Sunshine Coast - Mooloolaba - Restaurants

Mooloolaba has a large selection of restaurants on the Esplanade where it is possible to eat under cover outside or sometimes inside. Although it was usually warm during the week in early September when we were there, there was usually a cool sea breeze at night making it necessary to have some shelter.

The sports clubs provide meals and some members from our cricket team went to the Surf Club for dinner while some of the cricketers stayed for a meal at the Bowls Club, where the opening of the cricket championships was held.

On the first evening we had dinner at Bellissimo, an Italian restaurant on the Esplanade. Robin chose ricotta and sage ravioli while I had a vegetarian risotto - both delicious meals. We therefore had no concerns when that restaurant was chosen as the location for our team dinner the following evening. Robin has chicken parmigiana while I had lasagna - my first choice of lamb shank risotto being unavailable that evening.

Later in the week we visited another Italian restaurant, Bella Venezia, where not only was the food very good but we had a waiter with lots of personality. I chose lamb shanks with mashed potato while Robin enjoyed the fish of the day - parrot fish. I also succumbed to a sticky date pudding - delicious.

There are many fish and chip shops in the Mooloolaba area but we chose to try Beachfront Takeaway Seafood advertised as "the only fish & chips on the beach!!!" They sell a seafood basket with a wide variety of seafood which was our choice one evening when we wanted a quiet, quick meal in our room. On another occasion we purchased takeaway lasagne and gnocchi from Fasta Pasta, just around the corner from the apartments where we were staying.

During the cricket championships lunch was provided. On the rest day on the Tuesday we had lunch at the Coffee Club where Robin had an omelette while I had fruit salad and yoghurt. On the Saturday we returned to the Coffee Club for lunch but left when told that it would take at least 45 minutes for them to prepare / serve a chicken burger and the fruit salad and yoghurt. We had lunch at the Hippodrome Cafe instead.

Although most of the restaurants include fish on the menu it was not until the day before we returned home that we discovered the fish market and fish restaurants on the spit. We had explored the area previously and found lots of boats but did not realise that the continuation of Parkyn Parade eventually led to the restaurants. From the intersection the area looked as if it housed warehouses or factories while the restaurants were further on. The Mooloolaba Fish Market provides a wide range of fresh fish for sale plus a section for cooked seafood to take away or to eat nearby. If we return to the Sunshine Coast we will definitely explore the food options in this area more thoroughly.

The real find was Fish on Parkyn - http://fishonparkyn.com.au/ - a large restaurant specialising in seafood. We made a booking for dinner which proved to be a good move as the restaurant quickly filled with customers. The food was great. We shared entrees of local spanner crab and parmesan pikelets and petuna smoked ocean trout. Both were good but the pikelets were fantastic. My main course of macadamia crusted fresh Cone Bay barramundi on a pumpkin base provided a great combination of flavour.  As it was the final dinner of the holiday we shared the chocolate chip date pudding with ice cream. We partially justified this latter decision as we had walked from the Nautilus to the restaurant (a distance of approximately 1.5 km) and back as well as extending our walk along the Esplanade on our return. Needless to say the pudding was delicious.

Staying in Mooloolaba for a week provided the opportunity to explore only a small selection of restaurants, but it was long enough to conclude that there are some good places to eat. However being used to Port Douglas where the wonderful selection of restaurants is widely promoted, we found it strange that the visitor is left to locate restaurants often by accident.