This restaurant is located right on the water overlooking multi million dollar boats at the marina and with large boats cruising past or zippier jet ski’s buzzing around in front of you to provide plenty of conversation starters such as ‘one day when I can afford a boat like that….’

We were greeted by the owner (his picture was on the menu outside) who seated us in the middle of their large dining room. We though it would be quieter as we’d arrived at 1:30pm but the restaurant was packed and buzzing with large family lunches and kids vying for attention. The restaurant is large and there is an inside area and an outside area on the boardwalk which is nice on a sunny day. Throughout it is decorated in Greek style - blue table cloths and painted walls with scenes of the Greek islands. Even some of the staff have heavy accents.

We ordered taramasalata with pita bread for entree $8.75 and for mains the Kanoni - grilled snapper, half a Moreton bay bug and a BBQ king prawn with chips and vegetables $20.45 and fettuccine prawns in a pesto creamy sauce $14.45.

The taramasalata was fantastic however we had to order another serve of pita bread (a little steep at $6) as the dip was a large serving. The pita bread was brushed with oil and served hot.

The Kanoni was grilled snapper, half a bug and a BBQ king prawn. The snapper was beautiful, cooked in a buttery sauce, the Moreton Bay bug was tender and the prawn delicious. Even the vegetables were tender and were cooked in a flavoured stock. The portion size of the seafood was fantastic value for $20.45.

The other main was fettuccine prawn. For a meal that only cost $14.45 I was very impressed to count 8 king prawns. Again this was a huge sized meal and the creamy pesto sauce was given some kick with chili and a bit of crunch with some toasted pine nuts throughout. Unfortunately I couldn’t eat it all not even all the prawns but it was not without trying.

Overall I was very impressed and will definitely be back with a group of friends. The quality of service in this restaurant was brought up a few notches with extra effort such as when I noticed each customer being served their piece of garlic bread rather than dumping the bread basket in the centre of the table, waiters fussing over and talking to children at the tables, regularly walking around tables to top up beers etc. Service at this level is rare to find unless you go to a fine dining restaurant on the Gold Coast so it was nice to find a more casual restaurant going to this level of effort.

George’s Paragon Waterfront Seafood Restaurant
Steak/Seafood

The Promenade Marine Village
Sanctuary Cove, 4212

Phone: 07 5577 8420

The taramasalata dip with warm pita bread

The view from inside looking to the boardwalk dining area

Kanoni - grilled snapper, half a Moreton bay bug and a BBQ king prawn with chips and vegetables $20.45

Painted scenes of the Greek islands

Fettuccine prawn pasta for $14.45

Technorati Tags: George’s Paragon Waterfront Seafood, Sanctuary Cove, Gold Coast, seafood, restaurant, review, dining

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I haven’t heard much about the restaurant or knew of anyone that had dined here so was keen to try it out. Many meals are available in three sizes: taster, entree and main to encourage sharing between large tables of friends. We all ordered our own meals however.

The restaurant is divided into two sections with a wall running down the middle. On the left is a bar area with loud singers for entertainment and on the right is the dining area. We sat outside in the dining area which was great for people watching.

This restaurant is popular catch up place for friends, hens nights etc and the noise and party atmosphere from the bar next door would make you reluctant to visit for any other reason such as a romantic date. It was near impossible to hear anyone at our table and you basically had to yell at each other - or just talk loudly to the person next to you.

I ordered the salt and pepper calamari in entree size as I’d had a large lunch earlier and wasn’t too hungry. Besides we’d mainly come to catch up and have a few drinks. The calamari was, as claimed on the menu tender and had plenty of salt and pepper. Comments from other diners at the table stated that their food was nice but as expected, nothing spectacular but reasonable portions for the price.

The paella was only lukewarm though which was a disappointment but was eaten anyway. I wasn’t that impressed with the menu - nothing in particular grabbed my eye and some of the meals such as steaks can become quite expensive.

Overall a good place to catch up with friends.

1 Two 3
Mediterranean
Shop 22 Phoenician Tower East Surf Parade
Broadbeach, 4218

Phone: 07 5538 4123
Web: http://www.1two3restaurant.com.au

The garlic prawns with  a serve of rice and small salad

The paella which was served only lukewarm

prawns and vodka spaghetti

Salt and pepper calamari

Technorati Tags: gold coast, restaurants, 1 two 3, broadbeach, mediterranean, dining

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I first discovered Grill’d in Melbourne and used to regularly visit and even convinced my co-workers to make trips to Grill’d for lunch. For those Queenslanders that haven’t experienced Grill’d then you’re in for a treat. They make amazing tasting, healthy gourmet burgers with fresh ingredients and seriously yummy chips.

