Elk Espresso
Elk Espresso wins friends, first of all, for being a world away from slick modern cafés of Broadbeach. Once an unremarkable shop, it is now a minimalist shopfront overseen by the stencil of a giant elk standing in splendor on the distressed paint wall. There’s a rough but timeless elegance that says “I dare to be different.” The well-chosen eclectic menu is rustic and retro with a modern twist. Changing with the seasons, brunch standouts include a completely gluten- and dairy-free passion fruit and coconut breakfast panna cotta with granola, summer fruits and cinnamon yogurt. Whether you stop in for an early morning breakfast, leisurely brunch or a decadent afternoon tea, Elk has a welcoming charisma all its own, calling you off the beach to the fern forest beyond.

Santo Bokado
Arepas are always made with corn dough, baked or fried and filled with various ingredients or stews. At Santo Bokado, a restaurant that opened its doors only a few months ago at Altamira Village, a trendy gourmet mall, their flavorful japo arepitas became famous immediately. These “little arepas" are made with the usual crunchy corn dough, but fried in tempura and filled with wakame mixed with traditional reina pepiada, a common stew made with chicken, mayonnaise, petit pois and avocado. Japo arepitas can be dipped in a jelly made with "ají dulce," a unique sweet pepper that grows only in Venezuela.

Nobelhart & Schmutzig
The one-Michelin-starred restaurant by celebrity sommelier Billy Wagner and chef Micha Schäfer is one of the most unconventional and exciting fine-dining experiences Berlin has ever seen. Using regional produce only, Chef Schäfer completely refrains from using ingredients like lemon, pepper or olive oil. All diners are seated around the massive bar that stretches around the open kitchen and the entire meal is cooked in front of your eyes. Signature dishes include burnt leek in lamb broth with onions or local fish with pickled dandelion buds.

The Holy Donut
The potato doughnuts at Holy Donut are made from scratch with all-natural ingredients like real Maine blueberries. The line's always out the door at this little shop and the various daily flavors are good. But do not miss the bacon cheddar! The fluffy potato doughnut is filled with bacon bits and cheddar cheese for the ultimate savory treat!

Scratch Baking Co.
New York and Montreal can keep arguing who among them has the better bagel, but the best bagel ever is to be found in Maine. This tiny bakery in Portland bakes their bagels every morning using a 13-year-old sourdough starter. Locals and tourists alike line up early in the morning. Come late, and they're gone!

Bravo African Restaurant
There's nothing dainty about Senegalese sauces. Consider "sauce feuille," a general name for hearty leaf-based stews prepared throughout French-speaking West Africa. Typically such dishes are fattened with palm oil and, to a lesser extent, with peanut. At Bravo, these accent but don't overwhelm the chopped, stewed cassava leaves. Especially when spooned over a broad plate of white rice, the leafy sauce is often rich and filling enough to be a meal in itself. Inevitably, however, a sauce feuille is plump with meat, too. This one shrouds numerous chunks of beef and the mild-tasting fish called croaker. (True, it's hard to tell which is which till you take a bite.) At most West African restaurants, a sauce feuille will be served only for lunch, which is just as well. On a full belly, you'll have time for a much-needed afternoon nap.

Red Door Bakery
Red Door Bakery is a must-visit just to devour one of their flaky and delicious sausage rolls or their famous creme brulee tarts. Worth every tingly sweet hint on the palate, the sausage roll pastry is perfection. Golden, buttery and flaky. And with every bite, it crumbles as the layers are so light and delicate. The piping hot filling of pork meat and sage is incredibly flavorful and juicy, which complements the buttery pastry well. Then, of course, there is that spoonful of sweetness and chilli punch from the chilli jam. That stuff is a winner! You can even purchase jars of chilli jam in store and secretly eat the good stuff by the spoonful in the comfort of your own home. They create other deliciousness in the form of pizzas, sandwiches and croissants, all of which is made by hand using the best quality ingredients available.

KoKyu Na'Mean
The sandwiches have great depth for omnivores and vegetarians as the menu is almost split half and half. Each sandwich comes with a free side, which includes Furikake Potato Chips, Spicy Kimchi Cucumbers, Ginger Roasted Brassicas and Gamja potato salad. The sandwiches are an American take on Korean Banh Mi, a Korean-style sandwich served on a roll that has a crusty outside and soft inside. Na' Mean relies heavily on pork in all its incarnations and adds sauces to each that are delicious and creative. I also got to try the Ko'boy, which is jumbo coconut shrimp, except the coconut shavings are the size of corn flakes and it even has pickled onions. Delish!

Fez Cafe
Situated in the heaving popular suburb of Mount Lawley, Fez Cafe is a local favorite that has beautiful food and tasty flavors. Their latest trending dish is the vanilla bean and matcha breakfast pannacotta, which has globs of chia seeds, manuka honey and fresh, seasonal fruits like figs, berries, grapes and apple surrounding. It doesn't just look amazing. Every bite gets better and better, especially when you discover the little treasure trove of granola underneath all the other ingredients.

Pearth Organic Kitchen
Pearth Organic Kitchen is a beautiful Scandinavian look cafe that has opened recently and brought a strong menu with healthy but tasty food. Most notable are their smoothie bowls with flavours like acai, nutter and green. The nutter smoothie was full of peanut butter, dates, banana and coconut milk - icy cold and smooth, with pops of crunch added in from the granola on top.