Rediscover Mooloolaba’s Comfort Food

Restaurants in Mooloolaba are welcoming back hungry customers to serve some of the best food on the Coast. Sometimes you just want to kick back and enjoy a meal that will keep you feeling satisfied and wishing you could have a but more.

Mooloolaba is home to variety of restaurants that will have you salivating just thinking about it.

Good Bar

Located just a street away from the Mooloolaba beachfront, Good Bar combines the opulence of American comfort food, à la Man v Food with the feel of Golden Age 90’s Hip Hop. One of the owners, Joey Sandagon said that the menu highlight is the “Dreamtime” burger, the once-only, monthly madcap recipes straight out of the test kitchen inspired by the wonders of American food tv. 

“If you watch Man v Food you wanted to get a crazy burger like that, there was nowhere to get that,” Sandagon said.

“We were one of the first to do that.”

Rice Boi

Sitting out on the Wharf, Rice Boi is the place for Asian street food. Enjoy kingfish sashimi or pork bao in the restaurant below or follow the neon signs to the Japanese-styled dive bar upstairs. They also offer a gluten free and vegetarian menu for people to enjoy as they enjoy the view of the Mooloolaba waterfront. 

Dirty Moes

American, slow-cooked soul food, its more than just food at Dirty Moe’s but about sharing a great meal with others. Co-owner Ben Baker said that they’ve now taken to giving separate tongs for each person to dig into their 10+ hr cooked beef brisket but their heart remains the same.

“Main thing is come in, rip them apart and share them around,” he said.

“It’s why we go out to drink and eat in the first place – to fill our bellies and warm our hearts.”

Also, if you want to take their slow-cooked pulled pork or brisket home, you can buy heat and serve packs to store in your fridge or freezer.

Taps Mooloolaba

Games, food and beer. Taps is a great place for your mid-afternoon to late night eats and hangs. Just a street away from Mooloolaba Beach, it’s hard to miss this delightful bar always filled with laughs and the waft of food from the kitchen. Looking for a place for a good drink, feed and a bit of fun along the way you can’t go much better than Taps.

Raw and Rice

Not all comfort food has to have you feeling guilty after eating it. At the Southern end of the Esplanade Raw and Rice pride themselves on nourishing and sustainable food that will grow your appreciation for the local produce. Build a poke bowl to your own delights with enough options for any diet. This poke bar will have you coming back again and again to try a new combination of flavours you’ve never experienced before.

Ninth Street

Decadence. That is the first word to to think of when eating at Ninth Street. A peek on their Instagram page, shows desserts, cocktails, burgers, sundaes and more that will be sure to make you feel like a good nap after you’re eat. Part of the Wharf’s collection of eateries, it’s affordable, eat in or takeaway, Ninth Streets is casual dining the family can enjoy. Fair warning, prepare your stomach if you plan on going for a burger, drink and dessert on your visit.

Locals keeping businesses afloat

Good Bar’s co-owner, Joey Sandagon about said that it was because of locals that they and many other businesses could keep operating.

Thanks to the people getting behind #supportlocal, many restaurants were able to mitigate the loss. 

“A lot of people were ordering from one of their favourite takeaway joints a night just to keep them busy and then share it over the group of the places they want to survive,” Joey said.

As restrictions ease, takeaway orders are still rolling as they are slowly welcoming back customers to their bar. Sandagon said they’ve always been proudly locally focused “You’ve got to look after locals, only way you can do that is good service, good product,” he said.