Sips & Bites: Spring 2026
What’s brewing, cooking and happening…
NEW FLAVOURS
Zibros are back to where it all began. Brothers Dario and Alessio Zichichi are the new owners of Noosa Waterfront Restaurant & Bar by Zibros! Same great faces, refreshed offer including BYO Thursdays with no corkage and Sunday sessions for walk-ins and no surcharge.
Pucca has re-emerged on Gympie Terrace as The Mediterranean offering local produce, cocktails and plenty of Mediterranean joie de vivre. Open lunch and dinner, Wed-Sun.
Laneway Noosa is heading down the road to the old Noosa Bakehouse site on Thomas Street – follow your nose for fresh blooms, brews, bites and more.
Bean Theory on Hilton Tce, Tewantin welcomes new owners Gerry and Tracey.
Let’s Get Roasted and Toasted brings epic, gourmet toasties and barista coffee to Gateway Drive in Noosaville’s industrial estate.
Shopping at Noosa Civic just got more social with The Civic Social offering and all-day menu, super friendly service – plus it’s licensed. Cheers!
Bar Rosi is bringing a Basque breeze to Hastings Street. Expect share plates and drinks with a European flavour. It’s the latest from the team behind El Capitano, Doña Cocina Mexicana and Tanglewood Bakery, with group executive chef Matt Woodhouse steering the menu.
Noosa Chocolate Factory is opening in Bay Village, Hastings St with handmade chocs, Padre coffee plus divine iced and hot chocolate. The Noosaville factory is still the best place to see the artisan goodies being made by hand, including the amazing new Passionfruit Chocolate – 29% cocoa white chocolate; 100% pure freeze-dried passionfruit and coloured by dragon fruit!
Gusto welcomes Executive Chef Ben Fresser and some fresh spring specials and events, including a Bottomless Lunch, Sunday Roast and Sip & Snack Sunsets from 3-5pm weekdays with a drinks-and-nibbles menu, oyster hour ($2.50 a pop) from 3.30-4.30pm, and live music Wednesday and Sunday. (See page 54).
Lucio’s has refreshed both kitchen and front of house, welcoming head chef Tommaso Belforti and restaurant manager Marley Kuruvita (yes, he’s Peter’s son) and new offers, including BYO Thursdays (see page 58) and Sunday Italian aperitivo hour, with complimentary snacks alongside the aperitivo menu. More excuses to drift well beyond midday.
Bandita has welcomed Nicco Fagherazzi to the team (formerly of Nudge Nudge Wink Wink) – don’t miss Sunset Hour 3-5pm.
Choosing what to eat at Flo’s Crêperie just got harder with their divine French classic dishes now added to the lunch menu! Croque, coq and a leisurely glass of something French? Très bien.
Park & Cove welcome new head chef Murray Paterson with 30+ years of experience across Australia and Asia. Don’t forget the Love Noosa Lunch with Ten Acres Sourdough, chef’s snack, main meal + drink. for $38pp, Mon-Fri; your postcode is your passport to 25% off food and drinks on Wednesdays from 5.30pm; and everyday is Social Hour with specials from 4.30-6pm.
SOCIAL SIPS
It’s Happy Days at Miss Moneypenny’s everyday with $3.50 oysters and seasonal spritzers from 3-5pm; Pizza & Pours weekdays, noon-3pm and Fri nights with a signature Napoli pizza, paired with a house wine, beer or spritzer for just $25; plus Bottomless Lunches every weekend from 1-2pm and Dogs on the Deck daily.
Locale’s aperitivo hour runs daily 4-6pm with $8 beers, $10 wines by the glass, $15 spritzes and margaritas, plus a five-for-$35 cicchetti special worth staying for. Try the Hugo Spritz – it’s sure to be a spring hit!
Head to Alsahwa Estate at Palmwoods for Aperitivo Hour, Wed-Sat, 2.30-5pm. Drink specials, bar snacks, dog and kid friendly. Find out why they were awarded Best New Restaurant – Sunshine Coast at the 2026 Hostplus Restaurant & Catering Awards for Excellence.
GONG SHOW
More local businesses have been busy filling the trophy cabinet. CAVU put its Nil Desperandum Rum range against the world’s best at Melbourne Royal Australian International Spirits Awards and won four golds PLUS the title of Champion Australian Distiller (Medium), and, for the second time in three years, the Raymond B “Spike” Dessert III Trophy for Champion Rum, awarded to The Triple Six from The 1871 Club. Meanwhile, Sunshine & Sons are about to release a small-batch Blueberry Gin in honour of the Mundubbera Blueberry Festival.
Bella Venezia just keeps scoring – this time winning Best Specialist Wine List in Australasia at the World’s Best Wine Lists Awards. Cheers to that! See page 76.
Noosa Black Garlic entered seven products at the Royal Agricultural Society NSW Sydney Royal Fine Food Show and walked away with a staggering seven medals – five gold, two silver, a perfect strike rate for every product they entered.
The hinterland is having a moment. The Woodshed at Kin Kin has been named Queensland Restaurant of the Year in the 2026 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards, as well as taking out Best Destination Dining nationally. Chef Oscar Holgado’s seven-course degustation menu where open-fire cooking, pickling and curing add plenty of flavour and character to produce from the restaurant’s garden and local farms, along with sourdough sensations from Richard and Kirsty Mundt of The Bakehouse.
DO NOT MISS THIS EXCLUSIVE EVENT!
Join IN Noosa Magazine for an intimate and unforgettable evening at The Woodshed Kin Kin, awarded Australia’s Best Destination Dining and Queensland’s Restaurant of the Year! Spend an evening fireside with Head Chef Oscar Holgado and experience a seven-course, paddock-to-plate degustation, country hospitality and meaningful conversation. The food. The experience. The conversation.
Thurs 22 Oct, 6pm | The Woodshed, Kin Kin | $200 per person including welcome cocktail, canapés, seven-course degustation and exclusive IN Conversation with Oscar. Accommodation options with a divine farmhouse breakfast are available but limited. Be quick as tickets to this exclusive event are limited and will sell-out! To book visit www.kinkinhotel.com
NOW LOADING…
The Hinterland Craft Beer Festival returns to Eumundi on Saturday 10 October, with local breweries, food trucks, live music, games and an after-party from 8pm. Entry is free from noon to 1pm, $5 at the door thereafter.
Melbourne Cup lunches and Christmas and New Year’s Eve events are selling out quickly! Do not delay – check out what’s on offer and book your favourite venue today. It’s all happening IN Noosa!
Confirm special offers and pricing with venues, as details can change.
