Casual Eateries
In Byron Bay, we’re spoiled for choice with a diverse range of authentic, laid back eateries serving up great fresh food at pocket-friendly prices.
Miss Margarita’s is a funky Mexican eatery with fantastic food, happy hour beer, margaritas and sangria, and great cocktails. Try the Smokehouse – tequila, smoked mescal, pineapple juice and kaffir lime leaves – it’s definitely a divider of opinion!
Il Buco is one of Byron Bay’s newest additions – tucked away on colourful Bay Lane and offering authentic, thin and crispy Italian pizza with fresh, local produce. The Prima Vera is amazing.
Il Buco
Try the authentic Italian pizza made with high quality local produce - MTV even awarded it Australia’s best pizza two years running!
Kinoko offers fresh and delicious Japanese sushi and sashimi in a relaxed setting including a sushi train. The tuna sashimi melts in your mouth and the halloumi cheese tempura is a devilish treat.
Asia Joe’s makes fresh and tasty fusion meals packed full of yummy flavours and healthy ingredients, with a pocket-friendly BYO alcohol policy and a laksa that you’ll find hard to forget.
Who doesn't love delish fresh fish and chips? Right on Byron's Main Beach, kick back on their casual deck and watch the fire twirlers and drummers do their thing or grab some take away and sit on the beach as the sun sets. Yummo.
Delicious, well priced Middle Eastern food cooked fresh to order – falafel pockets, lamb koftas and moreish mezze plates. The home-made lemonade is addictively refreshing.
Heart and Halo is a vegetarian’s delight. Indian wholefoods made with love – go for the buffet style takeaway tub for a cheap and incredibly satisfying lunch and the Rose & Pomegranite drink for a refreshing treat.
Top Shop has got it in the bag for great burgers, hearty breakfasts, and fresh pastries, juices and consistently fantastic coffees. A relaxed local institution for surfers and visitors alike.
Top Shop Byron Bay
When in Byron Bay, you can’t go past The American burger from the Top Shop
Naked Treaties packs a cool punch with delicious raw foods, chocolate treats and smoothies. Try the raw Snickers – practically guilt free! They also have meditation classes some evenings.
For the best gelati in town, look no further than In the Pink – a Byron Bay failsafe with friendly service and innovative flavours piled high with real fruit, chocolate and the like. The Coconut Rough is amazing.
As a special mention, if you take the drive just 20 minutes north to Brunswick Heads (which is well worth a visit with it's cute shops and beautiful waterfront where the river meets the sea), Yami's is an institution and a fabulous spot for a healthy and delicious vegetarian lunch.
Dining Out
The iconic Byron Beach Café is serving up a fantastic new east-west fusion menu by former Sydney chef from the institution, Longrain. It continues to offer delicious, stylish and leisurely breakfasts and lunches overlooking the beach – and if your budget doesn’t quite stretch, you can always get a coffee fix from the kiosk and wander down to the water’s edge.
When Brangelina and their brood stop in for a visit, you’d do well to take that as a good sign. Byron’s most exclusive restaurant, Rae’s is infamous for its fresh, local fish. Try the three course Thai seafood banquet for a clean food indulgence bursting with flavour.
With beautiful décor, this prime spot opposite Byron’s Main Beach offers wonderful food and impeccable service – Italian at the Pacifi ticks every box. Traditional Italian pastas combine with contemporary meat and fish dishes with mouth-watering teasers for everyone.
For a classy night out under the stars, dine on the deck at Byron’s most exclusive resort. Go for dukkha rubbed lamb rump, Berkshire pork rack or Balinese fish curry for a meal that you’ll want to pester your friends with on Facebook!
Dinner & Drinks
A chic, Melbourne style bar/restaurant with great sharing plates, tapas and cocktails – as well as chilled out live music every Sunday arvo. The softshell crab sliders will make your ‘last meal lis’ in a heartbeat!
Manuel and his team will welcome you at this breezy resort style bar and restaurant featuring delicious and contemporary Sardinian fare. With a passion for the best fresh local produce, Basilico is Byron's new kid on the block.
