With a recent flurry of new restaurant and café openings, the foodie scene in Sunshine Beach is experiencing a resurgence! Take a culinary adventure through the seaside village, where the sun, sea and exciting new flavours converge to create and unforgettable dining experience. Come along with us and discover what’s new and great to eat in Sunshine Beach!
Part restaurant, part bar, and part art gallery (and one hundred percent kid-friendly), Sunshine Beach’s newest dining destination has opened in the space occupying the old Sum Yung Guys original address – and it’s gorgeous. With earthy-hued tones, exposed brick details, blonde timbers, pale billowing linens, and local artwork on the walls, the interiors at Forty-Six are the perfect dreamy backdrop for all-day coastal dining in Sunshine Beach. The bar seating overlooking Duke St is back and it’s the ideal spot to sip on an afternoon cocktail with charcuterie board or fresh Pacific oysters, while watching the village hum along below. The food is suitably delicious, with modern-Australian favourites designed to share, like hand-cut pasta with ragu, BBQ Mooloolaba prawns, and Barramundi wings, accompanied by a wine list of interesting natural and old-world wines. Kids will love the woodfired pizzas, accompanied by a Bluey or Barbie-inspired mocktail (complete with a real-life giant bubble on top), and they can finish it off with a Maleny Dairy gelato from the striped ice cream trolley!
Previously light on healthy, convenient takeaway options, this gut-friendly hole-in-the-wall café is a very welcome addition to Sunshine Beach village's Duke St precinct. You’ll find nothing but delicious real food here, with their fresh produce sourced exclusively from local farms and providers. The philosophy means you can expect a seasonally changing selection of freshly prepared salads, made-from-scratch curries, gourmet toasties, barbecued meats, organic bone broth, pressed juices, and a selection of iced teas. There’s also an Indonesian flavour to the menu, with delicious rotating favourites like Turmeric Lemongrass Beef Curry and Macadamia Satay Indonesian Chicken. Or choose from a whole fridge full of pre-prepared take-home meals, condiments, and gourmet grazing boxes, with a handy online ordering system that’s a real gift to busy people.
Although not technically new, this tiny 14-seat home-style restaurant is so tucked away at the quiet end of the village that you could literally blink and miss it. Delicious Middle Eastern-inspired dishes are backed up by outstanding, personal service in this tiny destination restaurant, while the wine list features a tightly edited selection of interesting wines that perfectly complement the food. The one-chef kitchen pumps out a rotating, seasonally influenced menu of dishes like Line Caught Pearl Perch with confit leeks, puy lentil and lemon, and Riverine Short Rib with oyster mushroom, horseradish, and salsa verde. The vintage homestyle desserts shine brightly here, with favourites including Chocolate Brownies with Hoky Poky ice cream, and Cheesecake mousse with strawberry and almond crumble.
This Pan-Asian destination has stood the test of time in Sunshine Beach, and their frequently updated, seasonal menus and local specials keep devoted diners coming back for more. They’ve been repeatedly awarded for their intricate wine list – which features a well-curated list of premium and boutique wines with a focus on Australian varietals. Delicate flavours and sustainably grown and caught local produce punctuate the dining menu, with Chinese and modern Asian blending together to create memorable dishes like the Cantonese Roast Duck Clay Bowl, and Grilled Lemongrass Quail with Nam Jim salad. Mid-week specials here include a 2-course menu with a glass of wine for $55 and look out for weekend dumpling banquets and yum-cha – and remember to arrive early to enjoy a cocktail or pre-dinner snack in the welcoming bar space overlooking the village.
Recently reimagined and reinvigorated, the former Entity Coffee has evolved into the colourful, welcoming locals’ favourite – Sunshine Social. Locals make a beeline for this place every morning from the very early hours, and it hums with life until the early afternoon. With their own brand of roasted-on-site coffee beans, delicious sticky chai, and a curated selection of small treats and healthy bites like flourless orange cake, baked oat and raisin slices, and bottled pressed juices, it’s easy to see why this the place for coffee in Sunshine Beach. Relax on the wraparound deck with coffee in hand, then take home a bag of Sunshine Social beans, and you’ve had the full experience!
