When you find a restaurant that you love, it’s a bit like making a new friend that you connect with, along with the promise of shared moments that will enrich your life. That’s how my hubby and I felt when we discovered Local Flow Eatery at Cotton Tree, a restaurant that specialises in modern Mediterranean cuisine.
I did a bit of research before our visit and the online reviews were glowing. Consistently good food, exceptional service and a great wine list were common themes. ‘Lovely ambience’, ‘highly recommend’ and ‘absolutely delicious’ were others.
Would the reviews live up to our experience? Absolutely yes. However, as we discovered when we met the owners, Local Flow also has a long history, which is rooted in family, much like the family-owned restaurants you will find in the 22 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.
Local Flow is owned by husband-and-wife duo Nick and Louise Belton and together, they make a formidable team. When they first opened their restaurant in September 2004, they named it Ba Vigo. “As a Spanish tapas restaurant we specialised in a modern interpretation of Spanish cuisine up until 2021, when we decided to expand our menu to embrace more of the Mediterranean, in both cuisine and wine. It was a natural evolution,” says Nick.
Having a successful restaurant on the Sunshine Coast for 21 years is rare and they attribute their longevity to offering a flavour-driven menu, comprehensive wine list, excellent service and working well as a team.
“Louise knows what is going on in the kitchen and I need to know what’s happening on the floor, so we complement each other well. We have a lot of trust in each other,” Nick adds.
Born and raised in Taree on the mid North Coast of New South Wales, Nick says he “fell into cheffing” after landing an apprenticeship at the Summit Restaurant, an icon of the Sydney dining scene in the late ’80s and early ’90s. “I quickly developed a love for all things in the kitchen.”
“I also worked at the Edge Restaurant in east Sydney, and it had a massive influence on my career as a chef.
“From there I had the chance to work with Bruno Mazzoni at Pazzo Restaurant in Surry Hills as sous chef, and this is where I really started to fall in love with Italian and Mediterranean cuisine,” recalls Nick.
Meanwhile, Louise was forging a successful career in the restaurant industry after gaining valuable experience overseas. She opened restaurants in Noosa, Sunshine Beach and then Brisbane, where she met Nick. Soon afterwards, they moved to the Sunshine Coast to create their own iconic venue.
Both Nick and Louise are keen wine lovers, and it shows in their extensive wine list. In addition to a long list of Australian and New Zealand wines, there are 11 white wines from Spain, Italy, France and Greece, and seven red wines from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Argentina and Greece.
“We put a lot of work and research into our wine list,” says Louise proudly. “I want people to come here and enjoy something amazing and different. Every month, I showcase a wine at a special price.
“The wine and food are intertwined, making it a good experience. Nick has such a great palate – I think if he wasn’t a chef he would be a sommelier.”
If you’re not a wine lover, there are also plenty of local and imported beers, cocktails and spirits on offer, too.
Nick says his philosophy on food is to keep it as simple as possible, incorporating the big, bold flavours of Mediterranean food, but with a modern twist.
“Our interpretation of modern Mediterranean cuisine is a re-imagining of classic Mediterranean dishes, with a fresh, clean palate in a coastal dining setting and a focus on seafood and local produce.”
Nick says the most ordered dishes on their menu are the signature blue swimmer crab linguine and the barbecue seafood pizza.
“As for my favourite dish, it’s a hard one to narrow down, but at the moment it’s our confit duck and potato gnocchi – handmade light and fluffy gnocchi, spiced confit duck, toasted pine nuts, burnt orange caramel parmesan and straw potatoes.”
On the night we visited, this was the dish my husband chose and when I asked him what it was like, he did not respond at first, eventually taking a breath between mouthfuls to say, “You have it and you want some more.”
Prior to that, we had shared a starter of stuffed jalapeno peppers, slow-roasted and pickled jalapeno peppers that had been stuffed with Meredith goat’s feta and marinated anchovies. It was bursting with flavour and perfect with a glass of Don Ramon Garnacha Tempranillo.
For the main course, I chose a dish from the specials menu – chargrilled rare tuna fillet, duck fat potatoes, spinach, capers and fried anchovy aioli. The fish was beautifully fresh, the potatoes crispy and decadent and the aioli – well, let’s just say it was so yummy I had to stop myself from scraping the plate.
With full tummies, we could not tackle the dessert menu, but the delightful waitress, Lauren, said that next time, we should try the chocolate and hazelnut ravioli with mascarpone, poached orange and burnt orange caramel sauce.
Yes, there will definitely be a next time.