All the Gold Coast cafes that opened this year.
All the Gold Coast cafes that opened this year.
Hey look, it’s 2019 and already we’ve hit the ground running with new venue openings so bye New Years diet resolution.
Recently we brought you a list of restaurants that opened in 2018 and, because it’s only fair, here’s a list of the cafes that opened last (eek) year.
There are some goodies down there so get cracking and you are welcome.
Hymn Coffee
Epic coffee and tasty eats came to Tweed Heads in the form of Hymn Coffee, a sweet little café that immediately captured our hearts. The menu is filled with all your favourites, but with a refreshing spin and it’s worth a visit (or ten).
Where: Shop 2, 99 Kennedy Drive, Tweed Heads
Forreal Kitchen
Fresh, nourishing eats that are also a little bit naughty, graced us with their presence at Nobby’s newbie Forreal Kitchen and it’s been busy as a bee every since it opened. There are also deep fried Gaytimes so that’s reason enough to love it.
Where: 28 Chairlift Ave, Nobby Beach (underneath Santorini)
Quade & Co.
It’s a sleek little space that brought tasty Melbourne coffee, and plenty of good vibes to Miami. There’s a sweet mural by local artist Danni Simpson on one wall and simple, easy to eat foods so you don’t feel bad about only consuming coffee for breaky.
Where: 1/2098 Gold Coast Hwy, Miami
The Oak Café
Mudgeeraba gained a new venue in the form of The Oak Café, a homestyle venue bringing beautiful eats (particularly cakes) to the people. All the tasty treats are made using fresh, locally sourced and organic-where-possible produce.
Where: Shop 10, 19 Robert St, Mudgeeraba
Stable Coffee Kitchen
One of our favourite spots on the Coast, Stable Coffee Kitchen opened at Currumbin’s brand new shopping precinct Cornerstone Stores and won our hearts. The fitout is stunning and the menu boasts an emphasis on real, good-for-you foods. Coffee is next-level too.
Where: 570 Gold Coast Hwy, Currumbin
The Black Sheep Espresso Baa
The Cooly gangs’ second venue opened up in Currumbin Waters bringing their tongue-in-cheek humour and tasty eats to even more grateful Gold Coasters. The Crab Omelet is a must-try with Blue Swimmer Crab, asparagus and artichoke rolled into a cheesy, eggy extravaganza.
Where: 27-31 Currumbin Creek Rd, Currumbin Waters
Paddock Bakery Milk Bar
The absolute legends at Paddock Bakery gifted us another section of their much-loved space, this time in the form of a milk bar pumping out incredible milkshakes and smoothies and generally just improving our lives ten-fold.
Where: 20 Hibiscus Haven, Miami
Ocean 4218
A new beach-inspired brunch spot for Mermaid Beach, Ocean 4218 are doing their bit for the Earth and serving up delicious eats at the same time. There’s no plastic in the café at all and a percentage of ALL profits are donated to 4ocean.
Where: 1A/2475 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach
Daymaker Espresso
A sleek, industrial-style space opened in Miami bringing a moody aesthetic and some really great coffee. There’s a menu that fully caters to vegans but with optional meaty extras and it brought something a little bit special to Miami in our opinion.
Where: 44 Pacific Ave, Miami
First Fruits Specialty Coffee Cafe & Roastery
A second venue for the much-loved Ashmore alumni, First Fruits opened in Labrador bringing, yep, specialty coffee to the caffeine lovers. They also do tastings and workshops centred about coffee things and it’s a fun time.
Where: 129-133 Olsen Ave, Labrador
The Milkman’s Daughter
An entirely vegetarian venue brought to you by the clever gals who also gave us FuFu Chinese Diner, Poke Poke and Bonita Bonita (love you all). The menu is a delight, with huge delicious dishes and, of course, one of the coolest fitouts around.
Where: 43 Alfred Street, Mermaid Beach
Mr Buttergoods
Pastry heaven came to Palm Beach and it was known as Mr Buttergoods, a sweet café by the gang at Lester & Earl and making all your sweet treat dreams come true. Think Curly Wurly Eclairs, pulled pork sausage rolls and fresh baked bread. BRB, going right now.
Where: 1097 Gold Coast Hwy, Palm Beach
Doko Demo V
A lovely little plant-based café came to Miami mid 2018 delivering all of the vegetarian eats to a very appreciative crowd. The menu is both breaky and lunch all day and features things like burgers and tacos and all the best ones.
Where: 1908 Gold Coast Hwy, Miami
The Allotment Café
Melbourne foodie royalty moved into Reedy Creek and with it came a community-friendly space drawing crowds for their organic, ethically grown coffee and an ever-changing menu that is sure to delight your tastebuds.
