Since opening on Ettalong's waterfront a few years ago, The BOX on the Water has breathed new life into fine dining on the Peninsula.

With its white-washed walls, sunflower-striped awnings and a rusty old ship’s wheel, Coast 175 is like a bright and happy slice of the Mediterranean on the Coast’s Peninsula. Inside the corner street cafe, a glass float hangs on the wall like a misty half-fallen tear drop, pineapples lie in a beautiful wooden boat and a

Inside it’s just as you’d hope a fishermen’s wharf restaurant would be. The lights are cradled in crab pots and vintage signs hark back to a time and place of crab shacks and oyster bars. Vance Joy’s Riptide is playing and behind the bar, sail boats and fishing rods circa the First Fleet add a

Standing behind one of several rows of stainless steel benches, armed with chopping boards, knives and a formidable Westinghouse cook top, we get a sense of how the contestants must feel on Masterchef. But Coastie cook Julie Goodwin, who knows all about pressure tests after taking out the inaugural television cooking competition in 2009, instantly puts us

In a culinary coup for the Central Coast, Avoca restaurant Bombini partnered with Bowral’s Biota to present an epic Sunday feast. Combining the flavours of the Southern Highlands with fruit and veg plucked fresh from Bombini’s organic garden, the joint lunch was a celebration of regional produce. Despite the incessant rain, it turned out to be a

There is a boutique at the eastern end of Ettalong’s main road that sums up the way we feel about Ettalong – Amour Ettalong. We love it. With its trendy cafes, seaside dining, bustling bars and simple, natural beauty, there’s a lot to love about Ettalong. Since its waterfront has been revitalised, we’ve been spending

Long weekends are made for long lunches and that’s exactly how we’re spending our Queen’s birthday Sunday. At 1pm sharp we take our place at one of two long tables in the light-filled Pavilion at The Entrance Hotel and settle in for a feast, fit for a Queen. Located on the edge of the lake,

It has been raining non-stop for days but we have an anniversary to celebrate – our first year on the Coast – so we rug up and brave the wet. As we slush through puddles en route to Terrigal, the sun suddenly comes out and blue sky emerges from under the grey. By the time