16 unmissable Noosa restaurants to try now

Flavour-packed produce and impeccable technique flow endlessly at the best restaurants in Noosa.

Waterfront dining has long been synonymous with a sun-soaked Noosa escape. But while sitting pretty over the beach and river, or in one of Hastings Street’s best eateries, will never lose its uber-glamorous appeal, an impressive crop of new Noosa restaurants is making waves.

From vibey Mexican and lawn bowls paired with firecracker flavours twist to pizza so authentically Italian you’ll forget where you’re holidaying, the best Noosa restaurants just keep getting better.

Here are the unmissable restaurants to try when you next visit Noosa.

The shortlist

Hottest New Opening: Peli’s

Family-Friendly Spot: Somedays Pizza

Great for Special Occasions: Sails Restaurant Noosa

Most Instagrammable: Mariella Mexicantina

Hidden Gem: Crackerjack

1. Lucio’s Marina

Everything about the experience at Lucio’s Marina reflects the fastidious attention to detail the kitchen team has when it comes to sourcing premium produce. Only the best of the best make it onto the menu here, with fresh catches stored straight in the dry-ageing cabinets at the entrance, ensuring a memorable seafood experience every time. Melt-in-your-mouth Walkers tuna sits atop wafer-thin housemade tartlets, housemade spaghetti is topped with panko and tiger abalone from Port Fairy, and line-caught fish is allowed to shine with simple Northern Italian sensibilities – tomato extraction, broad bean and basil puree. Meanwhile, the green taglioni with Fraser isle spanner crab is a nod to the cult dish at legacy diner, Lucio’s in Paddington, Sydney (closed in 2021 after 38 years).

Following in his restauranter father’s footsteps, Matteo Galletto made the move north to Noosa from Sydney with his family three years ago and has cultivated an elevated seafood trattoria experience in the most surprising of locations – Noosa Marina in Tewantin. Build it and they will come, and so they did, with new neighbours Peli’s (see below) jumping onboard the next-gen train for this burgeoning dining destination, just five minutes’ drive from Noosaville.

Staff are attentive and quick to recommend excellent wine matches with a relaxed ease that reflects the laidback Noosa lifestyle.

Cuisine: Italian coastal

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Review: 5/5

Address: 3/2 Parkyn Ct, Tewantin

2. Peli’s

If you’ve eaten at Sum Yung Guys, you’ll know Masterchef runner-up (2016) Matt Sinclair and his buddies, Michael Rickard and Jeremiah Jones, have a way with south-east Asian flavours so their second restaurant is a surprising departure, but in the most delicious of ways. Celebrating its waterfront locale, Peli’s brings all those sun-drenched flavours of the Med to the table with a very memorable Taramasalata topped with Yarra Valley caviar through to a slow-roasted lamb shoulder that sings alongside coal-grilled broccolini with anchovy butter. Experience it all with the Just Feed Me menu, but prepare to feel very indulged.

Hovering over the water at Noosa Marina, it’s the spot you’ve likely never heard of but will soon be browsing real estate on the opposite Noosa North Shore.

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Classy yet fun

Review: 4.5/5

Address: 1 Parkyn Ct, Tewantin

3. Lanai

With renowned Noosa chef Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm of Lanai, each plate is like a little work of art to be enjoyed with all your senses before tucking in. With an onus on sustainably sourced seafood and native ingredients, each share plate sings, which makes it hard to even get past snacks like the K’gari spanner crab nori roll and Noosa scallops with edamame, basil and kombu butter. Whatever you end up ordering, don’t miss the Fairy Bread Donuts, with Haupia (Hawaiian Style coconut custard) and native Davidson plum to finish.

