Elixiba

On Ocean Street in Maroochydore, the Sunshine Coast's late-night pocket, this plant-based restaurant doubles as a herbal alchemy bar. The kitchen is entirely vegan and coeliac-certified, working from scratch in a low-allergy kitchen with local and organic produce, and the drinks list runs to house elixirs and herbal cocktails alongside craft beer. The cooking is ambitious and occasionally divisive — creative rather than comforting — but it fills a niche few others attempt on the coast. Lunch and dinner run most days, with the room stretching later toward the weekend as Ocean Street comes alive. Sister to a long-running Byron Bay venue, it brings that hinterland-wellness sensibility north without losing the pleasure of a proper sit-down meal. For diners who want plant-based food treated as gastronomy rather than substitution, it is the most adventurous table in Maroochydore.