Up the Range: The Hinterland Feed Worth the Drive

Here’s the thing most weekend visitors miss: the best eating on the Sunshine Coast isn’t always at the beach.

It’s twenty minutes inland, up a windy road, past the dairy cows and through the rainforest. The Sunshine Coast hinterland - Eumundi, Flaxton, Montville, Maleny - has quietly become one of the best food regions in Queensland. Cooler air, better produce, kitchens that don’t have to compete with a view of Hastings St.

You can do it as a day trip. You can stretch it to a long weekend. Either way, here’s how to eat it.

Stop 1: Eumundi - coffee, then markets

Start in Eumundi, 20 minutes west of Noosa.

If it’s a market day (Wednesday or Saturday), the town is heaving. If it’s not, it’s a sleepy main street with one of the best roasters on the coast: Eumundi Coffee Roasters.

Order a pour-over. They take their time, you should too. Sit in the rustic little room and watch the town do its thing. Their PNG single origin is worth asking after.

If you’re really keen, there’s a separate roaster a few doors down - confusingly, also called Eumundi Coffee - but it’s only open Wednesdays and Saturdays. The town has a quiet coffee rivalry. Try both, pick a side.

Then walk down to the Eumundi Markets if the day’s right - they’re one of the biggest art-and-craft markets in Australia and well worth an hour.

Stop 2: Flaxton - brunch on the deck

Drive south out of Eumundi, through Cooroy and Mapleton, until you hit Flaxton (about 45 minutes). You’re now properly in the range - the air’s noticeably cooler, the views start opening up.

The Barn on Flaxton is your stop. Converted barn, country-café energy, generous serves. The big breakfast special is the local order, the deck is the seat to ask for, and there’s a little gift shop in the back full of regional bits worth poking through.

If you skipped breakfast in Eumundi, this is the meal. Don’t try to do both - these are not small serves.

Stop 3: Montville - long lunch over Lake Baroon

Down the road from Flaxton is Montville, the most touristy stop on the range. Plenty of tea rooms and fudge shops if that’s your thing - but the move is to skip the main strip entirely and head straight to Secrets on the Lake.

It’s a treehouse-style dining deck wrapped in rainforest, looking out over Lake Baroon. The food is comfort-food-but-considered:

• Slow-cooked lamb shanks
• Baked snapper with the lake in the background
• A wagyu beef burger that punches above its weight
• High tea, if that’s your move

The lake views and the rainforest soundtrack do half the work. It’s the kind of long lunch where you order another round and don’t notice the afternoon disappearing.

Open Tuesday through Sunday - closed Mondays. Book ahead on weekends, it fills.

Stop 4: Maleny - dinner at AnRvi

Another half hour south brings you to Maleny, the working town of the range. Dairies, an iconic bookshop (the Maleny Bookshop is worth a wander), a craft brewery, and - quietly - some of the best food up here.

AnRvi is the standout. Small Maple St room, tight modern-Aussie menu, kitchen that punches well above its postcode. The duck liver pâté is what locals re-order. The Sunday roast pulls people up the mountain on its own. Closed Mon–Wed, so plan around it.

A few alternates if AnRvi’s booked (it often is):

• The Tamarind - modern Asian-fusion in a forested setting just outside town, attached to a boutique resort. Pricier, polished, very date-night.
• Brouhaha Maleny - brewpub on Coral St doing local beer, wood-fired pizzas and a 2-course-for-$35 lunch that’s hard to beat for value.
• Kondalilla Restaurant - back up the road in Flaxton, with a deck and a Thai-inflected menu that’s a sleeper.

How to do it

Three ways to play it, depending on time:

1. Day trip from the coast. Coffee in Eumundi (8am) → brunch at The Barn (10.30am) → drive past Lake Baroon → long lunch at Secrets (1pm) → back to the coast for dinner.
2. Overnight. All of the above, then stay in Maleny, dinner at AnRvi, drive home in the morning via the Glass House Mountains lookout.
3. Long weekend. Stay in a treehouse at Montville, an Airbnb dairy cottage in Maleny, and work your way through the lot. Add in Kondalilla Falls for a morning walk.

A few practical notes

• The drive up is windy and slow. Allow 45 minutes from Noosaville, an hour from Mooloolaba.
• Most hinterland kitchens close earlier than coastal ones. Lunch is the bigger meal up here.
• Cooler weather year-round - throw a jumper in the car, even when it’s 28°C at the beach.
• Mobile signal is patchy in patches. Download maps offline if you’re driving the back roads.
• Petrol stations are sparse. Top up in Eumundi or Maleny, not in between.

The hinterland isn’t a side trip. Done right, it’s the main event.

---

Sticking to the beach? Try the 48-hour Sunshine Coast itinerary. Just here for brekkie? Read the brunch roundup.

Hungry for more? Browse all our places.