They’re not the cheapest but they are incredibly filling and their range is diverse -from meat to lamb, chicken and vego. I tried the moroccan lamb which had roasted capsicum, tzatziki, salad and relish.

Grill’d
Shop 23, 72 Marine Pde
Coolangatta, 4225

Phone: 07 5536 3555
Web: http://www.grilld.com.au

Outside Grill’d at Coolangatta

The Moroccan Lamb burger $10.90 and chips $3.90

Inside Grill’d

Technorati Tags: grill’d, grilled burgers, gourmet burgers, healthy burgers, coolangatta, restaurant review

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It’s a simple cafe in Double Bay and they’re famous with the local Jewish community for their matzo ball soup. We both weren’t too hungry after having a late lunch so we both ordered a soup. The prices for the soups were reasonable at $10.90 each and we were given complimentary rye bread with butter as a starter and to dunk into our soup.

The main meals ranged from around $20 and crept up to $30 or more. They serve a lot of traditional European food here such as Stroganoff, cabbage rolls and schnitzel so this cafe is popular with Eastern Europeans.

The service was prompt and friendly and the meals came out within about 10 minutes of ordering. The only downside is that they cram so many tables in there that you’re only inches away from the table next to you.

Twenty One Espresso
21 Knox Street
Double Bay, NSW
02 9327 2616  

The Cafe 21 Menu - I swear this hasn’t changed since I was last here about 15 years ago!

Matzo dumpling soup $10.90

We both ordered a soup for $10.90 each but most of the other meals were affordable. Some of the mains creeped up to $30 or more.

The chicken noodle soup was also $10.90

Technorati Tags: matzo ball soup, matzah ball soup, cafe review, double bay, chicken noodle soup, rye bread, sydney

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Double Bay is notoriously exclusive and snooty and is known as ‘Double Pay’ by Sydneysiders. We ate lunch at this casual open air cafe called Bar Indigo which had seating both inside the cafe and also on the traffic island in the middle of the road. It’s a quiet road in the middle of Double Bay so the (expensive) cars are only slowly driving by. It was really nice to sit out in the sunshine under the trees.

The staff here were really friendly and the service was very fast. The meals were also very well priced and averaged around $15 for most meals.

Most of the other diners were 50+ and we were surprised that the area was so quiet given that it was a Saturday. Walking around Double Bay it seems like it’s lost some of it’s lustre over the years - the famous star spotting cafe with the green and gold chairs under the Stamford hotel has gone and is undergoing renovations. Overall there were few people around and a lot of the boutiques seemed a bit drab and dull.

Bar Indigo
6, 15 Cross Street
Double Bay NSW
02 9363 5966

Bar Indigo

The falafal vegetarian wrap was $13.90

The seating in the middle of the road

Spaghetti and meatballs was $19.90

Technorati Tags: cafe review, double bay, sydney, bar indigo, spaghetti and meatballs, falafel

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It was a freezing day with a chilling wind yet there were still swimmers doing laps around the outside. I would have been wearing a wetsuit at least!

The middle brighton baths has an upmarket restaurant upstairs however we went to the downstairs cafe for breakfast. Our table wasn’t at the front of the cafe but we still had a good view of the baths.

The cafe is very modern with a concrete floor and sparse furnishings. Service was prompt and friendly and our breakfasts cost $15 each by the time we added two extras. The cafe felt really cold though as it was a cold day outside and the concrete flooring added to this. It would be a great spot to come to in Summer.

Middle Brighton Baths
251 The Esplanade, Brighton
Ph: 03 9539 7000

The cafe inside has a nice view of the Brighton baths. It was a freezing day yet there were still people doing laps around the outside.

Poached eggs ($9) with avocado and bacon ($3 each)

Scrambled eggs ($9) with mushrooms and avocado ($3 each)

One of the pigeons that regularly sneaks in through the opened door to wander around looking for crumbs

The lifesaver painting inside the cafe.

The Brighton bath! it’s a fenced off section of the bay and on the day we were there it was absolutely freezing yet there were still people doing laps around the outside.

