Mr Drifter, located in Noosa Junction, delivers Asian street foods of the spice trade from India to Indonesia, crafted cocktails, Australian wines, session-able beers and funky tunes.
Founder Charlie Harrison has lived in Indonesia and Japan and draws on his family’s colonial Indian heritage – you could say a taste for spice and rich flavours is hereditary.
Mr Drifter’s menu has a variety of share plates, salads, and vegan-friendly plant-based dishes and features fresh local seasonal produce. On the lunch menu is Pork Sui Mai – fried pork dumplings with chilli, soy, and sambal dipping sauce.
Their Signature Drifter Roll is a flaky Malaysian roti bread with your choice of Asian spiced beef, pork, chicken or eggplant and a crunchy zest slaw. There is also a range of rice bowls and salads like the Roast Sesame Noodle Salad – green tea, soba noodles, fresh vegetables, mango and roasted sesame dressing.
As the sun goes down, treat yourself to Mr Drifter’s impressive cocktail list. Try the Thai Spice Shooter with zesty lemon juice, ginger, coriander, and chilli served with apple, ginger and vanilla pickle.
Start the night off with a round of bar snacks like the Togarashi Spiced Squid with a caramelised pepper sauce. Inang’s Fried Chicken with sambal mango dip or Street Corn with coconut masala and a sriracha mayo dipping sauce.
To spice things up, these are our top selections from the dinner menu. Starting with the Duck Spring Rolls – Roasted duck rolled into a crispy spring roll, served with lettuce, Vietnamese mint salad and spiced citrus hoisin.
Som Tum Green Papaya Salad – A Bangkok-style salad with shredded green papaya, cucumber, tomato and bean sprouts topped with roasted shrimp, peanuts and a sweet chilli citrus dressing.
For the larger plates, Mr Drifter’s Signature Dish – Yellow Duck Curry with turmeric, cumin-rich coconut curry and tender marinated duck breast drizzled with cumin yoghurt and shallots.
Or the Barramundi Green Curry – turmeric and ginger marinated barramundi in a green curry sauce and coconut chilli chutney. Add a few side plates like the house-made sambal, Roti bread, rice and papadums if desired.
Mr Drifter is a gateway to a world of spice, flavours and good times. Open Wednesday to Monday, Lunch from 11.30 am to 3 pm, dinner from 5 pm and closed Tuesdays.
