List
By Christine Retschlag
From coal to hot coals, and railways to restaurants, south-east Queensland’s former mining and train town of Ipswich has turned up the heat and transformed into a delicious dining destination. Think cute cafes, pretty pubs and award-winning eateries. Savour the flavours at these innovative establishments, less than one hour west of Brisbane.
Photo by @princealfredhotel
Better known to locals as The PA, The Prince Alfred Hotel became restaurant royalty when it won the coveted Australian Hotel of the Year Award in 2017. Check out its red claw crayfish, tomahawk steaks and deep-fried Mars bars and enjoy a brew at its Tap’d Bar – the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere with 72 craft beers on tap.
Renowned for its quaint Queenslander homes, The Cottage Restaurant is nestled inside an 1861 cottage and serves modern Australian cuisine, such as Brisbane Valley quail and smoked kangaroo, in its converted bedrooms. Head to Dovetails Restaurant for relaxed modern Australian meals using native ingredients such as paperbark smoke-scented barramundi and crocodile entrees.
Photo by @hannahstatham
It wouldn’t be Ipswich without a cheesecake, and locals reckon those at the 19th century Fourthchild Café & Restaurant are “epic” as are their breakfasts. Bring your pooch to dog-friendly Rafter & Rose and enjoyed baked goodies such as lime and coconut slice and pumpkin pie washed down with a deconstructed chai tea. If you like your coffee with a shot of heritage building outside and funky industrial décor inside, look no further than St. Shoebill and its Moroccan potato cakes, chorizo chilli scrambled, bimbimbap and bao.
Flavours of Ipswich in April allows you to sample this pretty city’s favourite restaurants with fixed-price lunches and dinner from more than 30 establishments. Future Flavours Food Fair (dates roving since covid) transforms Ipswich’s heart with food trucks galore. Go ballistic with Sunday sesh’s of live music at Ballistic Beer Springfield which brews its beer onsite. Try the limited release “sleep when you’re dead” series here.
Grandchester’s chef-hatted Homage at Spicers Hidden Vale, pays homage to home-grown garden and local-sourced ingredients such as suckling pig and emu ham washed down by an extensive and impressive wine list. An Ipswich icon in its historic 1800s brick façade, the award-wining Bakehouse Steakhouse uses locally-grown beef and pork products straight from the family farm. Pair your beef and burgers with the truffle mash.
Picnic in the olive grove and feast on freshly-plucked produce at Watercress Creek Olives & Limes which also hosts an olive festival in April. Your eyes, and belly, will boggle at the array of olive and olive products at this Pine Mountain producer.
Burgers and beers go together like railways and Ipswich and 4 Hearts Brewing, the first to open its doors in the city in more than 100 years, is a firm favourite which brews onsite. Try the Ipswich Challenger brew here with its mandarin, green tea, and spice notes, or the Coal Miners Stout with its cheeky hints of coffee and chocolate. The site is actually home to the Pumpyard Bar, 4 Hearts Brewery and Dovetails Dining here.
Relish a bit of retro? The Retro Diner serves up 50s, 60s and 70s music with its cocktail menu of more than 40 flavours. Feast on The Elvis PBB – Elvis’ favourite sandwich of peanut butter with crispy bacon and grilled banana on thick white. It’s not hard to pick the best nightclub in town as there’s only one. Luckily Falveys Grand Hotel Yamanto is receiving rave reviews from locals.
Photo by @onemilemedia
It would be remiss to leave Ipswich without dropping in to Ungermann Brothers whose gourmet ice cream and shakes are causing quite a sweet stir in town. Among more than 17 flavours of ice cream, it’s the garlic which is surprisingly the best seller among curious residents. For another treat with a twist, try the homemade waffles with sweet port belly and butterscotch caramel finished with a smoked vanilla ice cream.
Essence of Indya, which describes itself as the city’s first contemporary Indian restaurant, serves a charcoal kulfi for dessert worth checking out. (If main course is more your jam, there’s friendly competition among the three Indian restaurants in town, all vying for the title of best butter chicken). Head to Memories of India, Indian Mehfil and Essence of Indya and you be the judge.
For a styled tent picnic experience while dining on a locally-sourced platter, The Soul Nook Collective in Marburg is your gastronomic go-to. Along Haigslea’s Seminary Road, where they’ve been known to turn water into wine, sits Imbibis the boutique artisan gin and brandy distillery. With a motto of “surrender to your senses” and inspired by the flavours of Queensland, expect premium Aussie ingredients such as bottle brush, lemon myrtle, native pepper berry and anise myrtle in your gin. Local grapes are the back bone of the distillery’s brandy. Don’t depart without a pack of premium tonic and a handful of garnishes crafted from dried edible flowers. There’s even locally-made hand sanitiser here too.
For the ultimate quirky drop, head to Harrisville’s Summer Land Camels and pick up a bottle of Camel Milk and Honey Vodka. Brandished as a “world first”, this spirit is made from camel milk whey and honey, triple distilled and said to possess floral notes of seasonal honey with a “long clean warming finish”. You can also pick up some straight camel milk here, believed to contain all sorts of health benefits, as well as cheeses and gelato from these sassy ships of the Australian desert.