Occupying a prime corner in Noosaville, across the road from the water, Lanai moved into the space formerly known as Thomas Corner Eatery in early 2023.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Sophisticated al fresco

Review: 4/5

Address: 1/201 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville

4. El Capitano Pizzeria & Bar

It’s a simple recipe for success yet hard to truly nail: 72-hour fermented sourdough, housemade pasta, minimal intervention wine. At El Capitano they’ve been doing it and more since 2015 but in late 2024, their brand new digs were unveiled in the same Hastings Street spot. Start with some nibbles from the extensive Snack and Anitpasti selections – the kingfish crudo with limoncello is a clear fave – then tuck into one of the excellent pizzas, with gluten-free bases and vegan cheese available. Head there for Aperitivo Hour for $15 pizzas and Aperol spritzes and you could be on the Amalfi.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: House party on the Amalfi

Review: 4/5

Address: 52 Hastings St, Noosa Heads

15. Mariella Mexicantina

The Traditional Mexican “antojitos” (little cravings) are the star of this casual spot, with its cosy booths and mezcal-laden bar. The tuna ceviche tostadas are a worthy starter while the tacos really steal the show – carnivores shouldn’t skip the birria, stuffed with slow-cooked brisket and dipped into a broth, while the “Black Magic Mushroom” tacos are a tastebud revelation with smoked cashew crema balancing the chargrilled Oaxacan chilli shrooms.

Occupying a quiet corner in the surf-side village of Peregian Beach, this cantina is in good company with great boutiques, a wine bar and gelato shop all within cooee.

Cuisine: Mexican street food

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Relaxed – sit at the bar to feel like you’ve escaped to Oaxaca by way of Noosa

Review: 3.5/5

Address: Unit 4/2 Kingfisher Dr, Peregian Beach

6. Crackerjack

Chinese restaurants and bowls clubs have always made a handsome match in Oz but the former Your Mates Bowls Pub in Cooroy has taken things up a notch, bringing in Executive Chef Jake Pregnell and his pedigree from top-notch kitchens like Rick Shores, Hôntô, and Spirit House. They had a spruce up and relaunched with an all-new menu as Crackerjack in late 2024, championing the likes of cheeseburger spring rolls, salt and pepper tofu with coconut satay, and a beer battered bug roti taco best enjoyed in one hand with a cold Your Mates brew in the other. Large plates span charcoal whole baby snapper to a Chinese pork bolognese with XO sauce, nduja, and crispy shallots and if you can’t decide, there are two Pot Luck banquet options. If you’re more of a fan of the classics, never fear, you can still get a mean fish and chips while Kids Happy Boxes provide a mix and match of options, including everyone’s favourite prawn crackers.

You’ll find the Banquet House replete with kids’ playground, beer garden, and bowling green right in town in Cooroy, 25 minutes drive from Hastings Street.

Cuisine: Asian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Not your grandad’s bowls club

Review: 4/5

Address: 5 Opal St, Cooroy

7. Somedays Pizza

Two-day fermented organic dough is lovingly kneaded and woodfired into the best pizza in Noosa at Somedays Pizza, confirmed entirely by the mountains of takeaway boxes you’ll spy flying non-stop out of the kitchen of an evening. Choose from a red or white base at this Noosa restaurant, lashed generously with toppings artfully buddied up for maximum flavour hits.

The 13-inch ‘Somedays’ had me at free-range pork and fennel sausage, while the wagyu bresaola and crushed potato also stands out. And that all-important base? A chubby, blistery curve gives way to a thinner centre slapped with just the right amount of those incredible toppings without it all falling into a heap on your lap.

Smack bang in buzzy Noosa Junction, the emerging Noosa Junction foodie scene and providing plenty of people watching, grabbing an al fresco table feels like the place to be.

