It always feels like a party in Noosa. Walk down Hastings Street, the Main Beach boardwalk, or by the river at Noosaville, and the air is tinged with delicious aromas and so much possibility.
And anything is indeed possible, each year at Noosa Eat & Drink. It is the food festival that delivers in that unmistakable Noosa way.
When it began in 2003, as Noosa Food & Wine, the festival was a tribute to the Sunshine Coast’s exceptional produce and world-class hospitality. Noosa Eat & Drink now celebrates local and national while championing sustainability, all in an extra-long weekend in some of the most breathtaking settings Australia has to offer.
Noosa Eat & Drink (NED) 2025 is a masterclass in curation. The 30 bespoke events include collaborations between celebrated chefs, winemakers, artisans, producers, and brewers. From the extravagant to the affordable, each event promises flavour and fun.
Once again, the Festival Village is NED Central. This year, there are pop-up restaurants, live music, and the always popular interactive cooking demos. The festival’s Signature and Restaurant events range from intimate chef’s tables to long lunches within earshot of the ocean or steps from the river.
Last week, This Magnificent Life previewed and sampled some of this year’s most outstanding and delicious restaurant and beach events.
Bandita x Arkhe Sundowner Beach Party
Bandita’s Jason Jones and Arke’s Jake Kellie are serving Mexican classics with a Thai twist on Noosa’s Main Beach. We tried birria tacos with Cape Grim beef brisket, cheese, zingy guacamole, slaw with guajillo consommé, mini Brik pastry flautas, and salsas with bite.
Chef Jason Jones is well-known for his love of fire. His food style is relaxed and built with precision, always with the perfect amount of chipotle, guajillo, or habanero. Ever since Melbourne’s ground-breaking Mamasita, he’s never tried to rewrite Mexico’s recipe canon but instead interprets the traditional cuisine for an Australian setting.
All canapés are paired with VIVIR Tequila cocktails, wine or beer. And best of all, you can enjoy it all with the sound of waves at your feet. Saturday, May 31, 2025, 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm.
LANAI x Stanley East meet West Long Lunch
Stanley’s Louis Tikaram and Lanai’s Ryan Fitzpatrick will craft a multi-course, share-style feast incorporating the best of Noosa’s coastal produce, including Indigenous ingredients from Sevgen & Galeru Forever Fruits—Aunty Terri, Cooroy. The feast will be paired with Penfolds wines and endless views of the Noosa River.
Ryan will also be hosting Sunday at Halse Lodge with Alana Sapwell, Kieren Hanak and Telina Menzies. It’s the ultimate Sunday Session at the reinvigorated heritage hotel. Halse Lodge is all about elevated pub food, and this event highlights all-time faves with Sunday roast canapes, crab quiche, oysters ‘Fitzpatrick’, party pies, and more. When it comes to drinks, it’s beer by Drink Heads of Noosa, craft spirits from Seabourne Distillery and the one and only Dal Zotto Limoncello Spritz, served fresh from a dedicated spritz cart.
What we ate: Ryan’s famous Prawn sangas with kewpie mayo, potato chips, and pickled onions, which he claims ‘is no culinary feat’. He does chef it up with a bit of lemon myrtle in the mayo. It’s crunchy, salty, sweet, and fabulous. We also tried irresistible lamb ribs with Noosa Black Garlic, Vegemite aioli, curry leaf, and Szechuan pepper, as well as Shark Bay scallops topped with curry butter and a green apple chapeau.
We drank the world’s best cocktail—Kaffir Lime Coconut Margaritas—made with coconut-infused Tequila, Kaffir lime, and coconut—and sipped the very elegant Penfolds Thienot Champagne Cuvee Brut.
Lanai x Stanley at Lanai Friday, 30 May 12:00 pm
Sunday @ Halse Lodge Sunday, 1 June 12:00 noon
Lucio’s Marina: Tuna Experience with Walker Seafood:
Watch a whole tuna expertly carved by Australia’s only MSC-certified tuna fishery, then taste each delicate cut as it’s transformed into sashimi, tartare, and even house-made tortellini in brodo. 5 courses all paired with fine wines.
From the 5-course tasting menu, we loved the Tuna Sashimi on rice and crispy nori cracker, and sweet, little seaweed waffle cones filled to the brim with tuna ‘tartar’, ponzu gel and native finger lime. Even if you don’t think you love tuna, these two dishes alone are worth the price of admission.
And what would Lucio’s Marina be without a pasta course? Tortellini in brodo spotlights petite house-made tuna ragu tortellini in a crystal clear tuna broth.
Paired with cocktails and the very best wines from the expertly curated Lucio’s cellar, we began with a drier and more elegant Lambrusco. (Forget the old Lambrusco – this is a 21st-century drier version). Oh, and a Bruno Rocca Fralù Langhe DOC Nebbiolo 2022 that is a surprisingly seafood-appropriate.
From sipping Champagne under the stars, learning from a master chef, or simply soaking up the festival, Noosa Eat & Drink will be another joyous celebration of eating and drinking well, with each and every bite and sip a magnificent moment.
Noosa Eat & Drink Thursday, May 29 through to Sunday, June 2. Secure your tickets here.
