Cheese Me Baby

One of the easiest breeziest cafes on the Gold Coast would have to be Cheese Me Baby perfectly positioned in Mermaid Beach Village on the leafy corner of Tamborine Street and the Gold Coast Highway.

Cheese Me Baby was born from the owner's time in the local market scene, having run a popular stall alongside famed food suppliers, like Currumbin Bakehouse, Nimbin Dairy, Tallogum Berries, Greg’s Hot Smoked Salmon, Jumping Red Ant, Nic Dimond Granola and Nobby Beach’s Somm Wines. 

When, post-covid, Cheese Me Baby took up residence in the cleverly converted shipping on Tamborine corner- the quality local suppliers came along on the journey. The sense of community has translated into Cheese Me Baby becoming a popular vibing foodie community hangout for a huge following of loyal locals who loved the cracking coffee and seriously next-level toasties.

Aesthetically Cheese Me Baby is a breath of fresh air, with a relaxed grassy outdoor picnic-style setting under beautiful tree boughs and cool hanging vines. The sidewalk scattering of stools and Parisian-style chairs will give you terrace café vibes (so will the baguettes and wine) but at its heart, Cheese Me Baby is an unpretentious place for the people, welcome to rock up on a bike or with a dog.

Of course, people don’t just come for the laid-back village vibe, Cheese Me Baby’s menu comes with continental flare, kicking off with the pastry, loaf and baguette-of-the-day, then rolling into the Broiche Board served with Greg’s hot smoked salmon, Nimbin Dairy crème fraiche, egg, tomato, red onion, capers, caperberries, parsley, brioche and a petit orange juice. Choose a Baguette Board if you prefer the triple cream brie, raspberry jam and smoked ham with your cultured butter. 

The pièce de resistance is of course, the toasties and open toasties (tartines) made to order and served with cornichons and crisps on thyme and garlic-buttered pixel sourdough. Early morning cravers come for the aptly named More Than Breakfast toasty (above) with its signature three cheese blend, streaky bacon, aioli, two fried eggs, rocket and chilli jam. It’s truly a cheese-lovers dream.

Cheese Me Baby offers diners a ‘build-your-own’ toasty option with all the sides imaginable. However, few can go passed the perfect combination of the chargrilled Maple Pumpkin toastie (above) served with sage and maple glazed streaky bacon, rocket and gorgonzola blue cheese. Yum!

As for the beverages, Burleigh’s Social Espresso is the pour-of-choice for discerning coffee lovers, while cold-pressed juice and dark addictive adaptogenic (medicinal) hot chocolate from Byron Bay’s Social Alchemy are also popular. Even more appealing, Cheese Me Baby has you covered for the perfect wine and cheese combination, offering a selection of SOMM Wine’s delectable drops. What are you waiting for? The food revolution is here!

By Michaela Lyons