Spirit House Restaurant

We had an incredible birthday lunch here, the setting is private and serene and service was very good. The food was the best I have had in recent times! Both entrees were excellent, the mains were generous and delicious and the mango sticky rice dessert was one of my favourite dishes. It had lovely textures and it was flavoursome without being too sweet. I would love to come back to do a cooking class or to have another meal!

The food was exceptional and the grounds and atmosphere was tranquil and beautiful. The toilets were dirty. There was brown droplets on the walls and some sort of liquid on the inside of the door which I don’t even know what it was. It was so gross that I think my husband wouldn’t have believed me if I hadn’t taken the photos. Interestingly I told a waitress about it and she came back after a few minutes and said they’re going get it deep cleaned tomorrow. I was on the lunch sitting so too bad for the dinner people.

What a dining experience Spirit House is. The food and service are exceptional. There is a reason it’s hard to get in here; it’s a Sunshine Coast institution. The menu is varied and innovative; and the open-air setting is stunning.

The reputation of Spirit House precedes it and I had been looking forward to this dinner for ages. I booked in advance to ensure I could go during my two week stay on the Sunny Coast. I’m a big believer that service and food together make a great dining experience, and unfortunately, neither were outstanding. We were given a table with no view of the lake (fair enough, it’s peak season, not everyone can have the best tables). You can see our view pictured below. We ordered the premium banquet for two, and premium vegetarian banquet for one. One of us also had the wine pairing. The whole experience took 2.5 hours with long waits in between courses. The paired wines arrived haphazardly, often as we were finishing a course. This was particularly obvious when the ‘dessert’ wine arrived after dessert, with a ‘bonus dessert’ that was not on the menu (one little tart each, as pictured below) which felt like an afterthought. It was clear our waitperson was doing their best, but potentially had very little experience, or needed more support and training. They were unable to tell us the name or origin of the wine, let alone anything about it. When this happened for the first course, we thought “oh well, they’ll go away and make sure they know for the next course, no big deal” but it only got worse as the night wore on. Our water glasses were rarely refilled, and any other staff who attended our table seemed overworked and/or disinterested. We completely understand the time of year is extremely busy - perhaps Spirit House could schedule more staff, or give more days off, to support their employees’ wellbeing. We had asked our server at the beginning of the meal if it was possible to vary the dessert included with the banquet (and pay any difference in price, of course). They were unsure and said they would find out and check in with us prior to dessert. After the main course, before dessert, we initiated that conversation again, only to be told it was “too late because the desserts have already been made”. Ultimately, the dessert was delicious, so not a big deal, but just an example of the lack of attention to detail. It also would have been nice to try at least one other dessert between the three of us rather than all having the same. The women’s toilets were grubby, with smears on lots of surfaces, toilet paper on the floor and no hand towel. All of this is completely understandable in a busy restaurant, but not what I would expect at this price point. Highlights were the cocktails, and the dessert. We also had a perfect night weather wise which added to the ambience.

Excellent on so many levels. Came here for my birthday lunch after many years of not being able to visit and I’m still blown away at how amazing every aspect is. Christian was our waiter and made the experience superb. All service and food were excellent and I’m planning another trip back soon. Love the flexibility of the menu as well so between our table of 8 we got to try a lot of different meals. Highly recommend this venue for a casual meal or a special occasion.

One of the most stunning restaurant venues I have ever been to. The food was a delight, the standouts were the massaman curry, wagyu beef and coconut dessert. Really enjoyed the cocktails captured the Thai flavors well and the spice just wonderful. Service was brilliant too, attentive, non pretentious. Great way to spend a special evening.

Word of mouth recommendation for the Spirit House Restaurant in Yandina didn’t disappoint. The restaurant has an incredible atmosphere and ambience nestled into the rainforest and lagoon. Excellent dining experience with complementary wine selections. Staff were professional and knowledgeable. Definitely a must visit in the Sunshjne Coast.

