Ricky's

2 Quamby Place, Noosa Heads

(07) 5447 2455

Head Chef: Enrique Mancilla

There is a table at Rickys — any table, really — where the Noosa River stretches out before you in a 180-degree sweep of light and water, and the whole Sunshine Coast seems to slow to the pace you always wanted. That view, and what arrives from the kitchen to match it, is why Rickys River Bar & Restaurant has held its place as one of the great dining institutions of this region for more than two decades.

Located at 2 Quamby Place on the banks of the Noosa River, Rickys is part of the Ogilvie Group alongside Locale and Aromas — three of Noosa’s most enduring hospitality addresses. But Rickys has always had something the others don’t: the water. Guests arrive by foot, by car or — in the spirit of the thing — by Noosa Ferry, gondola or water taxi, greeted at the private jetty by the team before being shown to a table where the river does the rest of the work. It is an arrival that sets the tone for everything that follows.

General Manager, David Jouy, has run the floor for a decade with a philosophy that is disarmingly simple. “We don’t try to reinvent the wheel,” he says. “People know when they come to Rickys that they will get a consistently high level of service, quality food, and a memorable experience.”

 In a restaurant industry that worships novelty, that kind of quiet confidence takes nerve — and Rickys backs it up every single service. Locals return for birthdays, anniversaries, and long Friday lunches that drift into the evening. Visitors put it on their list before they’ve even booked their accommodation. Three families have held multiple sibling weddings here over the years — that is not a restaurant, that is a ritual.

The food has always been the anchor. The menu draws on the finest local produce of the Noosa hinterland and coast — the growers, the fishermen, the farmers who make this region’s food bowl one of the most remarkable in the country. Champagne and oysters on the jetty. Canapés in the last of the afternoon light. A kitchen that understands the difference between feeding people and genuinely looking after them.

In the kitchen, Head Chef, Enrique Mancilla, has brought fresh energy and serious credentials since joining in 2023. Trained in Chile and forged across two decades in some of Australia’s most celebrated dining rooms — Longitude 131 at Uluru, Saffire Freycinet in Tasmania, the InterContinental Hayman Island — Enrique arrived at Rickys and immediately raised the bar. 

Under his stewardship the restaurant earned its first Hat from the Australian Good Food Guide, secured a place in the Top 50 restaurants in Australia on OpenTable with a score of 4.8 out of 5, and became one of the hardest tables to book on the coast — consistently full three months in advance. His food is shaped by local produce and driven by precision, restraint, and what Time Out describes as “artistic flair for flavour and presentation.”

Rickys welcomes up to 480 guests a day. It is, as David puts it simply, a magical place. The river helps. So does everything else.