Cuisine: Pizza

Average price: $$

Atmosphere: Like you’re at a mate’s place

Review: 4.5/5

Address: Shop 2/3 Sunshine Beach Road, Noosa Heads

8. The Doonan

Catering to families, large groups and travellers on their way into Noosa proper, The Doonan is a multi-faceted dining space just outside of town. Drawing comparisons to The Grounds in Sydney due to the sheer extent of the space, the bar is set high right across the two-acre property. Its restaurant is The Doonan’s beating heart, serving up delicious share plates, pub classics prepared with care and flair, several grilled meat options and a generous scattering of seafood right throughout the menu. The pizzeria across the other end of the main complex is obviously full Italian, serving up fluffy bases loaded with locally sourced ingredients and gelato.

You’re about a 15 to 20-minute drive from Hastings Street so if you’re craving a change of scenery away from the coast, this is the perfect option.

Cuisine: Elevated pub grub

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Garden party

Review: 3/5

Address: 6 Beddington Road, Doonan

9. Rickys River Bar & Restaurant

Long renowned as one of the best restaurants in Noosa for so many reasons, Rickys’ position on the Noosa River is pure spectacular and gushed about long after your visit to the region wraps.

Given all ingredients are sourced fresh and direct from Australian shores, Rickys offers a unique culinary adventure on every plate. If you’re seafood obsessed, you can’t go past the Mooloolaba king prawns with harissa butter, charred leek and macadamia crumb or the whole roasted fish, served up with Maravista Farm cherry tomatoes, beurre noisette, capers and lemon. Otherwise, the Jerusalem artichoke orzotto with broccolini and burrata is melt-in-your-mouth magnificent and the seasonal desserts are all too irresistible to overlook.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Refined

Review: 5/5

Address: 2 Quamby Place, Noosa Heads

10. Light Years

Visitors will relish the delectable dishes at this Noosa restaurant while surrounded by punchy local artworks. Make sure to order the crowd-favourite kingfish ceviche seasoned with coconut, chilli and kaffir lime, or if you want something with an extra kick, try the mee goreng spiced firecracker chicken, slathered with a signature sauce and topped with crushed peanuts and Thai basil.

The menu is also jammed with an unmissable range of vegan and gluten-free options, such as wild truffled mushroom dumplings, miso caramel eggplant, cumin-spiced fried cauliflower and more. Pair your meal with one of their amazing cocktails for the ultimate indulgence. The vibes are so good, there are further Light Years outlets in Burleigh Heads, Byron Bay and Newcastle.

Just two doors down from Somedays Pizza, Light Years has secured prime real estate in Noosa’s buzzy Junction culinary scene.

Cuisine: Asian Fusion

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Prime date night territory

Review: 3/5

Address: 1 Sunshine Beach Road, Noosa Heads

11. Bang Bang Noosa

The incredible menu at Bang Bang is bursting with fresh and vibrant flavours while guests are immersed in a moody space dotted with chandeliers, candles and distressed plaster walls. Dig into a Thai-style curry, ‘Big Bang’ meat and fish dishes or ‘Little Bang’ light plates or opt for the ‘Bang-quet’ and have the kitchen bring out five or seven delectable courses accompanied by rice and a Som Tum green papaya salad. The Harvest Moon cocktail, with gin, elderflower, kaffir lime, lemongrass and watermelon fruit, is the perfect palate-cleansing accompaniment but to be fair, there’s a whole drinks menu worth sampling. The flavour combos are all uniquely genius at Bang Bang, hands down one of the best restaurants in Noosa.

You’re in the centre of Hastings Street, so rolling the good times onto its kicking bar scene will be a total cinch.

Cuisine: South-East Asian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Trendy

Review: 4/5

Address: 6/32 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads

12. Bistro C

For the most iconic Noosa dining experience to write home about, we’re sending you down the Main Beach boardwalk to Bistro C. There are few places on Australia’s coast where you can enjoy a well-put-together meal and a glass of good wine just steps away from the surf.

If the exclamation-inducing location isn’t enough, this Noosa restaurant’s chic interiors (and that view) will instantly calm you. But the food is all-out wonderful. Think Mod Oz with fresh seafood the star, spanning ocean trout sashimi with a Mexican twist, to pork and prawn tortellini with XO butter and miso-glazed Atlantic salmon. Plus, the seafood is fresh and the kids’ menu has its own mocktail list. The crowdpleasers keep coming right across the board.