Food was great quite expensive but great setting and service very good. Had the premium banquet. When the fish came out so did the flies which spoiled this course they also delivered the meat dish at the same time, this should have been after the fish course. Toilets very poor

We were group of three having an awesome day in Sunshine Coast until we decided to go to Spirit House. We ordered Vegetarian Pad Thai with Korean rice noodles and Thai Fried Chicken with mango salad and waited for nearly one hour. I had high hopes about food and we were starving.The noodles tasted weird and I couldn't eat more than a spoon. Same with the mango salad and chicken. It was the WORST FOOD I ever had in my life. Finally they charged 114$ for food and 9$ for water. Wasted my TIME and MONEY

So I am new to the Sunshine Coast and my parents were visiting from Melbourne, where to take them for a nice lunch out my friend suggested Spirit House. The grounds are stunning, just walking in you feel relaxed and in another world. It is expensive but the food is delicious! Service was attentive but not over the top and wine menu just as good as the food menu. Being vegetarian I had no problems, they have options for us kind. I ended up going for the banquet, which ended up way too much, I even had to ask for a doggie bag to take some home! Recommend if you want somewhere special with good food in the Sunshine Coast!

Different and interesting setting and food. Food is decent but you pay for it. Best dish (Pork Belly) is only available on the Banquet menu - why is that? If they can cook it for banquets why can't they cook it with other dishes??

We had such high hopes prior to visiting the Spirit House.. After reading all the amazing reviews about the delectable food, gorgeous atmosphere and fantastic service- we were anticipating one of the best, if not best meals we would have in Noosa while visiting from Melbourne. It was a bit of a drive out of Noosa but as mentioned earlier, we thought it'd be worth the journey. As the restaurant books out early, we managed to get a reservation for a table at 8:30pm. First impressions were "WOW, what a fabulous setting" as we walked onto the restaurant's grounds. It really did feel like being immersed into the middle of a Thai jungle of sorts but once we were seated at our table, there was not much a view as it was extremely dark and we were also surrounded by other tables. Service started off a bit shaky- we asked for a bottle of still mineral water and the waiter looked at us like we were asking for something weird, he then proceeded to offer us tap or sparkling water a few times and finally gave in and said "We've got still mineral water". It felt like pulling teeth for some unknown reason. Entree was admittedly delicious. We ordered the BBQ Mooloolaba King Prawns: the prawns were juicy and charred to perfection and the chilli jam dressing was just the right mix of rich and flavoursome. After this we thought we had made a mistake by not ordering the banquet as we weren't particularly hungry.. But I'm thankful we didn't. For mains we ordered their signature dish: the Whole Crispy Fish with Tamarind Chilli Sauce and the BBQ Pork Belly with Prawn Dumplings, Hot Mint and Rice Paddy Herb.. What a let down. The fish was crispy and cooked nicely on one side, and as it curved as it was deep fried, the opposite side was dry and horrible. It was like eating two completely different dishes! The sauce was sweet and very rich. The pork belly dish was much the same- part of dish was pretty good, and the rest was blergh. The pork belly was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside but everything: the pork, the dumplings & the vegetables were drowned in this salty overpowering dark soy that took over the entire dish. As the food was sub-par, it was very disappointing that we hiked out to the restaurant and paid premium prices for average food.. Worst of all, we really wanted to enjoy the evening out and hoped to have some of the most delicious Thai food.. Sad to say it was such a let down for us. Will not be returning in the future.

Great food and location. Sadly we had a couple of very pretentious waiters and waitresses which took away from the experience.

Gee, looking at previous views we must have stumbled onto a different place. We were amazed at the beautiful surroundings, we had a table on the wings beside the lake. We did choose lunch on a lovely day, which is possibly the best time, giving a peaceful view. Our so-called tapas meal was made up of entries and a main, the scollops, soft shelled crabs and while crispy barramundi were cooked to perfection, with fruit sauces to compliment them. Our waitress was excellent, providing great advice (although encouraging too much food) and delivered our coffees to our exact description, a first for 3 weeks in Australia We recommend caution in ordering, too much food is easy to order! The menu has many attractive dishes on offer.

My parents have been raving about this place for years. We finally booked there. They and us where very disappointed. It was salty, so salty. The kind of salty where you go to bed after a meal and dream you are in a desert all night and can't find the water. My husband and I must have drunk 2L of water during the night. The Dahl was the most bland thing I have EVER tasted. In fact it tasted like porridge. We each had a cocktail and they were also very bland, not much alcohol in them and full of ice. An expensive waste of time and money. Apparently Spice Bar in Mooloolahba is much better than this. I will never go back.

