North Coast NSW

Far North Coast NSW: Where the locals dine

North Coast NSW Insider

Harvest Cafe, Newrybar. Photo TNSW Sharyn Cairns.

In the hills, Harvest Café, Newrybar

The coast is littered with so many great places to eat that you'll be spoilt for choice. Here are just a few of our Insider's personal favourites.

Do it yourself

The best way to dine like a local is to self-cater. The Green Garage, in Byron Bay, is a great place to stock up the pantry. This fabulous organic grocer carries all kinds of locally sourced goodies, from crate loads of seasonal fruit and vegetables to gourmet delicacies. There's even an in-house chef, who'll cook for you while you shop. Otherwise, hit the local markets, which rotate each Sunday around the region. For the freshest local produce, though, you can't beat the Byron Farmers' Market held each Thursday morning on Butler Street Reserve.

Best pub and club lunch

In my humble opinion the Mount Warning Hotel (phone (02) 6679 5111) on Kyogle Road in Uki, serves the biggest and best burgers around, hands down. For just under $10 you get an Aussie burger with the works including beetroot, egg and bacon. Wash it down with an ice-cold beer and you're in heaven! Good, inexpensive grub is also available at local surf lifesaving, RSL and bowls clubs. My pick is the Bangalow Bowling and Sports Club (phone (02) 6687 1235) which has a special curry night every Tuesday with a selection of delicious curries for only $8.

Cafe culture

Cheap and cheerful cafes abound throughout the region. Top local spots include Byron's iconic: Beach Café, overlooking Clarkes Beach, and Bayleaf Café just off the main drag on Marvel Street. My personal picks though, are the buzzy Urban Café, in the heart of Bangalow, which morphs from a casual breakfast and lunchtime eatery into a great Thai restaurant at night (well, on three nights at least); and the Harvest Café on the Old Pacific Highway at Newrybar, which serves up sophisticated but simple dishes on its large, shady deck. Further south don't miss the delectable :Georgie's Café Restaurant at the Grafton Regional Gallery, run by chef extraordinaires Mark Hackett and Geoff Platt.

Perfect pizzas

It may be a chain, but in my books Earth 'n' Sea has been slinging the best pizzas in Byron for more than a decade. Located on the corner of Byron and Fletcher Streets, it's open seven nights a week from 5pm (there's also a second outlet at Suffolk Park behind the pub). Another worthy choice is Milk & Honey (phone (02) 6684 1422) just at the entrance to Mullumbimby, which is winning loads of fans with its great daily $5 lunchtime special of wood-fired pizza and a salad.

Worth the splurge

Without a doubt, the region's most prestigious dining experience is Rae's on Watego's in Byron Bay. Here intimate candlelit dinners, usually dominated by fresh off-the-boat seafood, are served under a veil of fragrant frangipanis on a private balcony overlooking Wategos Beach. Coming in a close second is Fins. After breaking camp at the Byron Bay Beach Hotel and hightailing it north to Kingscliff, the ever-popular restaurant continues to dish up the best seafood fare around. Chef Steven Snow's menu is peppered with innovate treats such as the chilli tempura soft-shell mud crab.

Got any other top table tips? Have your say using the comments form below.

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Byron Bay

Wine and dine New South Wales Australia

User comments

You must try "The Petite Snail" for a terrific French cuisine experience in Byron with Igor Persan (from Lyon) and his wife Dominique. Igor used to run the Bangalow cooking school and makes his own saucisson and confit and other specialities. Just fabulous.

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