A killer spot for weddings and functions, Bistro C is right on the beach offering uninterrupted views and good vibes from day to night.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Peak Noosa

Review: 4/5

Address: 49 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads

13. Locale

Whipping up authentic Italian fare using the region’s finest produce and ingredients, Locale is a standout Noosa restaurant surrounded by beautiful tropical gardens.

Handmade pasta, in-house focaccia, classic antipasto and a traditional raw selection can all be found on the menu, with favourites including venison tenderloin carpaccio with Walkers tuna crudo, hand-spun burrata with heirloom beetroot veal and anchovy croquettes sourced from the Northern Rivers, spanner crab squid ink tagliatelle and slow roasted White Pyrenees lamb shoulder. But the food is knock-out no matter your choice, paired perfectly with an expertly curated wine list.

You’re metres away from Main Beach but this Hastings Street spot manages to carve out its own sanctuary, sheltered from all the action.

Cuisine: Elevated Italian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Elegant and low-lit

Review: 4.5/5

Address: 62 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads

14. Noosa Beach House

Chef Peter Kuruvita’s original Noosa success story may not have him helming the ship these days but new head chef Nick Blake (ex Riceboi, Mooloolaba) has brought in a sensational new menu at Noosa Beach House. Sophisticated and spilling over with locally sourced seafood, some of the highlights include King Ora salmon rillettes with creme fraiche, lemon myrtle and witlof, and Berkshire pork cotoletta with salsa agresto, broadleaf rocket. Delicious. And while the all-day party at Noosa Beach House bar, best known during the daylight hours for its vibrant bar, rages on downstairs, the intimate restaurant space still oozes pure elegance.

It might just be the very centre of Hastings Street – at least, that’s how it feels as foot traffic outside the venue is non-stop – but it makes for the best people-watching in the region.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Upmarket

Review: 4/5

Address: 14/16 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads

15. Paradise Arcade

Obsessed with margaritas and guac? Us too. This is why no trip to Noosa can skip a fun-filled meal at the Cali-Mexican-inspired restaurant and cocktail bar Paradise Arcade. Not only do the margs come on tap at this Noosa restaurant, but you’ll find an extensive cocktail list to boot. Spend a long lunch or evening eating your way through the generous servings of tacos, burritos and tostadas and don’t forget to order a plate of cinnamon sugar-dusted churros for dessert. In no world will you regret it.

In the middle of a lively paved alley in Noosa Junction, this hot spot is a couple of doors down from Theo’s Social Clubright opposite Herbert and across the road from Somedays Pizza and Light Years. You’re undoubtedly where the cool kids linger.

Cuisine: Mexican

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Casual

Review: 3.5/5

Address: 8/14 Arcadia Street, Noosa Heads

16. Sails Restaurant Noosa

Consistently superb, maintaining Sails Restaurant Noosa as one of the best restaurants in Noosa year after year. Highlighting the country’s finest seafood, Executive Chef Paul Leete works with the seasons to draw in the best produce available.

Expect caviar on blinis with crème fraiche, just-shucked oysters, Mooloolaba tuna tostaditos, Fraser Coast prawn linguine, a Moreton Bay Caesar salad and too many additional superstars to list. The coral trout is from North Queensland, while the slow-cooked Sovereign lamb shoulder hails from just up the road in Pomona. It’s all utter perfection every visit.

The location: How do 180-degree views of Laguna Bay sound? Sails is situated in the corner right on the boardwalk of Main Beach. It’s gorgeous, to put it mildly.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Like you’re on an endless holiday

Review: 5/5

Address: 75 Hastings Street, Noosa Heads

Originally written by Kristie Lau-Adams with updates by Celeste Mitchell