50 metres from Vacy Hall’s front gate and across the road, you will find one of Toowoomba’s finest restaurants, Gips.  The cuisine is contemporary international a la carte and the setting is casual but elegant even though it feels as though you are sitting in a 150 year garden.  Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday and Dinners on Saturday.  The specialty of the house is the Moreton Bay Bug Ravioli served in a vermouth cream sauce and their deserts are exquisite.  Best to book call 4638 3588.

A recent addition to the Toowoomba dining scene, Harajuku Gyoza is like a Japanese working man’s dumpling bar.  The staff are freindly and professional, they brew their own beer and have a great selection of Sake which is presented with great fanfare and flourish.   Try the open shredded pork gyoza with pickled ginger and the Agadashi Tofu (silky smooth bean curd tofu) which is served in a heart warming broth – divine comfort food.  A little hard to find down a laneway in the Walton Stores redevelopment but worth the effort.  Call to book 4642 1175

The Pioneer Arms Hotel is the real deal.  It’s a country pub less than 30 minutes drive from Toowoomba where the people at the bar are just friends you haven’t met yet.  Head west on the Warrego Highway, turn right at Gowrie Mountain towards Kingstorpe and then it’s 10 minutes north to Goombungee.  It’s the only pub in town and it is the centre of this farming community.  Great counter meals with very generous portion sizes.  Quite possibly the best steak sandwich I’ve ever had and it will feed two people!  These are VERY affordable meals. open Wednesday lunch and Thursday to Sunday lunch and dinner.

Wendland Fine Foods is a European style café deli, offering fresh savoury and sweet dishes for any occasion. They can accommodate all dietary needs and try to create authentic wholesome dishes with character. There’s an extensive cheese selection from Australia and overseas, with some of the best examples  of the world’s cheeses. There’s also a large range of artisan bakery lines and sourdough breads.  Don’t be afraid to to ask for a taste of their cheeses , meats or pates.  Great Coffee. Open 6.30 am- 4pm Monday to Saturday and 6.30am – 2pm on Sunday.

This is a really good Burger Bar.  Delicious burgers with great flavour combinations.  Choose from steak, beef, lamb, chicken, fish and vegies.  Some of them are quite large, but they also have mini versions of their most popular burgers. Gluten free options and all burgers can be served “Naked” without the buns as a salad if you watching your carbs.  My favourite is the Van Helsing which is a beef burger, with beetroot relish, tomato, lettuce, caramelised onion and horseradish cream.  Open Monday to Saturday 930am – 9pm Phone through your pick up or home delivery orders to 4638 4738

Food provenance is important to me and that’s why we shop at Millers Gourmet Meats in Mackenzie St East Toowoomba.  This is a great butcher shop.  They have free range chicken, free range pork, grass fed free range beef, wild caught barramundi and so much more.  They cure their own hams, smoke their own bacon and can tell you the story of every piece of meat they sell.  They have a great range of pies and ready to heat meals as well as a huge range of condiments.  These people really love their meat and it shows.

This fresh food marketplace offers a very large range of fresh produce which  includes flowers, baked items, cheeses, meats, fruit and vegetables, delicatessen lines, coffee, breakfast and lunches.   When they are busy you can wait a while for your coffee – so if you are in hurry ask how long it will be.  They aren’t cheap but this is great place to put together an interesting picnic hamper or buy something exotic for the pantry.  Open most days from 6.30am to 6pm on Saturday they close at 3pm and Sunday at 2pm.