Dynamic dining experiences on Magnetic Island

Picnic Bay | Arcadia | Horseshoe Bay | Top tips for visiting Magnetic Island

You’ve snorkelled, sunbathed and sailed around Magnetic Island. You’ve bushwalked her trails and buzzed her tracks in a topless car, wind in your hair, freedom on your face. It’s enough to work up a hefty appetite but where is best to eat on Maggie?

Nelly Bay 

If Maggie is the matriarch, then Nelly is surely her favourite daughter when it comes to delicious dining experiences, boasting the island’s lion’s share of places to eat and drink.

There’s a plethora of good café options at this beautiful bay, trek down along the beach to the oceanfront Shaka: Good Food Café, a vegan-inspired food truck serving the likes of pressed juice, smoothies, smoothie bowls and acai. Slouch on bean bags or perch on cool chairs crafted from driftwood, while you feast on a beetroot slice under the trees.

For a bite with heart, The Island Burger Project asks local community organisations for recipe inspiration, creates that burger for the month, and $5 from each burger sold is donated back to that organisation. Oh, and you get to eat your burger in pole position, right on the ocean at Base Magnetic Island.

Want to dial things up a notch? Dine on the delicious house red curry, lychee, mint, coriander and rice with wild-caught barramundi among the Australian fusion feasts on offer at the fine-dining Saltwater Restaurant with its twinkling fairy lights. If you like your tropical menu and fine wine with a sea breeze and fab view of the marina (plus a few old salts hanging around the place), head to Boardwalk Restaurant & Bar at Peppers Blue on Blue Resort. Try the Boardwalk Signature Seafood Story for two here.

Seeking cool and casual? The newly-arrived Jungle Club not only offers great coffee in a relaxed, outdoor Balinese style setting, but a pool, co-working space and creative residencies as well.

Locals swear by SOS Seafood (short for Stuffed On Seafood) not only for its local reef fish and chips but for its rich, creamy seafood chowder.

A relatively new player on the scene is Smuggler’s Café one street back from the Nelly Bay Esplanade. This wine bar has launched in a quaint, blue Queenslander cottage. Sit on the veranda here and sip a spicy shiraz while feasting on the likes of chorizo in red wine.

And don’t forget to top off your Nelly Bay dining experiences with a visit to Fruits n Scoops. You’re in the tropics, so expect Italian-style gelato inspired by the tastes of Tropical North Queensland.

Picnic Bay

Are you even on an island if you’re not dining at a good pizza joint? Luckily, we’ve located the best in town. Mamma Roma in Picnic Bay touts itself as an “authentic Italian offering” and here you can feast on wood-fired pizzas and the likes of freshly-rolled gnocchi, all delivered with a dash of Italian charm. You’ll find Mamma Roma’s along the esplanade lined with gargantuan fig trees. Tip: walk off that delicious dinner with a stroll along the jetty to make room for your Italian desert.

Arcadia

Magnetic Island is even home to a theatre restaurant. Even better, the Stage Door Theatre serves up the likes of the Ultimate ABBA Show with its three-course meals at what is described as North Queensland’s Number One Theatre Restaurant. You’ll find this razzle dazzle down an unassuming suburban street in Arcadia.

In search of an organic option? The Arcadia Store specialises in quality foods such as dairy, bread, meat, fruit and vegetables and seafood, as well as arguably the best coffee on the island. Fill up here while you fuel up at one of the island’s few petrol stations and check out this Aladdin’s cave of speciality goods.

Horseshoe Bay

Arguably one of the prettiest places on the whole island, Horseshoe Bay is also home to The Early Bird, aptly-named as one of the few places to nab an early-morning coffee, fresh fruit juices, and filling focaccia. There’s some pretty jewellery to purchase here too.

If you are, indeed, a bit of an early bird, you may also like to consider Breakfast with the Koalas at Bungalow Bay Koala Village. Enjoy a bush breakfast with North Australia’s largest colony of wild koalas. A friendly ranger will cook you the likes of pancakes served with local native jam and gourmet brioche bacon and egg rolls with chutney and spinach, while you meet Pebbles the female koala, new rescue koala Amaroo, the southern hairy-nosed wombat Harry, amid a menagerie of other animals. Come back at 4pm and you can feed the birds for free.

Also worthy of a mention is the Barefoot Food Art Wine Cafe with loads of timber decks among which you can chill out and admire the creations from top Australian artists on the walls. In search of fresh seafood? It doesn’t come much fresher than Sandi’s which serves locally-caught seafood straight from the trawler. Cafe Nourish touts itself as “heart and soul food”. Head here for a healthy breakfast or a cheeky sweet like chocolate and macadamia slice.

Top tips for visiting Magnetic Island

• If flying into Townsville, a shuttle service to the marina costs $10 for a single or $15 for a couple and will meet your flight
• Book your SeaLink ferry ticket online to save money (and time) and add an all-day bus fare to your ticket for just a few dollars more
• While only 20 minutes from the mainland, on a windy day it can get rough making the crossing, so if you are prone to sea sickness think about taking medication at least 30 minutes before departure
• It’s also worth considering hiring a car for at least one day to scoot around the island at your own pace
• You can BYO snorkel gear or hire it on the island, as well as maps with defined snorkelling trails
• Want to walk off those calories? The Ultimate Magnetic Island Guide – free everywhere around the island – has plenty of suggestions for walking tracks
• There’s a number of bottle shops on the island and many eateries offer BYO
• Avoid alcohol along the beachfronts, as it’s largely prohibited here

Need to work up an appetite? Check out these things to do on Magnetic Island.