fillets, fish and chips and on Sunday nights, an authentic Taste of Scotland tasting menu. All the very best things. Get in.
Where: 1176 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Palm Beach Farmers Market
The Gold Coast is home to many an impressive farmers market and one of our absolute favourites can be found in Palmy on Saturday mornings. From 6am at Palm Beach Currumbin High School you’ll find fresh local produce, artisan foods, specialty coffee, epic doughnuts, flowers, dog treats, the lot. The perfect way to spend a weekend morning.
Where: Thrower Drive, Palm Beach

Frida Sol
Margaritas and Mexi-eats are some of our favourite things and happily, they’re on offer at Palmy’s delightful upstairs space, Frida Sol. There’s a chilli margarita that’ll knock your socks off and if you perch outside on the deck, a balmy ocean breeze – the combination of which will remind you exactly why you live on the Gold Coast. The perfect time.
Where: Level 1, 1176 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

The Pirate Park
Those with little ones will attest to the fact that the Pirate Park is up there with the best on the Coast. Located right near the water, the park far exceeds anything you ever got to play on as a kid with a pirate ship stuck in the sand and upended wine barrels perfect for all day climbing. If you don’t have any babes, Dune Café is close by as is the sparkling ocean and a dog beach on Currumbin Creek that’s always good for a laugh.
Where: 945 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach (on the left before the Currumbin Creek bridge)

The Collective
No doubt you’ve already set foot inside The Collective more than once and why wouldn’t you with five restaurants to choose from? Open for lunch and dinner, you can stay all day and, as it’s a communal dining setting, you’re bound to make some new friends along the way. So, if you’re in the mood for pizza and tacos, head to The Collective, order both and wash it all down with a cocktail at the rooftop bar.
Where: 1128 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

White Bohemian
It’s every local boho babe’s dream come true. Opened in 2013, White Bohemian stocks all your favourite hippy-esque labels including GD brand Kivari, Byron Bay cult-fave labels SPELL and Arnhem. These guys were one of the first to bring us the magic of the laid-back luxe aesthetic before the #boho trend took over the world (and our wallets), so we trust them and their epic curation of all things effortless style endlessly. There’s homewares too so, you know, prepare to spend up.
Where: Cnr Seventh Avenue and Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Balboa Italian
It goes without saying that if you’ve ever driven through Palm Beach, you’ve definitely laid eyes on Balboa Italian. The beautifully appointed double-storey brick building is in a class of its own serving classic Italian dishes with modern interpretations and the freshest of flavours. It’s worth a visit just to experience the fitout, complete with overhead Vespa and exposed brick walls. The cocktails are unique and the wine selection varied. It’s all good to be honest, get down there.
Where:1069 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Espresso Moto
It’s a cafe crossed with a motorbike workshop and the home of the best banana smoothies on the Gold Coast. That’s right, the best. There is not a single thing not to love about Espresso Moto from their very delicious breakfast goods (the brekky burritos are the bomb), to their use of Allpress coffee and the ever-friendly staff who always say g’day. There’s also a communal dog bed and the beach is right around the corner. So yeah, it’s the best.
Where: 1389 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Suga
A somewhat secret cocktail bar, tucked away on the Gold Coast Hwy, Suga specialises in rum and good times and if you’re keen on either or both of those you should absolutely get down there. They have an impressive cocktail menu plus plenty of epic wines (pet nats, yes please) and beers so no matter what, you’re gonna love it.
Where: 1142 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Good Day Coffee Palm Beach
Launching a cafe in a hip and happening suburb surrounded by competition stiffer than a morning espresso is not for the faint of heart – but ever since they branched out from their OG Tugun location late last year, locals and weary travellers alike have unanimously agreed it’s always a good day for Good Day Coffee Palm Beach. Friendly faces serving Blackboard coffee and other staples like pastries and goat’s fetta laden smashed avo toast – we could easily eat and drink here every day. The epitome of simple eats, and great coffee, done well.
Where: 1073 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Ritual Yoga & Pilates
Found upstairs in a sunlit space oozing chill vibes is Ritual Yoga & Pilates. Owned by sisters Rose and Sophie, Ritual is only a couple of years old but has already become a favourite amongst both Palm Beach locals and those who reside in surrounding suburbs. If you’re in need of some rest and relaxation (or a solid sweat session), Ritual is calling your name.
Where: 9b Palm Beach Avenue, Palm Beach