Having been to Spirit House many times for major occasions in the past and been absolutely delighted by every aspect of the experience - I booked a table for my sons 21 birthday celebration on line and asked for a table by the water. When I arrived I was a little surprised to find out that my table was not as requested. The waitress explained that when I booked on line a month earlier, there were no waterside tables left. The explanation, although disappointing, was fine. The manager overheard the conversation and came out and proceeded to argue that it was my fault for not reading the "fine print" on their website and accused me of using an invalid "USA" telephone number. I have never been to the USA and I had left my email - so they could have tried to contact me that way. The food and service by the waitress was excellent as usual - however, the aggressive and defensive tone taken by the manager made the experience a much less pleasant one. Just a tip to the manager - a less aggressive approach to a mother who was only trying to create the best for a special family occasion would have been appreciated. Poor customer service by the manager in my opinion.

Fantastic place we just love coming here. Had a group of 15 people. We all had the $80 a head banquet. The food was amazing. Can't fault anything. I think it's pretty reasonably priced.

This is an amazing restaurant, the setting is special, from the moment you enter the grounds you get the calming feeling, the staff were fantastic with the greeting to the table service, then the food, wow, it was the next level. You have to try this place. It is something special.

Cannot fault venue in any way, cannot fault the service in any way. Waitress was on top of her game, knew the menu, talked us through it, answered our questions. The food came out together and each meal was placed by the correct person (again I think it was a waitress on top of her game as the ones who brought the food out did not serve us but knew who was getting what), She also came around regularly to top up our glasses with water and when needed asked if we wanted to re order drinks. She also asked if we would like dessert and we usually never do but thought we'd go for it this time around. We shared the entrees and each had a main meal and we tasted each other meals and in general I'd say the food is excellent as far as taste is concerned. Personally I was disappointed with my pork belly, I only had 4 thinly sliced pieces (roughly 2cm x 6cm size) and 1 slice that was about the size of a 20c piece. It tasted great but I was disappointed with the amount of meat and compared to the price I paid so it does post the question of whether it is worth it or not, husband had the crispy fish and enjoyed it thoroughly, and it is quite an interesting meal, the other 2 meals were tasty but again don't really think it was worth the price and have had local dishes in Brisbane probably tasting equally nice if not better so I'd say the venue and service is probably the reason for the higher stars. Dessert was great and very tasty and the sorbet was very fresh so that was definitely a plus!

I booked for two at the Spirit House for a special occasion. We had both beed there years ago and others had given us good reports. We chose the $110 PP banquet. The final bill came to $274 with drinks. we found the place to be looking run down now. It was great in it's day bit was very sad looking. If the food had been exeptional, we wouldn't have minded but it wasn't. The servings were small, even by our standards(small eaters), and the quality wasn't there. I hope their cooking school wasn't included!! We won't be back and we won't be recommending it to others. Did I mention the flies? Not a pleasent experience.

Food was great. Service great. Disappointed to get a terrible seat however - wobbly stool and on a bar when it appears there were table settings available. I booked quite far in advance and had hoped to make a special occasion for my partners birthday but it felt like we were at the 'waiting area' and couldn't settle in. I would come again but I would be requesting a better seat and also coming when it was still light to enjoy the setting.

This eatery was recommended to us by a friend and it did not disappoint. The pork for entree was a great starter. Our mains which comprised the beef brisket and the duck. To be honest the combination of herbs and spices made for absolutely delicious eating. The size of these dishes left no room for dessert but we washed down these delicacies with a nice bottle of red which rounded our lunch off admirably. The setting was very different to what we expected with plenty of lizards, turtles and birds in and around the pond to keep us amused. A very different experience but fulfilling just the same. I would highly recommend.

I keep coming back to Spirit House, even if I have to make the drive up from Brisbane - the food is gorgeous (the whole snapper stands out from the rest, both in taste and how it's presented), and the setting is amazing. The pond-side tables (not on the bridge) remain one of my favourite places to spend an afternoon with friends and family, and it's one of the few restaurants that I've truly missed after leaving Brisbane. The only criticism that I can make is that the service is quite different from a traditional restaurant in this price range - it's much more laid-back, and you're almost expected to linger over your food here. This is both a good and a bad thing; it means you have time to enjoy a very, very special setting, but it can cross into being abandoned at your table from time to time, which is not what you'd expect at a place in this price range/with this layout.

