Vivo Bar & Grill

Vivo is packed around the clock, even when other restaurants on this beach strip are not. A good spot for coffee, tapas, cocktails or meals, usually with a hearty breeze thrown in (hold on to your hats, menus and napkins!). There's guaranteed entertainment from the landscaped pavement in the form of human and pet flotsam drifting past, so an outside table is a must. The turreted white Queenslander with big verandah makes for a casual feel, and service can be laid-back tropical to the point of slow, and you might need to flag down staff more than once. Food is solid and well presented. Tender, spiced baby calamari with kaffir lime aioli comes with a generous handful of rocket, cherry tomatoes and Spanish onion, making a light zesty lunch, and there are few better ways to fill an afternoon than dwelling over a beautifully arranged plate of blue swimmer crab linguine at the edge of the Coral Sea. Looked at in this light - what's the rush?