Not only is Australia’s most easterly point known for its surf breaks, beautiful beaches, and iconic lighthouse, but it’s also known for its terrific local cuisine. As a coastal area with an incredible amount of natural beauty, it’s no surprise that Byron Bay attracts an eco-conscious community focused on creating and supporting a sustainable food culture.
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With the area’s history of farming, many eateries prioritize sourcing locally grown foods like avocados, bananas, macadamia nuts, cheese, herbs, honey, pumpkins, and more. Not only that, but Byron Bay’s restaurants aim to offer only the best and healthiest options. They are committed to using free-range animals and the freshest ingredients possible and avoiding pesticides, preservatives, and additives.
This doesn’t take away from the taste, however. If anything, it ensures the quality and flavor of the fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy served throughout the town.
With their delicious local produce, commitment to quality, and striking beach backdrop, these restaurants are the best places to savor local cuisine in Byron Bay.
Manna Haven
This award-winning café, rated the number-one restaurant in Byron Bay, specializes in healthy vegetarian dishes for the body and soul.
Located in the heart of town, Manna Haven is a convenient and beautiful space to munch on wholesome, plant-based meals. It prides itself on its locally sourced ingredients and variety of vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free options. Crowd favorites on the menu include the vegan lasagna, lentil dahl, tofu curry, and cashew-based cheesecake.
From the atmosphere to the friendly service and top-notch local cuisine, Manna Haven truly deserves its laurels.
Bayleaf Café
Large windows line the front of Bayleaf Café, inviting the sea breeze, passersby, and seasoned foodies inside. This lively café is both a local and tourist hot spot.
Snatch an outdoor table and soak in the early morning sunlight with a house-roasted coffee in hand. The innovative drinks, including a coconut-infused iced coffee made from the café’s own coffee beans, are a highlight, and Bayleaf is considered one of the best coffee spots in Byron Bay.
The brick building full of wooden tables, counters, and chairs is more than just aesthetically pleasing. Bayleaf supports artists, the local community, and provides well-rounded dishes to its patrons. The restaurant gets its avocados from Avocado Tom, its free-range and sustainable meat from the Farm Gate Providore, its fresh loaves of bread from The Bread Social, and its local fish from the Bay Seafood Market.
The free-range eggs are delicious poached, scrambled, or fried. Be sure to save room for the coconut porridge with seasonal fruit, a few slices of paleo bread, or the house-made granola. In the afternoon, opt for the tangy ceviche, crispy salad, or bowl of roasted veggies. The menu is seasonal and changes every few months based on availability.
Byron Fresh Café
Situated on the town’s main street, Byron Fresh Café is the perfect place to get your fill of fresh food. It’s not called Byron Fresh for nothing! In line with the establishment’s name, the chef aims to use less salt, white flour, and even refined sugar in each dish.
The café prides itself on supporting not only local farmers and suppliers, but also the customers who walk through the front doors. Every visitor can expect healthy, wholesome options that use organic and natural ingredients from the surrounding land.
Some of the standouts on the menu include locally caught fish, Nimbin rice and Brie, and Byron Bay cheeses and veggies. The scrumptious fish and chips are battered using local Stone & Wood beer. Don’t miss the zucchini hotcakes topped with spinach, feta, and avocado and the gluten-free and vegetarian salads.
Byron Bay Brewery
Just a short drive from the center of town, Byron Bay Brewery is known for its unique seasonal and craft brews.
Upon entering the brewery, you’ll be greeted with tall ceilings, casual wooden furniture, and an open-air garden in the back. While working your way through the locally sourced fries, burgers, and wings, you can view the brewing tanks and equipment behind a large glass wall.
Byron Bay Brewery beers — from the pale lager and pale ale to the red lager and India pale lager — are all brewed on-site, and each has its own distinct aroma and flavor. You’ll generally find eight brews on tap: six staples and one or two seasonal options.
There are also free brewery tours on which you can learn how the refreshing brews are made.
Three Blue Ducks
Three Blue Ducks is located at The Farm, an 80-acre active farm that houses a variety of microbusinesses dedicated to the mission to grow, feed, and educate. The Farm aims to improve health and support the local environment by growing much of the produce that’s served at Three Blue Ducks. This includes vegetables, eggs from free-range chickens, and meat from the farm’s pigs and cattle. What doesn’t come from The Farm comes from other Australian farms from Queensland to Port Macquarie.
The menu at Three Blue Ducks changes in accordance with what fruits and vegetables are available at the time. However, there are always delicious freshly baked goods, including sourdough loaves plated with a generous serving of hand-made salted butter. The menu also features burrata, venison tataki with macadamia miso, and Kinkawooka mussels with Nimbin rice doused in a flavorful yellow curry.
If this doesn’t make you want to drop everything and drive to Byron Bay this minute, you may be tempted by the wood-fired pizza; 56 beers, wines, and ciders on tap; and the vast outdoor terrace under patio lights.
Fishheads
There’s something special about enjoying locally sourced seafood oceanside. From the outdoor deck at Fishheads, you can see Byron Bay’s Main Beach and all of the characters — surfers, hippies, and families — enjoying its delightful waves.
Battered fish and chips, which you can enjoy in the restaurant or to go, are a favorite at Fishheads. The oysters are a hit, too, and you can down them plain, Kilpatrick-style, with soy sauce, or Bloody Mary-style. If you decide to go all out, order the seafood platter with king prawns (shrimp), local bugs (similar to lobster), soft-shell crab, squid, salmon, mussels, and oysters. That way, you’ll get a taste of everything the local bay has to offer.
Combi
One of the cutest places in Byron Bay to get your breakfast fix is Combi. Somehow, its pink coffee counter, blue-and-white patio chairs, and leafy plants make each meal even more enjoyable.
The delicious menu features raw, wholesome, and local produce. Start the day with an organic pressed juice with passionfruit, turmeric, and beetroot. For something a bit heavier, enjoy a superfood smoothie with raw and organic ingredients like tropical mangos and bananas plus a spoonful of chocolate fermented protein.
The bircher muesli sweetened with organic honey yogurt or the perfectly blended Acai bowl topped with fresh fruit are also great choices. The veggie burgers, zucchini spaghetti, and raw pizza (with cashew sauce and raw veggies on an almond, sunflower, and flaxseed base) are to die for.
Roadhouse
While it’s a little far from central Byron Bay, Roadhouse is worth the short drive. Its rustic ambiance makes you feel like you’ve found a hideaway. This doesn’t mean that the restaurant doesn’t get its fair share of customers, though: It can get quite crowded, so if you’re venturing out during mealtime, be sure to make a reservation.
Roadhouse is best known for its innovative day and evening drinks. Wake up in the morning with a cold drip coffee, cold brew, or brew shake (made with MCT oil, almond milk, and topped with cinnamon). Or, as the sun sets, sip an organic sauvignon blanc, kombucha, or gin cocktail.
The pizzas — which are wood-fired, hand-stretched, and topped with veggies — are a must. All of the pork, mushrooms, fish, and more are sourced from local producers.
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