Quality, not quantity, is the key at this Noosaville eatery. There seem to be quite a few little dining delights in Noosaville, as I have had the opportunity to explore of late, the latest being Milagro Modern Australian Restaurant. Milagro (Spanish for miracle) is on Thomas St, tucked in a little off the street. Seated outside, the venue had a lovely ambience, with mosaic features on the floors and Latin American overtones in the decor as well as on the menu.

We munched on corn jalapeno bread, which we dipped in hummus and a balsamic sauce ($12) while we scoured the menu for our evening’s choices. The menu is not huge; four entrees and four mains. Although few choices, they are seemingly good ones. Before anything was brought to the table we were treated to a complimentary mushroom and bonito broth, which was served in small espresso cups. A nice touch, the combination of mushroom and bonito whet the appetite beautifully.

Next came fresh oysters guacamole ($17). The lovely, large and absolutely fresh oysters came with tomato coriander salsa and guacamole. The salsa was zesty and fresh; great flavours, together with the guacamole. It was a bit of a delectable moment. I was looking forward to my main course. I was quite intrigued by my choice, which was the confit of Huon ocean trout, served with ginger miso eggplant, kipfler potato,pickled ginger, Japanese kombu and ponzu aioli ($29).

It seemed such an unusual combination of ingredients and definitely more of a Japanese influence than Latin American, so it seemed a bit out of place on the menu, but caught my attention nonetheless. Visually the dish looked amazing and the arrangement of the various components made it look as interesting as it sounded. The confit was absolutely divine. Cooked in duck fat, the portions of ocean trout were luscious and just melted in my mouth.

The ginger miso eggplant was quite unusual. It was creamy and smooth, and had an almost caramel flavour. At first I felt like I could not get enough of it, it was so delicious, but by the time I finished my meal it was almost a bit sickly so I wished it had been a smaller portion. It was like eating too much chocolate — it was too much of a good thing. The pickled ginger proved a welcome interlude, cutting through the richness of the dish.

My dining buddy chose the 150-day grain-fed angus eye fillet with sweet potato and part raisin mash, baby spinach, balsamic onions, field mushroom and burned balsamic jus ($29). Not a mushroom fan, she asked the waitress to omit the field mushrooms, which the chef happily obliged by substituting with some sauteed cabbage. Again, the dish looked great. Beautiful, tender, medium rare beef with a visual assortment of goodies arranged on the plate.

As a side dish we happily shared a delicious bowl of green vegetables doused with lemon olive oil and sprinkled with roasted flaked almonds ($5). Believe it or not, I forewent the dessert on this occasion. Alas, I had not a shred of room left, even though there were a few choices, which made me contemplate the dessert menu a little longer than I should have. Milagro is BYO ($3 corkage a person), so come prepared. There is a substantial non-alcoholic drinks list (including a wide variety of teas).

We went low key and opted for a mineral water and lemon lime and bitters ($3.50), and I experimented with the roasted coconut juice ($3.50), which was not at all to my liking, but I had to try it. Milagro made for a lovely evening out with its friendly attentive service and a menu proving to be something a little bit on the unique side. Wednesday night is live music night, which I am sure would add to an already enjoyable night out.

Petra Frieser’s visit was unannounced and she paid for her own meal and beverages.