Fun Night Out
As a creative hub and all round great place to be, Byron Bay attracts lots of musicians on their Eastern seaboard tours. It can offer the chance to discover great new talent or get up close and personal with a big name act in an intimate setting. For comprehensive listings of this week’s gigs and artists in and around the Bay – see http://www.echo.net.au/gig-guide/Some of the top venues include:
Byron Bay’s iconic pub venue, The Beach Hotel stands on the ocean’s edge with its large, bustling beer garden open to the sea breeze. Watch the whales with a cold beer, catch the big game or dance the night away to DJs, live bands and soul queens.
The Beach Hotel
This iconic destination is a go-to for outstanding food and music. Try the slow cooked lamb shoulder, grilled baby barramundi, wild game pie, or all three!
The haunt of Byron’s local fraternity, ‘The Rails’ is an old Railway station perched on an abandoned railway line that once ferried sun and fun seekers into town. With live music every night for the past 25 years (excluding Christmas Day), The Rails buzzes to the sounds of bluegrass, rock, folk or blues night after night – all the while serving delicious pub grub and a selection of local and classic Aussie beers.
Watch the world go by from the window seats at the Northern, a grassroots rock and indie music venue with a solid pub menu and quality tunes every night. Check out who’s playing in the back room – you never know when your favourite band might pop up.
La La Land is a great rooftop bar on Byron's main drag in Lawson Street. Freshly refurbished, it's an awesome place to hear live music from some of Byron's most talented up and comers over a well-made umbrella drink, or to hit the dance floor with live DJs into the early hours.
Best Breakfast
A breakfast with one hell of a view – watch the sun rise at Cosy Corner and follow it up with the breakfast special at the illustrious Byron Beach Café! Be there early or be prepared to wait briefly for a table.
With a fantastic breakfast menu, coffees and fruit smoothies - we recommend the GI Joe breaky – and the best muffins in Byron. Belongil Bistro also plates up a great dinner menu served under the stars.
With an all vegan menu and situated along the side of a church – Manna Haven might not be everyone’s cup of chai. The food might tempt you back to the church pew though, with amazing tofu scramble, delicious fritters, tasty smoothies and a raw chocolate mousse cake without fault. Hallelujah!
Dip Café Restaurant and Bar lounges on Fletcher St in the sun – churning out premier coffee, incredible pancakes, scrumptious pesto scrambled eggs and corn fritters to write home about.
Laze on the grass with a perfectlong black, a fresh strawberry Danish and an omelette burger – the perfect antidotes to whatever the night before served up!
Best restaurants around greater Byron
Bookings are recommended at all these establishments.
Newrybar
Harvest Café is an elegant and relaxed local institution in Newrybar. Baking their own breads in a wood-fired oven, and using produce from the café’s own five acre organic farm, it’s fine fare fresh from the providore. Take a short stroll around the tiny town’s shops and stock up at Harvest’s own super premium deli next door.
Ewingsdale
Open only for Sunday lunch and for Farmers Market dinners from Thursday to Saturday, Fig Tree serves a unique menu using seasonal, homegrown and locally sourced or self-farmed produce to create a Byron dining experience like no other.
Uki
With an extensive kitchen garden and views over Mt Warning, Mavis’ Kitchen and Cabins is a great spot to drop in and unwind. Sit on the old homestead’s first story deck and share a platter of pork rillettes and Persian feta, or indulge in the 3 hour Slow Cooked Greek Style Lamb – out of this world!
Bangalow
For something more than a little special – book Town’s Uptown for the six-course degustation menu – served on the upper floor of this beautiful verandah wrapped building. Or, try Downtown for relaxed lunches with a twist, unbelieveable cakes and moreish coffee.
Bangalow
Situated on the main strip of idyllic Bangalow, The Italian Diner serves up some of the most delicious Italian fare in the region. The perfect spot for a warm evening, sit by a larger than life Sophia Loren and enjoy the outstanding Prawn & Chili Spaghetti. Open for breakfast and lunch 7 days, and dinner Weds – Sat.