Technorati Tags: brighton, brighton baths, middle brighton baths, brighton baths cafe, cafe review, restaurant review, brighton melbourne

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If you love cakes, deserts and sweet biscuits you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven when you walk into Brunetti.

Brunetti is, without a doubt the best cake and biscuit place in Australia. There are so many different cakes from large cakes for birthdays, to large slices, bite sized portions as well as a huge variety of biscuits.

Everytime I come here I find myself (like everyone else) walking backwards and forwards along the huge glass display trying to decide what to have.

If you’re not into sweet’s there are savoury meals around the corner and Brunetti also has a small fine dining restaurant attached. If you’re visiting Melbourne you absolutely MUST visit Brunetti. The great thing about it is it is open late so you can come in after dinner for a sweet desert. They have other locations in the city and Camberwell but the Faraday street store is the original and I think, the best.

There are plenty of seats both inside and out but you may still find yourself waiting to grab a table, especailly at night as it’s always packed out. If you’ve ordered coffee or a drink you’ll need to wait for it to be made and stand over near the coffee area until your number is called rather than have it brought out which is a little annoying but I guess you don’t have to wait too long.

Brunetti
194 - 204 Faraday Street
Carlton
Ph: (03) 9347 2801

Some of the amazing Italian biscuits on offer

Some more biscuits and sweet treats - everything from florentine biscuits to nougat

Trying to make your choice is so hard! I always end up walking from one end of the glassed area to the other trying to decide

Some of the large ready made cakes which you can choose. You can also have them designed just for you for bithdays etc.

This is where the savoury meals are such as foccacia’s, aranciata rice balls and there is also a gelato ice cream area!

Some of the small taster sized cakes - this way you can try 3 or 4 little cakes instead of just getting one large slice.

Technorati Tags: brunetti, brunetti’s, italian cakes, lygon street, faraday street, carlton, brunetti cakes

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Simple things make for a great restaurant. Fantastic service (authentic, good looking Italian waiters also helps in this restaurants appeal), large servings at resonable prices ($14 for the pasta meals) and really good food. I also love it when restaurants give you something free for a starter, in this case they gave us a basket of sliced french bread with butter.

Turnover here is quick and you won’t be waiting forever to get your meals - ours arrived within about 15 minutes of ordering. I found it hard though to get used to the fact that you can still smoke and eat outside in Melbourne so if you’re a non smoker - try to get a table inside.

Even though it was a cold Autumn night there were plenty of heat lamps available. I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re dining out on Lygon street. This is comfort food at it’s absolute best and it’s a great spot to do some people watching and to check out the Ferrari’s cruising down Lygon street.

Tiamo
303 Lygon Street, Carlton,
Ph: 03 9347 5759

Most of the pasta items on the menu were around $14 - great value

Cannelloni with bolognese sauce on top

The tortellini bolognese.

Technorati Tags: tiamo restaurant, lygon street, tiamo 2 restaurant, italian restaurant, restaurant review, lygon street melbourne

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This winery is much smaller and unlike Yering Station it didn’t have a cafe or restaurant, only a cellar door where you could sample their wines and buy bottles or a small range of souveniers. I purchased a calico bag for $5. 

Sticks Yarra Valley
179 Glenview Road
Yarra Glen, Vic 3775

Ph: 03 9730 1022

The Sticks vineyard

The vineyard against the scenic Yarra Valley background

Located just near the carpark is this large mosquito sculpture

Inside the small cellar door area - upstairs you can purchase wines and a small range of souveniers

Inside the Sticks winery - upstairs is the cellar door

Technorati Tags: sticks winery, victorian winery, australian winery, vineyard

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Unfortunately the stunning modern restaurant at Yering Station was fully booked so we had a light lunch at ‘Matts Bar’ which is upstairs from the produce store area. If you plan to dine here then definately book because it’s extremely popular on weekends.

We shared an antipasto platter which was around $30 from memory and it was a nice light meal considering we’d eaten so much the night before.

Yering Station Winery
38 Melba Hwy
Yarra Glen 3775
Victoria, Australia

Ph 03 9730 0100

The exit from Yering Station winery

The Yering Station vineyard

Our antipasto platter. We ordered extra bread and of course had a glass of Yering Station pinot noir

Technorati Tags: yering station, winery, victorian winery, australian winery

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