Quartz Harbour — Best Restaurant with a Casino Hall
Turn off Mary Street after dark and you hear Quartz Harbour before you see it: a kettle whistling somewhere behind the counter, a dealer counting a fresh shoe out loud for a beginner, the soft clack of chips being squared into towers of six. The building was a stock and station office once, weighing wool and gold receipts for the diggings; now it weighs nothing but a good hand and a full plate. Dinner is cooked to order from produce carried down from the Mary Valley, and through the back curtain the card room runs its own quiet evening under six lamps, chips for points only and nothing riding on the outcome. Book the dining room for supper, or book a chair at the felt for the evening's cards — the two bookings run on separate lists and never compete for the same table.
Why a Ledger Office Became Our Dining Room
Turn off Mary Street after six and the first thing you notice is the smell of ginger and thyme from the kitchen, then the low hum of talk from the card room behind the curtain — two rooms, one door, and a house that has kept both going since 1994.
The building did its first work weighing wool bales and gold receipts for the Mary Valley diggings, and something of that careful counting stayed in the walls: we still weigh out chips by hand at the start of every session, six to a stack, and nobody takes them home.
Guests either come for supper, for the cards, or for both, and we keep the two bookings apart on purpose — a table for dinner never depends on a seat at the baize, and neither waits on the other to finish.
1994
The year we took over the old stock and station office on Mary Street.
Two Rooms
A dining room out front and a card room through the curtain, run as one house.
Six Lamps
One over each card table, dimmed low enough to read a hand and a menu alike.
Local Ledger
Produce is bought weekly from growers up the Mary Valley, not trucked in.
Supper Before the Cards, Cooked Properly
Dinner is a short, changing menu built around what the Mary Valley growers bring in that week — ginger, pumpkin, macadamias — plus river fish and a standing plate of savouries for the card room.
Nothing here is a snack bar afterthought; the kitchen runs a full service from six until the last dinner order at half past nine, with tea, coffee, lemonade and sparkling water to drink.
Bookings for supper are taken separately from bookings for the card room, so a table for dinner is never tied to a seat at the felt.
Mary Valley Ginger Pumpkin Soup
Roasted pumpkin, fresh ginger, a swirl of cream.
River Barramundi
Pan-finished, served with greens and a macadamia crumb.
Lamington Stack
Sponge, coconut and a QLD classic, plated for two.
Casino Hall: Six Tables Kept Quiet on Purpose
Past the dining room, a felt-lined hall holds six tables, seven chairs each, running crib, euchre, five hundred, bridge, canasta and rummy most nights, plus a standing invitation to a friendly hand of poker that never asks for a buy-in.
None of it runs through a machine — there isn't a pokie or a poker machine anywhere on the property, every card is turned by hand, and the chips that change hands carry no value beyond the point they're worth at that table.
Supper trays come through from the kitchen around the second interval, tea and coffee run all night from the corner urn, and the room empties out slowly rather than all at once, the way a good rubber usually does.
Five Hundred
The house game on a Friday, four to a table, scored the old way on paper.
Rummy Corner
A slower table by the window for two-handed games and quiet company.
House Dealer
On request for beginners; regulars mostly deal their own hands.
Visit Quartz Harbour on Mary Street
58 Mary Street, Gympie QLD 4570
+61 7 5482 6391 · tables@quartzharbour.com
Open Wednesday to Monday from 6 pm, the felt stays warm until 1 am; closed Tuesdays for polishing and restocking the tea urn.
How a Wednesday Runs, Start to Finish
| Time | On the Felt | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 pm | Doors open, tea urn is on | Dinner bookings seated first |
| 6:30 pm | Supper service begins | Card room stays closed until seven |
| 7:30 pm | First deal of the night | Five hundred and euchre tables fill fastest |
| 8:30 pm | Supper trays go round the felt | For players who booked cards only |
| 10:00 pm | Second tea and coffee round | A good break to change tables |
| 12:00 am | Last hand called | New rubbers close off after this |
| 1:00 am | Doors close | Chips counted back in and stacked for tomorrow |
Questions We Hear at the Door
Do I need to book, or can I just turn up?
Walk-ins are welcome for the card room on any open night, though a booking guarantees your table.
Is the restaurant open to people who aren't playing cards?
Yes — plenty of guests come for supper only and never step through the curtain.
What should I wear?
Nothing formal; tidy casual is fine for both the dining room and the card room.
Can I bring someone who has never played before?
Yes, and a house dealer will talk them through the rules for their first few hands.
Is there anywhere to park on Mary Street?
Free street parking runs along Mary Street after six, with a small verandah entrance clearly lit.
Mary Street, Front Room to Back Curtain
Eight Things We Ask of Every Guest
- Adults only — bring photo ID, we ask everyone who looks under thirty, no exceptions made at the door.
- Chips are for the felt only; they mark points, carry no cash value and never leave the room with you.
- There is no wagering and no cash prize of any kind, and nothing about the games is played online.
- A table for supper doesn't reserve a seat at the cards — book each one on its own terms.
- Quiet hands, please: talk between deals, keep it down once the cards are out on the table.
- The last dinner order is taken at 9:30 pm; the last hand of cards is called at midnight.
- House dealers are here to help beginners learn the rules, not to settle disputes over a finished hand.
- Phones stay off the felt — step into the dining room or the verandah for a call.
What the Board Above the Door Promises
The wrought bracket outside still carries the shape of the old wool-agents' sign; we hung a new board on it with the three facts a first-time guest actually needs before they climb the step.
Reserve Your Table, Dinner or Cards
Supper and the card room take separate bookings, so tell us which you'd like — or both — and we'll hold the right table on Mary Street, adults only, chairs for up to seven a side.
+61 7 5482 6391
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