Blue Owl Cafe and Restaurant

5 Reviews on “Blue Owl Cafe and Restaurant”

• M Franks

  These guys make great coffee. Friendly and easy to deal with. It looks they have live music sometimes from Thursday to Sunday nights. Looks like we’ll have to drop in another time

  March 24, 2016, 2:22 am

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• Liselou

  I love a good breakfast and the one we had on Sunday was right up there. I’m not talking anything fancy, we both had poached eggs and bacon, one with a side of mushrooms and one with a side of avocado. Eggs cooked perfectly, plenty of bacon and no skimping on either of the sides. Backed up with excellent coffees. Top it all off, very, very good value.

  December 15, 2015, 2:22 am

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• Atreyu

  The Blue Owl Cafe and Restaurant is the star eatery of the Comfort Inn in Tweed Heads (which from the outside is quite a good looking hotel). Located just near the boarder around a quieter part of the Gold Coast, it is worth seeking out sometime. Going to the restaurant, it is on the far side of the hotel’s property, with the entrance being a mere small door to the bottom of a stair well. After observing the lighting decoration in the corner, go up the stairs and be prepared for a surprise with the interior. Again, something was thought of but what happened was unexpected. It ends up being pretty good. From the sounds of it, and a glance of the outside, it might not appear as much. More or less, it would seem to be the restaurant attached to the motel, ergo guests staying there – especially short-term – would visit since it is the default restaurant. My initial thoughts were that is was going to a decent enough place to eat, and that the menu sounded good enough. Though, however, as it was to be found out the real experience gets and got better. Between times I was here with my parents. My elder sister had just had a baby, and it was not going to be visited hours for quite some time. Also, my parents were staying in a hotel nearby (which I got into for a night) and had finished their stay at it and it needed to be cleared by midday. That meant it was around lunch time. It was preconceived where to go. My parents had an Entertainment Book full of vouchers, and were looking around for a good deal and a place that looked good as well. This led to a booking, and before I knew it the three of us were eating here. The restaurant is completely open planned, almost reminding me of a ballroom. It has plenty of room to walk around, with many tables spaced out with heaps of breathing room and a few even on the balcony. From whatever seat you have in the house, looking out the window you are guaranteed to have quite a good view. Off to one side there is a big bar, and in a couple of dips in the wall there is one that is a kids corner (they can bringing their own toys to play with) and another where entertainers are placed to book out for the restaurant (which happens a lot). From the ceiling there are a few collections of lightbulbs and a TV on the wall at the far end. Overall, it is really simple in design. Blue Owl Cafe and Restaurant is not only a good place to come to as a restaurant, but it also is a great place for booking functions. The owners have a lot of experience with catering, and can manage any kind of magnitude from major to private. They approach it from a hands-on and human manner, which is also the best way to describe the service here. Whatever the wish is, they will aim to please. It can be looked at two ways with the lunch/dinner menu to describe the food that is served at the Blue Owl. First, the cuisine is more or less modern Australian fare; therefore, it has a bit of this, a bit of that, most of the meats are counted for (e.g. a steak as always, something for the seafood lovers, certainly a lamb option, maybe a vegetarian meal or two there for good measure), and to make sure that some of the classics are on there (e.g. a burger, bangers & mash, fish & chips – compulsory if the ocean is in view). Then there is the specials board which will house at least one good find. On the second level, it starts out with a simple tapas menu. Like tapas, the idea is to get one and share it between a few people; each option can be made into a small meal for an extra cost by adding a choice of fries, mash, salad or vegetables to the side. Additionally, they also provide a simple breakfast menu. At all times, the food is wholesome and very inexpensive contributing to the family friendly air that it is aiming for. Starting out, it is always what drinks people want first. As always, it is a coffee that gets my fancy, and a doppio at that. This, as usual, was a good little cup of coffee. The blend comes from Merlo, and it was strong, dark and hot. In fact, it was a bit stronger than normal and perked me right up. Getting onto the food, the idea of starters was discussed. It was hard not to order something from the small