Had the $80 banquet menu for dinner. With wine (additional $60) Food was great. Service not so. Staff didn't really know their wines. Or was really there to explain the food. We felt a bit left out in terms of service. If I'm going to do this place again, will try the lunch menu instead. Maybe.

The menu had changed since our last visit, the turmeric pannacotta was not on menu anymore and also some of the main meals had changed, bit disappointed. Table service was very slow, had to wait ages to place our order. Loved our chicken curry but they forgot to give us our doggy bag to take home. The monk blend tea also tasted different to last time and was served in a tea pot rather than the fancy pretty tea diffuser we were served in last time. After all little details do matter, we pay for the luxury and this time the luxury was missing. Overall the service could be better and please bring back our turmeric panacota. We still love the place the environment though and will come back but the restaurant can make an effort to improve its standards like before :))

I had a wonderful experience having participated in a cooking school class at Spirit House earlier this year. I have been on a Thai cuisine adventure discovering flavours and making Thai dishes for family and friends. I recently had the opportunity to eat at Spirit House restaurant for lunch. The service was excellent, we were assisted with our choices from the menu. Entrees Coconut Soup of Salmon and Wok Seared Scallops were yummy beautifully balanced flavours most enjoyable. Our mains Whole Crispy Fish and Green Paw Paw Salad 'Som Tum' great. The Red Curry of Pork Shoulder was a let down. The pork shoulder meat was tough and very chewy the only saving grace for this dish was the sauce. Will be back for another cooking school experience.

I was so excited to be going to the Spirit House for dinner - i have heard great things about the place. When we arrived i was struck by the beauty of the surroundings. Unfortunately the food was not so good. We were told there was a "new menu". I tried the 16 hour coconut braised beef short rib. I must say i am surprised that anything that had been cooked for 16 hours could be as tough as it was. The green curry sauce was nice enough. My friends had lemongrass and turmeric chicken, which they said was okay. The desserts were an improvement, with the ginger brulee the stand out! The service was also pretty ordinary (except for the lovely woman who brought out desserts and described each one to us). In summary, I am glad I can say I have been there, but will not be rushing back.

I am not a fan of this type of food, but people who do like it say this is the best food ever. The restaurant is in a huge garden and overlooks a lovely pond. There is a separate building for cooking classes. It is the place to go if you like this style of food, its just not for me. Very pricey.

Beautiful and peaceful place to dine in, enjoyed the atmosphere as it really feels like we were in Thailand. Because we have been waiting for so long to go the Spirit house, and finally had the chance, so after we arrived and looked at the menu, we chose the $110 per head banquet thought we want to try everything!------Big mistake. Although first entree was amazing, so flavorsome and really brought me back to Thailand, but that was it. The rest of the dishes were good but close to average, some were even too salty and some was too sweet. It wasn't worth the money at all! After all we paid closed to $300 for two people for average level of food which we didn't expect to get. Perhaps was also because our expectation was too high, but we had same experience in other famous restaurants with high hope and was so amazed with the experiences....and just a shame we didn't have same experience in the Spirit House. My husband attended their cooking class years ago, and he said the food that all students cooked at that class were much better than the dishes we had that night....I don't know what went wrong with the restaurant but I believe it must be really good when it original started, but the updated menu and recipe just not worth for the price, and we actually don't even mind to pay whats worth it. I would still suggest to go for the experience as the place is pleasant to dine in, there are still some good dishes but just not superb. Just don't order the banquet, not worth it.

The food was average compared to how we remembered from a few years ago. I booked the date online 7 weeks prior and where it asked for specific requirements I asked for seating near the water. I phoned two days before going to check on this as it was a special occasion. They said no, they don't read the messages on line. I was not happy and asked them to try to sort it out if possible. When we got there The head guy said in a very sour voice that no he was unable to give us a water table as we needed to book early. I asked him how early we needed to book he said "at least a week!!!!!!!!) . I did not argue with him as we wanted a nice meal. The waiters were nice but he was a stuck up, rude person.

