Stylish diner a lively showcase for local produce
Market Bistro
I’ve put my fork down to take a sip of my wine and the fine young waiter asks if I’m ready to have my plate taken away. I’m pretty sure I’m not ready as more than half my meal still sits on the plate but it is the third time she’s asked and offered me the dessert menu. Maybe I should hand my plate over.
Oddly, the same was happening to my dining partner.
The unexplainable early clearing of plates is happening while we’re generally enjoying our meals at Market Bistro. Located smack bang in the middle of Maroochydore’s new CBD which is touted as the nation’s largest greenfield CBD project. It is starting to look rather flash with the new Sunshine Coast Council building bearing a slight resemblance to Singapore’s Parkroyal on Pickering Hotel with its cascade of greenery hanging over the streetscape.
The whole thing might be a huge folly but we’re here to sample Market Bistro’s European fare and solid wine list and not urban architecture. It’s our fourth visit and besides the overly attentive waiter, it’s an impressive joint.
A large modern space set around an open kitchen and bar, Market Bistro seems to attract a fairly good-looking Sunshine Coast crowd which might be testament to the Queensland coastal climate and seemingly endless beaches. It’s a place where you just feel healthy from the moment you take your first breath of sea air. If you don’t want to get outside and exercise here, you should probably consider living in a hovel on a peat bog in the north of England.
As for Market Bistro, the vibe is pretty lively and food excellent with a focus on locally sourced ingredients.
On a previous visit, I’d eaten the Pan roasted Goldband snapper with butter, citrus, fermented chilli dressing, radish and rocket. Presented as a half-fish (nose to tail) soaking in its buttery sauce and matched with an iceberg salad as well as chips with seaweed salt, it was fresh, sweet and a delicate palate pleaser.
Returning the following night, the Herb crumbed pork cotoletta, celeriac remoulade, and lemon matched with roasted duck fat potatoes, rosemary and garlic was a surefire comfort food winner. As for my dining companion, the Black Angus New York sirloin cooked on the woodfire managed to fill the mouth with the unctuous flavours of ideally cooked beef. It was crying out for a red wine and we ended up matching both with a 2017 Cascina Rabaglio Barbaresco DOCG from Italy’s Piedmont region. A lighter, savoury wine which tended to match both meals rather well.
Desserts will wait for next time but the crème brulee, lemon curd, raspberry, poppyseed, macadamia initially had my name on it.
More pertinently though, Market Street Bistro is shaping up to be the Sunshine Coast’s finest eatery. A large, lively contemporary space serving up some excellent food with a cracking wine list and generally quality service from an eager floor staff.
And to top it all off, snuggled at the back end of the bistro with its own separate entrance, is one of the more interesting wine stores you’ll find. A true independent offering a solid selection of wines from around the world. Well worth ditching the local big box bottlo for.
