By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
Some restaurants ask to be seen. Others invite you to slow down, settle in and simply listen. Ethos - the first public opening from Alsahwa Estate - falls into the latter.
Set on 30 acres of regenerative farmland in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, this new dining destination is less money-Monaco, more laid-back Lisbon - a place where the food tells stories, the setting soothes the soul and the pace encourages lingering rather than posing.
Ethos is understated from the outset. A low-slung structure framed by palms and softened by native flora, it feels less like an addition to the landscape and more like a continuation of it.
Designed by Alex Zabotto-Bentley and the team at AZB Creative, the architecture quietly frames the Hinterland - with sandstone floors that catch the changing light, casement windows that pull in the breeze and tactile details that echo the land's rhythms: rough-sawn timber, antique farming tools, Ghanaian pendent lights and sculptural botanicals.
"I imagined a space where nature lead, and design follows,” Alex says. "There’s nothing accidental here. Every material was chosen for its integrity and story.”
This philosophy flows into the food. At the helm of the kitchen is hatted Chef Sophie Phipps, whose Mediterranean-leaning menu shifts with the seasons and the soil. It’s not a place for pomp or performance - it’s a celebration of food grown nearby, treated simply and served with purpose.
The menu changes often, shaped by what’s growing in Alsahwa’s spray-free gardens or sourced from trusted local growers. There’s an emphasis on generosity and restraint - dishes designed to be shared, with flavour leading the way.
You might find wood-fired flatbread with labneh and garden herbs one week; braised local greens and slow-cooked lamb shoulder the next. There’s no excess here, no need for embellishment. Just a steady rhythm of ingredients that speak clearly and confidently of where they came from.
"The restaurant reflects everything we value,” Sophie says. "We tread lightly, we work closely with our growers and we let the ingredients speak for themselves.”
Dining at Ethos doesn’t feel like an escape - it feels like a return. To seasonality, to slowness, to food with a connection to its source. Even the flow of the space has been choreographed with care.
Entry is through a wide timber threshold, into a triple-height void where long timber tables and sun-washed surfaces give way to views of the estate. There’s room to exhale. No need to hurry.
While Alsahwa Estate was founded in 2020 by Jo Walker as a regenerative agritourism destination built around the guiding philosophy of ‘Mind. Body. Planet’, Ethos is just the beginning - and sets the tone for this Sunshine Coast community.
More experiences are coming - garden picnics, long table lunches, workshops and wellness events that invite a deeper connection to land and self - with Ethos leading the way as a dining experience that doesn’t rely on noise or novelty, but simply delivers. In flavour, in feeling and in intent.
In a region already rich with beauty, Ethos adds something quieter. A reminder that luxury isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s the simplicity of a meal grown just metres from your table and a space to settle, slow down and savour life’s small pleasures.