Palm Beach Ave
PBA is one of those gems that so quickly won our hearts that we seem to forget this pretty-in-pink art deco stunner is only relatively new to Palmy’s ever-growing strip of uber-cool beachside hangouts. One of those venues where it’s 10’s all round, the tropical luxe, chandelier-laden interiors have us swooning every time, and we can never seem to get enough of the knockout food and cocktails (no matter how much we regret it the next morning). Plus they do bottomless brunch, so, need we say more?
Where: 6 Palm Beach Avenue, Palm Beach

Tank Bar & Dining
We can never seem to talk about Tank without the urge to get, well… tanked, which is some fairly genius subliminal marketing if you ask us. In our defense, what else are we supposed to do in a cracking little craft beer bar? We’re certainly not there to lick stamps.

The 10 rotating craft beer taps offers a nice mix of local and international brews, and the laid-back vibes of a modern beach shack style bar a hops, skip and a jump from the ocean are pretty hard to beat. Plus, with two levels, there’s plenty of primo spots to perch up, catch the sea breeze and watch the GC Hwy go by.
Where: 1166 Gold Coast Hwy, Palm Beach

Toro’s Pizza
As we’ve probably already well established by this point, us Gold Coasters are big suckers for a cute fit-out. It’s hard to tell if it’s the perfectly peachy-pink interiors, or the Italian aromas wafting from the kitchen that keep us coming back to Toro’s Pizza like moths to a flame. And spoiler alert: it’s definitely the latter, since there are few smells that compare to that of a freshly baked, still bubbling wood-fired pizza. Carbs, cheese, more cheese, and BYO – this place is what Italian dreams are made of.
Where: Shop 7/2 Eighth Ave, Palm Beach

Costa Taco
Overcoming the momentary temptation to leave this one out (in hopes of greedily keeping more of those highly coveted tables all for ourselves) – but no list about epic Palmy spots would be complete with such a glaring omission. Dishing up authentic Mexican eats, the menu is short but sweet, sticking only to their specialities with a focus on local, seasonal ingredients. Any day featuring beachside, street-style tacos like the zesty Birria Beef (complete with signature consommé to dip), and a coconut marg (because marg) is a very bueno day indeed.
Where: 1136 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Canvas Palm Beach
Who doesn’t love starting their day with a visit to their friendly local barista, with a leisurely peruse of some hand crafted homewares on the side #theperfectmorningdoesexist. And hey, if some of the latter – such as a candle that smells like bliss in a jar, or some cute ceramics – happen to come home with us along with a great cup of coffee, we’ll happily take the dopamine hit while we’re doing out bit to #supportsmall.

For Palmy locals the cute digs and delightful café fare are a definite draw card, but for parents the park proximity makes this spot unparalleled – along with the blissful moment’s peace and quiet babycino buys.

(And yes, we stopped being cool right around the same time we started caring about babycinos and where the good parks are.)
Where: Shop 3, Magnoli Building, 1338 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach

Words by Kellie Leader.

He’s the local restauranteur who has made Gold Coasters dining dreams come true for over a decade and Daniel Ridgeway isn’t done yet.

He opened Little Truffle, four BiN restaurants and Rivea Italian Dining in the last eight years and 2018 will see him gift northern Gold Coasters a rooftop bar and grill.

We chat with Daniel about Rivea’s recent move and what we can expect from soon-to-be-open Gotham Grill & Rooftop Bar in Runaway Bay.

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
About 25 years. I was originally from Victoria and we came back to the Coast when I was about 13. I did go overseas on my travels as a Chef, through Europe, the US, Canada and Asia and then came back to the Gold Coast. After all the travel I didn’t want to go back to Melbourne and thought there was a lot more opportunity on the Gold Coast.

Have you always wanted to be a Chef?
Yeah I have. My family would always ask my older brother what he was going to do for a career. Every month we would go to my Uncle’s house, he was married to a Thai lady and I always used to help her cook, it was one of my favourite things. I remember an argument was going on and my Gran turned to me and said ‘ Daniel what do you want to be’ so I said ‘what am I doing now’ and she said, ‘oh you want to be a Chef’. Everyone asked me my whole life what I wanted to be and I had no idea what I was talking about but I always said I wanted to be a Chef. When the time came, I thought I’d give it a go having no idea what I’d gotten myself into but I just loved it. I was lucky enough to get that buzz out of the service and enjoy it.