Have been going to Spirit House for many years and on this occasion we found it to be underwhelming in both food and service. Food lacked the punch and flavour and wasn't presented as well as previously, however our desserts were dish of the day in taste and presentation. We were introduced to our table waitress and felt she was dis-engaging and absent throughout and didn't complete the service towards the end. Perhaps she had finished shift but still could have closed with a "goodbye, did you enjoy, etc"?. The setting is always divine, however it lacked overall feeling and ambience this time. We believe we are not demanding customers and felt it was important to share our honest feedback as you have requested. Di

I found the courses that we chose very interesting and pleasant with one exception. I would say that the tom yum was absolutely the hottest i have ever eaten, in either aus or thailand , i mean to say it was blazing hot ,maybe the choice of chillis used, i really struggled to finish the meal and unlike most other hot meals i have encountered it left me with a less than pleasant after taste

Beautiful location. Polite and professional service. Very upmarket. The food is presented stunningly. It's because of this I only award 2 stars. The food simply disappoints after the amazing buildup. The flavours are repetitive and overbearing. Salt is heaped on by the bucketload. The chef is seriously heavy handed in this respect, and even if you don't have high blood pressure, I suggest you take a defibrillator anyway, just in case. Even the desert tastes like the mains. Service, although polite, was excruciatingly slow. We were there 3 hours, and the place was almost empty. Hugely disappointing as it has a the potential for perfection. Please get a new chef.

Disappointing - long drive - food drowned in dark salty sauces overpowering, the 2 wantons were overpriced at $15 for something the size of two corn chips with a morsel of chicken inside - served on a wooden board with four holes but only two with wanton cones standing in them - can't help wonder if kitchen made a mistake on that one as all other meals were generous in size. Crispy barramundi was ok but extra sweet sauce tasted like bottled sauce. The BBQ tofu in glass noodle was a dish of dark brown salty sauce that so overpowered the food. Really was almost inedible. With four people ordering we had a range of foods and were highly disappointed. The pineapple and cucumber jelly wasn't a jelly and overpowered with Vietnamese mint leaves. Not tasty. Won't be returning and not recommending to anyone. Everyone had upset stomachs by the time we were home.

Beautiful setting and great service BUT we experienced for the second (and last) very disappointing cuisine (wagyu beef of poor quality, 2 ridiculously small sized caramelised pork/prawn portions, average quality shell crab fried, too salted sauce barramundi fish, dried braised duck leg). I would only compliment grilled octopus (which I shared with 3 other guests!!) and the Panacotta dessert. For the price I paid (by the way not the one advertised on the website) it did not match the quality!!

Food was mixed and the service was terrible. Whiting and tempura vegetable starters were great. The signature whole fish was drowning in a sauce that tasted like it was straight from a bottle, which was disappointing as I had this same dish 20 years ago at the same place and it was amazing. Service was incredibly amateur for such an expensive restaurant. Plates left on our tables for extended periods. Our drink glasses were always empty. Staff would walk past and not ask if we needed anything and ignore the fact that our table had completely finished and the table was full of empty plates. Meals would come out slowly and one by one (our booking was for 6 people and meals would arrive randomly). Staff didn't know about the menu items. It's an amazing setting but a long drive from Noosa where we were staying. We lived up in Noosa in the 90's and used to recommend this spot to all our American friends (where we now live). We doubt we would do this anymore as you expect better service from a restaurant that has such high expectations. Some of the other dishes that our party had were great. Others were just OK. Overrated.

