Four of us came here for lunch the other day as my sister is on holidays from London.

I’ve been to Songbirds once many years ago and I’ve heard so much about this restaurant that I was excited to try it again. It’s located not far from the main street on Tamborine Mountain. When you arrive you walk down a gravel stepping stone path. The restaurant is set amongst beautiful gardens and there’s plenty of wildlife to look at from kookaburra’s to butterflies.

The service was fantastic, our waitress was very friendly and helpful in describing the unusual ingredients listed on the menu. They also pay attention to detail such as adding a slice of lime at the table to each glass before they pour the sparkling water.

My dad commented that the last time they visited they had a bad experience - it was his birthday and they took a long time to bring out his meals and the service was poor but this time we were very fortunate. We booked for 12pm which was before the other tables filled out so maybe this had something to do with it but from my experience I can’t fault them.

I won’t describe all the meals as I’ll do so below but we all ordered the set menu (I can’t remember accurately but I think it was $60 for 2 mains and around $15 for each dessert) Entrees on their own are around $20 each and mains $36 plus.

Songbirds is very much a fine dining experience. I think it is best to visit at lunch so that you can enjoy the garden outlook and if you have the means, make a weekend of it and stay at Songbirds as they have onsite accommodation.

To write your own review on Songbirds click here.

Location:
Songbirds in the Forest
Modern Australian

Tamborine Mountain Road
Tamborine Mountain, 4272

Phone: 07 5545 2563
Web: http://www.songbirds.com.au

The alfresco restaurant - luckily it wasn’t raining

The grilled calamari and orzo pasta entree. The calamari was stuffed with chorizo, spinach and tomato

I ordered this for entree - the smoked ham hock consomme with a cabbage dumpling. It was very good. They bring it out with just the peas and dumpling in the bowl and pour the soup at the table.

The open lasagne of roasted yabbi tails entree

My boyfriend ordered this for his entree as he’s a huge scallop fan -roasted Queensland scallops on a tomato terrine with cucumber foam

The view from our table - the gardens surrounding the restaurant. Afterwards we went for a walk as they’re quite large gardens.

Black bean glazed duck breast - underneath was tofu

The wagyu beef with an oxtail and mushroom dumpling on top. Three of us ordered this for our main.

The boned whole quail with kipfler potato salad. One person from our group wasn’t that hungry so they ordered this entree as their main.

We ordered two sides - chips with aioli sauce (the sauce was sooo good) and a rocket and beetroot salad.

The banana fritter with chocolate sauce dessert which I ordered.

The souffle of the day - coconut and mango

Chocolate creme brulee with chocolate strudel

Technorati Tags: songbirds in the forest, restaurant review, tamborine mountain, modern Australian 

We came here a couple of weeks ago for dinner with a friend one Friday night.

It’s an old fashioned pub located in the village of Mudgeeraba. We had some drinks first in the bar which was quite nice - lots of wooden tables in a cosy atmosphere but there wasn’t much seating and the tables around the corner are in another room and don’t have much atmosphere.

We went into the dining room at a table near the windows. I was slightly shocked to see that almost all the meals were in the $27 plus range - quite expensive for a suburban pub meal.

I ordered the twice cooked duck and my partner ordered oysters with crab meat topping and our friend ordered the lamb shanks. The lamb shanks could have been a lot more tender as the meat did not fall off the bone, the twice cooked duck also should have been crispier - the skin was still quite fatty and was not crisp like I’ve had at most other restaurants and I wasn’t a fan of the thinly sliced crisped vegetables. The interior of the restaurant is also looking a bit daggy and outdated but I guess other peoples view is that it has a country feel.

I will visit this pub again but I’ll probably just stick to catching up with friends for some drinks rather than dinner. Perhaps they should introduce some more mid range meal prices.

To write your own review of this restaurant click here.

Location:
Woodchoppers Inn

66 Railway Street
Mudgeeraba, 4213

Phone: 07 5525 3500
Web: http://www.woodchoppersinn.com

Technorati Tags: woodchoppers inn, mudgeeraba, gold coast, restaurant review, pub

Could this be the best Japanese restaurant on the Gold Coast?

I came here mid week after going to see a movie at Pacific Fair (Death at a funeral - really, really funny Brittish movie if you haven’t seen it already.) It was about 8:45pm and we were all trying to decide where to go for dinner as generally this time is considered ‘late’ by many restaurants on the Gold Coast.

I figured it would have to be an Asia restaurant as they generally stay open later than the others so I suggested Itoshin which was nearby on the Gold Coast highwasy in Mermaid Beach. I’ve been to this restaurant once before but I wasn’t overly impressed at the time. I think from memory I thought the teriyaki meals were a bit too westernised.

It’s a very funky/urban looking restaurant with graffiti on the walls. It was still very busy when we arrived - most of the restaurant is table and chair seating but I did spot a couple of tables where you can sit on cushions on the floor. 

The sushi is amongst the best I’ve had on the Gold Coast and was very fresh with nice large pieces of tender tuna pieces. We also ordered salmon and avocado. The tempura vegetables were crisp and firm and the hot pot was shared amongst four of us. I was skeptical at first becuase I thought ‘Why would I want to cook my own food when I’m at a restaurant’ but it’s all chopped up for you and it’s actually quite fun watching it cook and dishing it up to share. It was really filling too so next time I might just order one plate of sushi and a hot pot between two of us.

We ordered the teriyaki beef which was thickly sliced with teriyaki sauce poured over the top. It was still my least favourite meal as I prefer it to be more thinly sliced.

Overall I’d give this restaurant 8.5/10 - Service was fast and friendly, food was quick and fresh and the restaurant has a funky and fun atmosphere

Located:
Itoshin Japanese Restaurant

2484 Gold Coast Highway
Mermaid Beach, 4218

Phone: 07 5575 5733

To post your own review on Itoshin click here.

The sushi - this was salmon and avocado and in the background we had tuna sushi

Edamame beans - from memory about $7. A great starter snack to share. You just pop the salty soy beans in your mouth and discard the empty pods in a bowl.

Tempura vegetables - these were nice and firm and the batter was perfect.

Hot Pot - About $30. It’s a great meal to share. You add all the chopped ingredients into the hot pot to cook and dish it out when it’s ready.

The hot pot cooking away

Technorati Tags: itoshin, japanese restaurant, restaurant review, mermaid beach, gold coast