plates menu since there were a few quite different options there. My parents really liked the look of the haloumi, zucchini, and corn fritters which came with tomato ragout on the side; and, yes fries were ordered on the side. This was a good start to the meal, and a bit different to what was expected. The zucchini was the dominant feature in the fritters, with corn spaced throughout it and a slight taste of the haloumi present throughout. While the specials board was mostly reserved for dinner time, a couple of the options were available at lunch time. One of them that I initially would have gone for was not available then, but I adapt quickly. So I ordered the crispy skinned salmon, which came with a side of Dauphinoise potato (sliced potato in a mixture of cream, milk and garlic topped with cheese), a salsa made of alfala and diced tomato, some spinach, and hollandaise sauce. Both my parents went for the available options on the specials board, one got the lamb shanks with mash, and the other got the sirloin steak, with a side of fries and salad and a topping of prawns. One thing that is guaranteed is that there was a fair bit of sharing going around, and that everybody got to try a bit of everything – and it was all good, beautiful even. Each meal was simple and straightforward in presentation, and given due care for quality. First, the crispy skinned salmon. This was a decent sized cut, cooked to the right degree – slightly rare, still being pink, and having the texture be the perfect consistency. The flesh flaked off so easily with just a fork, and was really tender. It tasted delicious, with the sweet flavour being present in the flesh. On top was a crispy lot of skin that is always one of the best parts, and the alfalfa-tomato salsa added a contrast of freshness to the dish. While the spinach side might have been a bit heavy on the salt, the potato dish was good – it was hot, a little creamy and just a pretty good side dish. Finishing it off with the hollandaise simply completed the meal. From bits I got to try from my parents’ meals, I can also attest that they were good quality as well. I forget who got what, but the person with the steak offset a prawn each to the other two members of the table, which was tender and sweet. The steak was tender, and the bit of lamb shank was really buttery in texture, plus it had the depth of flavour that only a slow cooking could bring out so readily. Everyone picked a winner. No-one felt like dessert afterwards (at least my parents didn’t) and I am not one to be really pushy. Though none of the desserts to me sounded anything special – more basics more or less. However, being the sneaky bugger that I am, a second coffee after the meal would go down; this time however with a twist in the tale. That was to make in affogato, which to me is getting the best of both worlds in one: coffee and a dessert (sometimes it is just some ice cream that does it for sweets). What was the most impressive about the affogato was the presentation; the ice cream was served in a martini glass for the coffee to be poured over. It certainly suited some good quality ice cream, which this was and served in a generous portion. On top of that, the shot of espresso was really strong (again) and dark, combining well into the ice cream. Alongside it was a few roasted coffee beans to finish it all off. More or less, this was the perfect way to end such a good meal. So, Blue Owl Cafe and Restaurant in Tweed Heads definitely earns itself a recommendation. There are both the necessities of having food that is above a reasonable quality, and also the service to go with it. It hits a sweet spot where all members of the family are accounted for, partcularly with the concern of costs, without having to compromise too much on the quality of the food. It has a good setting which comes with a decent view in a fantastically convenient location.

  October 21, 2015, 2:22 am

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• Rob C

  Fine Fare. The restaurant/cafe is situated upstairs in a large open floorplan with a good range of dishes and drinks. A wine list was not evident, despite an extensive cocktail list, as our shared seafood platter had house wine included in a voucher used on the night.The prawns and bugs were well cooked, chips crunchy and golden and the salad fresh. The standout tastes were the tender baby squid, deliciously tender and perfectly cooked calamari, crumbed fish and oysters (natural and kilpatrick). The house wine was drinkable and accompanied the meal. The quality of the food supports and another visit to try the good range of alternative meals available.

  July 4, 2015, 2:22 am

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• Kategaineroz

  Blue owl cafe tweed heads. Great food, generous serves and really lovely service. Halloumi and zucchini balls 100 percent. Ignore the ‘inn’ exterior 🙂

  June 5, 2015, 2:22 am

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