How did your career come about?
I went to Tafe on the Gold Coast when I finished school and quickly realised if I was going to make it work I had to be in the best place possible so I started at Royal Pines. That was 20 years ago. From there I realised I liked the fine dining aspect of things and traveled to Melbourne to work in some of the top restaurants down there. Eventually I decided I needed more experience so I traveled to London and worked there for a couple of years in multiple restaurants, then to Canada and back to Melbourne. I was working for a Chef called Andrew McConnell who still has multiple venues down there when I got an opportunity to come up and open Room81 at The Sofitel as the First Chef Cuisine. It was the first time I had been given that role and I loved it and did very well and from there it transformed into doing it for myself.

Why did you decide to open your first venue?
When you open your first one it’s very emotional. You don’t care what anyone tells you, you just want to do what you want to do. No matter what advice you get, you do what you want to do. I opened Little Truffle almost eight years ago. I liked the corner location, there was nothing else around and I wanted a destination restaurant that was still accessible. Honestly back then it was probably the biggest mistake I could have made, it was really quiet and when the busy season came no one knew where we were. The first year was a struggle but I believe if you have the passion and the right product, it will work out. My thoughts are look after the locals first and the tourists are a bonus. Every year has been better and better and last year was probably our best. Now we’ve got Etsu, Glenelg and a bunch of restaurants around us and it’s become a dining hub. Just recently we won Best European restaurant in the country from Restaurant and Caterers so that was a nice little accolade.

How did the BiN phenomenon come about?
After Little Truffle, the focus kind of shifted to share plate dining and food with Asian influences so it was a good opportunity to do something new. We picked a little hole in the wall in James Street, which became BiN 12 – a bar with good food at a reasonable price and that went really well. We opened BiN 72 at The Strand in Coolangatta and got that buzz and just kept opening venues. We did BiN 232 in Pacific Fair and quickly after that BiN 89 in Broadbeach.

Why did you move Rivea Italian Dining to Broadbeach recently?
BiN 89 got hit with those massive roadworks on Surf Parade and we struggled with that, a lot of venues closed down but we pulled through. In that time we opened Rivea Italian Dining in Pacific Fair and that was such a popular venue so we’ve now moved that over to the BiN 89 space and gave it a fresh start. Having BiN 232 at Pacific Fair, less than a kilometre away you can still get your BiN fix. Rivea has been open for about a week now and we’re so thankful. We did a mini refit to give it that Rivea feel which is fresh and inviting. There’s white marble and stone and some dark wood. The cuisine is classic Italian and we just keep it as fresh as possible.

What have you got in the pipeline for this year?
Next month Gotham Grill and Rooftop Bar opens up – it will be mid-March. The one thing no one knows about Gotham is that it’s two levels of dining – so two restaurants in that one building. It will be Gotham Grill, which will be Little Truffle style but more casual, not so fine dining focused. At Gotham Rooftop Bar  there’ll be pizza, pasta, cocktails, wine and draft beer so very casual. There will be two menus and two different styles, it’s pretty special.

Thoughts on the Coast’s dining scene of late?
I think we’re there now, I don’t think it’s a matter of it getting better and better, I think we’re there. Where I think we’re doing the best is breakfast/brunch. That’s something the Gold Coast does better than any city in Australia. That’s one thing I think we’ve nailed almost perfectly. We just need to get ourselves more exposure because everything that opens up now is getting better and better. We’re very excited to be part of it.

Do you have any life advice for us?
Find balance. It’s one thing I still struggle with but I’m trying to add more balance into my life. It’s amazing when you take that time off and do life stuff, you come back and feel so much better than before.

Tell us you favourites on the Coast…
Beach: Burleigh
Café: I can’t just say one, people will get mad. There’s so many to choose from, it’s the best part of the Gold Coast I think.
Restaurant: If I want to go somewhere and be relaxed it’s Itoshin in Mermaid Beach. It’s all about the sashimi and sushi boats there, everything raw is amazing.
How does your weekend usually look: We try to religiously take off Sundays and take the dog to the beach or got to a restaurant. Saturday is my favourite day of the week because it’s purely operational in the restaurant.