What makes a Gourmet Traveller best breakfast?

When Gourmet Traveller makes a call on Australia’s best hotel breakfasts, savvy travellers pay attention. Calling out the breakfast at Mt. Mulligan Lodge as being one of the country’s best, Gourmet Traveller recently revealed the secret ingredient that makes it so special: ringside seats to the outback lodge’s mighty namesake – Mount Mulligan, known as Ngarrabullgan by First Nations Australians.

What makes a Gourmet Traveller best breakfast?

The setting is incomparable, for sure, but what else makes this the best gourmet breakfast? It starts with locally-grown and roasted Skybury coffee from the Atherton Tablelands, served alongside an à la carte menu that changes daily, depending on the best locally-sourced, caught and freshly-grown seasonal fare available. 

Stroll into the main pavilion to fuel up for a day’s outback adventuring – exploring the historic Mount Mulligan coal mine, barramundi fishing in the weir, and ATV adventures  are all on the menu – and you’ll be greeted with a fresh and contemporary line-up of gourmet breakfast options showcasing the authentic local flavours of North Queensland.

Dragon fruit is just one of the tropical fruits you’ll find delivering the rainbow on your plate, while it also makes a regular appearance in the daily smoothie recipe. Mango, star fruit and rambutan are also sourced from small local farms in season. 

Local bush foods and native ingredients star in the daily-changing sourdough bread as well as the vanilla and wattleseed pancakes, which are topped with whipped quark from Atherton Tablelands biodynamic dairy, Mungalli Creek. 

You can taste the passion in the whole process – from cultivation to presentation on your plate – in every mouthful of this gourmet breakfast. It’s probably because the bacon comes from just down the road, local bean-to-bar chocolate makes an appearance, and many of the edible flowers are grown by the chefs at the lodge.

And the most popular dish? As Mt. Mulligan Lodge General Manager, Adam Barnett, says, “our Shakshouka is always a popular option, but as you can imagine, the chefs love to get a little creative so when we have guests in house for longer periods there is always something that appears off the menu as a surprise!”

Learn more about Mt Mulligan Lodge’s daily-changing menu