Where: Shop 7/50 Woodlands Drive, Reedy Creek
Espresso Moto
Because the whole world loved their first (Palmy) venue so much, the team at Espresso Moto took up a second space down Coolangatta way, also offering up extremely tasty eats and some of the best coffee around. Huge fans.
Where: 5 Dutton Street, Coolangatta
Brio Emporium
Another second venue, this time for healthy food connoisseurs Brio Emporium who are all about low carb, high fat menu eats that are also gut friendly. There are buildable bowls and their famous Fay Boy Sundaes (won’t make you fat) and it’s all very yummy.
Where: Treetops Plaza, 7 Classic Way, Burleigh Heads
Paris Brest
A little Parisian finery came to Southport delivering us tasty French pastries of the very highest quality. It’s the work of a real life French pastry chef and everything he touches turns to gold so get there asap.
Where: 18 Young Street, Southport
The LeanChef Kitchen
Chevron Island got a goodie with the opening of The LeanChef Kitchen, a venue boasting a beautifully balanced menu including both healthy and treat yo’self dishes. The coffee is organic and it’s a bustling little hub bursting with good vibes.
Where: 1/64 Thomas Drive, Chevron Island
Seadog Burleigh
Less of a café, more of a hole-in-the-wall takeaway coffee spot, Seadog is brewing some of the best cuppas around and all from within an old ATM transformed by savvy Millennial Brodie Green. Love this one.
Where: 50 James St, Burleigh Heads
Sens Coffee Co.
Broady gained Sens Coffee Co. in late 2018 and it’s the perfect addition to the little strip underneath the Meriton with delicious dishes and steaming cups of Campos Coffee. It’s the crews’ second venue with more to come this year.
Where: Shop 9, 2669 Gold Coast Hwy, Broadbeach
Cubby Bakehouse
Technically this little beauty is in NSW but, since it’s the little sister of our beloved Bam Bam Bakehouse, Cubby gets a spot here. With water views, the best pastries on the Coast and more good vibes than you can poke a baguette at, there’s not reason to not be there right now.
Where: 162 Chinderah Bay Drive, Chinderah
Morena Espresso
A café slash creative community hub is up there with our favourite things and Morena Espresso is exactly that. Takeaway coffee is the name of the game with local goodies on offer for purchase and workshops soon to be available too. Fun.
Where: 2550 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach
Monty’s Alley
Just squeezing in to Mermaid Beach was Monty’s Alley, a little alleyway coffee spot with lots of soul. They’re serving up tasty brews, generous helpings (thanks Nan) of tasty eats and all the good vibes one would of expect of a Mermaid venture.
Where: 9/2462 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach
Highline
Palmy got a sweet newbie right at the buzzer with Highline, a vintage beach-shack inspired space taking up the spot where Borough Barista once lived. They’re pumping out epic coffee and a compact, impressive menu filled with locally sourced, delicious goodies.
Where: Shop 5, 1132 Gold Coast Hwy, Palm Beach
Oh that’s it. What a line up. Bring on the coffee-induced jitters. Bye.
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
Oh hey Mermaid, long time no see, missed you. Seriously though, it’s been awhile since we discussed the happenings of the suburb with the prettiest name in the world (biased) but here we go.
Morena Espresso quietly opened their colourful doors last week adding to the rapidly growing creative scene Mermaid has going on.
The space, on the corner of the Gold Coast Highway and Cronulla Ave (where Hula Girl Espresso once lived) is stunning, filled with locally made goodies you may purchase while patiently (haha) waiting for your cup of caffeine.
Made of two levels, there’s plenty of spots for relaxing, including a bright pink couch, a communal table set up down the centre of the space and some little tables set amongst said purchasable goodies. Brands on offer include Drift Trading Co. candles, Ecua Andino Hats, Rustic Peppermint and Kippy Skateboards to name a few local legends.
Outside, an eye-catching mural has been painted by local artists Fa Bio and Barbara Farias Lama and it’s all Spanish animals and palm trees and a pretty brunette drinking a tasty cuppa. It’s one of the prettiest on the Coast.
Morena Espresso is the kind of place you can pop in for a quick takeaway coffee or pull up a spot and spend all day working (slash making a list of all the pretty things you want to buy).
Obviously, takeaway coffee is the name of the game and the beans on offer are Byron Bay’s Marvell St.
At the moment, eats are limited to a few raw treats but in the next week there’ll be an array of tasty toasties on offer as well as smoothies, acai bowls and more raw treats. All perfect for feeding your hungry self on the go.
Not only eats and espresso, Morena will soon play host to creative workshops including song writing and salsa dancing. There’ll also be art exhibitions by local artists and all of those sounds like a very good time to us.
Pop down and say hello to the people bringing a little bit more colour, and a little bit more caffeine to your day.
What would we do without them.