I can understand the rave reviews about Spirit House, I can, we have been going to this once superb restaurant for over a decade 2 maybe 3 times per year. They do not now cater for couples unless your idea of bench seating shoulder to shoulder against a window is your idea of intimacy. No more will you look your partner in their eyes as you taste the delicious flavors form the Spirit House Kitchen. Our plea for a table was dismissed "take or leave....it". What was a leisurely food experience is now a churn get em in get em out. The classic banquet $80 is not as it used to be, two small piece of duck in what is supposed to be a shared plate etc oily salmon soup and soggy rice. We could have easily had our lunch in a hour where once the second main course of the banquet started after a hour had passed such was the leisurely pace. back then. This was our 15th Wedding Anniversary we were so looking forward to visit. I had a sneaking suspicion that this visit may be different, I tried to call back the number left on my smartphone to confirm my reservation but the number kept coming back as disconnected ! worried I confirmed by voice to the restaurant, We live just over an hour away probably almost a local considering how far some patrons may drive to experience its delights. We have networked the worth of Spirit House to others even physically brought friends who have gone on to tell others, how else does an out of the way country restaurant survive all these years. A few years ago, the food workshop was my birthday present. loved it, we love the Spirit House brand. Sad to say that the food and the experience was "Meh" I am certainly not willing to go back. In case the experience was not a one off. I hope the staff at Spirit House do read this review. Middle age to older couples or patrons will not like your uncomfortable bar stools or the lack of realestate on those benchtops for the food when it is brought out. We don't visit your restaurant to be rushed, we love your wine list and your very different take on Thai food its unique in SE Queensland, your desserts are to die for. This is only review I have ever written, but so peeved were we that is almost ruined our day. Sorry I just changed it from 2 stars to 1 star. this rating is based on other Spirit House experience s against the one we had yesterday 16 May 2015. Compared to most other restaurants I would give it 2 starts for overall experience . Thank you.

To be honest, I was highly anticipating this experience after hearing only wonderful reviews from friends. We arrived early to enjoy a drink at the new bar but it took so long for staff to arrange 4 seats and get our menus and take the order that we left to go to our reservation at 7 for dinner in restaurant. We were seating outside (most of the restaurant is seating outside amoungst the tropical gardens) and despite having request for inside we were bumped. It was a cold night so that's not anyone's control but our meals in total (we ordered banquet) took over 4 hours!! We even had to ask at one stage if our meals were misplaced for another table. The food was delicious - but served luke warm. The restaurant was busy yes, but this restaurant should be normally busy and used to this. When everyone at a table is standing up constantly to stand in front of the heater - the least you could do is offer a blanket (we walked past inside tables on our exit to see these tables had blankets) or hurry along our meals or even offer drink service. As mentioned the food was delicious - I feel it was purely a service disappointment which at these prices should not be happening! Very disappointed and surprised by our experience, not sure I would go back again.

We loved the intimate setting and beautiful presentation of the food. The cocktail was divine! We were however disappointed that the soup came out luke warm from the teapot. It would have been so lovely if it was hot. The buffet was good value and such great intensity of original flavours for the starters. The fish sauce around the fish and the sauce around the vegetables however were both heavy repetitive and dominant. We really enjoyed the service and would definately return. We wouldn't order the fish or veggies again but would choose some different dishes instead. Thank you for a lovely evening.

very disappointed - we are repeat local customers. the service was not as good as you would expect from venue of this calibre. something has changed within the last few months; we will now really think about going back. staff blamed a function, after we complained about the wait for our main course, drinks were slow in arriving, we served ourselves wine from the bottle for most of the night, meals delivered to the table without plates in front of us, no servicing cutlery were included on the banquet plates. the food was not as tasty and impressive as previous visits.

this is our 3rd time here. the surroundings are still lovely and we enjoyed it immensely. the service was good and the young lady was very attentive and very pleasant. We loved our entrees. the richness of the flavours were outstanding and the dishes were excellent (we had the scallops, the prawns and the pork belly). However the main courses were not as good I remember the last times... the fish (barramundi) was ok but not as excellent as when I had the snapper in the past.. the salmon in the broth was not cooked properly and part of it was raw and slimey. Few veges in the broth would have been a good addition to it. But the worst of all was the chicken biryani.... awful!! 2 small pieces of tasteless and flavourless chicken (for $30+ the dish...) the rice was ok. but the yoghurt in the spoon was just like plaster... I actually think it was plaster!!! tasteless and flavourless again... I tried a bit and left the rest... the waiter did NOT tell me that the dish was for people who do not like spicey food... well I DO !! and I lived in Thailand and India for a number of years and have the palate for it... the coffees were nearly cold (espresso). the chai was hot and tasty. the dessert, the dumplings, were a very good dessert. Overall we were disappointed although mainly with the main courses. Shall we come back for a 3th time??? I am not sure... Andre Le Nair