Walking into Spirit House is to be immediately transported to tropical paradise. Tiki torches and the full moon cast shadows along the palm-lined stone path – it could be Thailand, or Bali… but it’s Yandina.

The acclaimed eatery nestled in lush landscaped grounds delivers a contemporary and elevated take on Thai food using the best of local ingredients. Entrees include the likes of barbecue pork ribs, which offer tenderness and texture with a spicy Sriracha glaze that is neutralised by a fresh and cleansing salad of charred pineapple pieces.

Curries are the main event, including a green duck version that is a triumph thanks to a tongue-tingling thick coconut sauce, fall-off-the-bone meat, and roasted hunks of beetroot and beetroot chips providing a surprising and much welcomed earthiness.

Serving sizes are generous, as with barbecued Mooloolaba prawns sitting atop an unctuous lemongrass-spiked sauce, but the truly ravenous – or simply gluttonous – may like to up the ante and indulge in one of several banquets.

Desserts offer a modern blend of Thai flavours with European techniques, for example the most moist of honey cakes alongside rhubarb two ways and a stellar honeycomb ice cream, which is met with bites of airy honeycomb for textural contrast.

Service is charming and charismatic, while the wine list is well-pitched to the highly aromatic food, and only beaten by a cracking cocktail array with delights such as the ‘Chai ‘n’ Ginger’ and ‘Deep Passion’ tracking along tropical theme.

Must eat dish: Duck green curry
Instagram: @the_spirithouse