LOCATION: 2550 Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach
HOURS: 6am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 2pm Saturday
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
There are very few things in the world we love more than baked treats and in particular, those crafted by people who love them as much as we do (probably more in fact).
So, it is with as much happiness as we can possibly muster, that we bring you this tale. It’s a tale of next-level baked goods, made by the best in the business and, as of this very day (November 7th) they are yours for the tasting.
After what feels like a lifetime of waiting (for them mostly, but also us, the baked goods lovers) Cubby BakeHouse swung open their stylin’ doors in Chinderah today and if anything has ever been worth the wait, it is this.
The southern newbie is the work of Ursula and Ben Watts, of Bam Bam Bakehouse fame, so you know it’s worth the (actually quite short) drive down to Chindy.
The space is directly opposite the Tweed River with a delightful little breeze blowing over to take the edge of this unnecessarily scorching heat we’re currently experiencing.
As you would expect, Cubby is both cosy and stylish with an intricately tiled floor reminiscent of a pretty puzzle, wooden furniture accents and a few perfectly placed pieces that give a nod to the local area and the Bakehouse’s laidback, waterview vibes.
An antique bakers’ trolley is home to some cascading greenery, a high ceiling with exposed beams pays homage to the original bakery tenants (over 100 years ago) and repurposed Tweed River crab pots made into light fixtures complete the picture. The style is similar to that of Bam Bam’s but the little space certainly has a charm all it’s own.
Now let’s get to the part we’re all most excited about shall we?
The menu is an absolute dream and that cabinet stocked with freshly made baked goodies is all the best things in the world.
The star of the show at Cubby, in terms of sweet treats, is the Vanilla Slice and thank you food Gods for you have truly smiled upon us. It’s light and soft and sweet and melt-in-your-mouth and we love it so much.
Savoury-wise, the baguette is your new best friend. Ben travelled to France for what he can actually claim to be work, to learn the art of baguette making from a French baker and of course, he absolutely nailed it.
Baguettes are scattered throughout dishes on the menu and every single one is constantly being batched as they say (baked to us regular folks) throughout the day. Every single thing in the place is actually.
Meaning baguettes, breads and sweet treats will always be of the freshest, crispiest, most delicious variety. Because that is how they do.
Oh and another absolute delight is the Banh Mi which comes in, get this, Karaage Chicken and Pork flavours and probably get one of each.
You may also pop in, grab a coffee and a baggy (as baguettes are affectionately known there), some cheese and some salami from the cabinet and head across to the river for a DIY picnic. But also go back for dessert afterwards.
It’s happy days down south a smidge guys, pop it on your weekend to do list and don’t forget to bring us back some samples.
Ta, bye.
LOCATION: 162 Chinderah Bay Drive, Chinderah
HOURS: Wednesday to Sunday 5.30am to 3pm
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
If there could be an Espresso Moto in every suburb that would suit us just fine thank you very much. For now though, we’ll settle for the two that make our lives infinitely better (and more caffeinated). The OG in Palmy and now, a fresh little newbie in Coolangatta.
Yes it’s true; the much-loved venue has opened a second venue on Dutton Street where That Blue House once lived. It’s a huge gain for the Cooly locals because a. All Press Coffee is life and b. the EM crew are some of the best folks around.
The team swung open their second set of doors a couple of weeks ago and the space they’ve occupied is the perfect blend of cool for their vibe. Which is of course, all of the motorbike memorabilia. If you’ve visited the Palmy site you’ll know the space boasts a bike workshop in the back dedicated to restoring classics.
Down south you’ll find shelves stacked with helmets, oil cans and various other bike-related things Dad won’t be happy I don’t know the name of.
The menu and feel of the newbie is the same but both venues are getting a menu revamp in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, head down there and try these goodies before they leave our lives forever.
Healthy ones first and this is a D E L I C I O U S dish while also helping with that shredding for summer thing people do. Hooray? It’s called Fresh Avocado Salsa and it’s house-made corn, basil and almond pesto tossed through spinach leaves and topped with pepitas on, get this, house-baked activated charcoal ciabatta toast. It’s a mouthful in every sense of the word.
The Eggs Benedict are some of the best around with fresh house made hollandaise (love you), house-baked ciabatta and definitely go the smoked salmon.
Last but absolutely not least is BANOFFEE FRENCH TOAST and be still our hearts. It’s a tower of sweet, sweet goodness served with all of the fresh caramel sauce and if you licked the plate we would never judge.
As mentioned, Espresso Moto serve All Press Espresso out of New Zealand (because they’re good at everything) and it’s definitely a fave.
So there you have it, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll make a date with Cooly this weekend.
LOCATION: 5 Dutton Street, Coolangatta
HOURS: 6am to 1.30pm
Words and photos by Kirra Smith
