The Northern Rivers is famous for its fresh produce and innovative dining scene. Eat your way through 21 of the best restaurants in and around Byron Bay.
Breakfast spots & casual eats
Shelly Beach Cafe
Where: Ballina
Right on the sand at Shelly Beach Road, Shelly Beach Cafe is the spot for breakfast with an uninterrupted Pacific Ocean view. Chef Blake brings authentic, traditional recipes from around the world to the morning menu, pairing local produce with international spice from 7am, alongside good coffee and cakes to see out a beachfront afternoon. It's an easy, laid-back start to the day, whether you're grabbing takeaway before a swim or settling in at a table facing the water.
Shelly Beach Cafe Ballina, East Ballina - Credit: Shelly Beach Cafe
Treehouse
Where: Byron Bay
Dine amidst the rainforest at Treehouse, close to the northern end of Belongil Beach. Perfectly encapsulating Byron’s bohemian style, this laid-back spot is immersed in lush palm trees and serves up a menu of chic Mediterranean-inspired dishes and wood-fired pizza. There’s regular live music, including a popular Sunday session every week.
Treehouse, Byron Bay -Credit: Treehouse
Federal Doma Cafe
Where: Federal
A windy, 20-minute drive through hinterland forest will get you to the tiny village of Federal and the legendary Doma. This has been something of a local secret since it opened in 2012, opened by two Japanese chefs who wanted to bring their own brand of vibrant, creative, fusion cuisine to the Northern Rivers. The sushi is always excellent, but expect a lot of Byron-style grain bowls, interesting burgers and bright salads. They occasionally do dinner on Friday or Saturday nights – check their Instagram page for details.
Federal Doma Cafe, Federal - Credit: Doma Cafe
Top Shop
Where: Byron Bay
Housed in a converted 1950s milk bar on the corner of Massinger and Carlyle Street, Top Shop has been a Byron institution since 2008, a short walk up the hill from Clarkes Beach. The kitchen works closely with local growers, with organic loaves and buns baked daily and beef patties, sausages and eggs coming from Hayters Hill Farm five minutes away, alongside fresh smoothies and quality coffee. It's a laid-back spot to fuel up before the beach or sprawl on the lawn after a surf.
Top Shop, Byron Bay
Hotel Brunswick
Where: Brunswick Heads
Hotel Brunswick has teamed up with Three Blue Ducks to bring their sustainable, produce-driven ethos to a laid-back pub setting on Mullumbimbi Street. Expect a Ducks twist on pub classics alongside coastal-inspired dishes, best enjoyed from the expansive beer garden, with steak night on Wednesdays and half-price pizza on Thursdays keeping things interesting. Pair it with an ice-cold tap beer, and you've got modern pub dining done Bruns-style, right where the Brunswick River meets the coast.
Hotel Brunswick, Brunswick Heads
Beach Hotel
Where: Byron Bay
Right across from Main Beach, the Beach Hotel, known by everyone as ‘the Beachy’, is Byron's go-tobeachfront pub for fresh, local flavours ranging from seafood to classic pub fare. The kitchen serves everything from a quick bite to a relaxed meal, best enjoyed from the beer garden with a schooner in hand and the ocean breeze doing the rest. Wash it down with something off the craft beer and cocktail list, and settle in under the umbrellas with a prime view of the waves.
Beach Hotel, Byron Bay
Chic & delicious
Light Years
Where: Byron Bay
From the day it opened on the main street of Byron Bay in 2017, Light Years became an instant favourite. It’s since moved to a larger space in the new Jonson Lane precinct but still serves up the same fun, modern Asian menu accompanied by a funky soundtrack and the lights down low. The cocktails are a highlight, like the ‘Netflix and Chill’ combining popcorn-infused rum, passionfruit and lemon.
Light Years, Byron Bay - Credit: Light Years
Ciao, Mate!
Where: Bangalow
Acclaimed zero-waste chef Matt Stone is behind Ciao, Mate!, a compact and charming Italian diner in Bangalow. It’s the kind of place you wish was in your neighbourhood so you could join the locals for a negroni at the bar or bring the kids for woodfire pizzas and hearty pastas in the retro brown booths. On balmy Bangalow nights, grab a table in the fairy-lit courtyard.
Ciao! Mate, Bangalow - Credit: Ciao! Mate
Pixie Italian
Where: Byron Bay
Chic coastal Italian is served in a 70s-Milan-meets-Byron style dining room at Pixie Italian. From the Light Years group, it’s set in the new Jonson Street precinct and is a sophisticated spot for dining, cocktails and snacks. The menu is traditionally Italian with a contemporary beachside flavour – start with oysters and charcuterie, move on to the pasta course, choose from a few hearty mains and leave room for dessert.
Pixie Food & Wine, Byron Bay - Credit: Pixie Food & Wine
Balcony Bar & Oyster Co.
Where: Byron Bay
Perched above Byron’s busy main street, Balcony Bar is the perfect place to slurp down some super fresh seafood and soak up the vibes. Executive chef Sean Connolly is an oyster grand master, sourcing the best local, seasonable and sustainable shellfish around. It’s the kind of place where you’ll feel welcome with board shorts and sandy feet or dressed in your best.
Balcony Bar and Oyster Co., Byron Bay - Credit: Amy Mackay
Moonlight
Where: Byron Bay
In contrast to sister restaurants Light Years and Pixie, Moonlight is all monochrome palette, intimate spaces and Japanese/Scandinavian simplicity. Food comes off a traditional hibachi grill but the chefs add some bolder flavours to complement the local and foraged ingredients. The biodynamic wines on the list have been picked at the peak lunar cycle, which is said to ensure the best possible flavours.
Moonlight, Byron Bay - Credit: Moonlight
You Beauty
Where: Bangalow
Matt Stone and team opened their second Bangalow restaurant, You Beauty, in mid-2022, just a few doors down from Ciao, Mate!. Once again, there’s a commitment to local, sustainable ingredients and the menu changes regularly based on what the kitchen can source. But the beer is always cold and the dining room pays homage to the classic Aussie corner pub.
You Beauty, Bangalow - Credit: You Beauty
The Smoking Camel
Where: Byron Bay
The latest opening from the Light Years group, The Smoking Camel brings a modern twist to traditional Levantine cuisine, with influences from Lebanon, Turkey, Israel and beyond. The theme is Arabian Nights dance party, with neon lights, bright blues and oranges, a chequerboard floor and even a few disco balls. On the plate, expect mezze, fire-cooked meat and grilled pita breads.
The Smoking Camel, Byron Bay - Credit: The Smoking Camel
Copyright: The Smoking Camel
Three Blue Ducks
Where: Ewingsdale
Set within a working farm, Three Blue Ducks turns out honest, seasonal food sourced first from the property itself and then the surrounding region, all organic or spray-free where possible. The undercover terrace runs off a 12-metre outdoor kitchen with a double spit, wood-fired pizza oven and Argentinian grill, backed by 56 taps of Australian craft beer, wine and cider. Beyond the restaurant, the farm itself is worth lingering for: meet the animals, pick through the produce store and market garden run by the Growers Collective, or grab gelato at Baylato before heading home.
Three Blue Ducks - The Farm, Byron Bay
Shelter Lennox
Where: Lennox Head
Perched by the dunes at Lennox Head with views over Seven Mile Beach, Shelter serves a seasonal menu built from ethical, sustainably sourced produce, in a relaxed setting that still feels a little special. The wine list has picked up its own award, running alongside dishes built for a salty, effortless sort of dining, whether you're in for breakfast, a long lunch or the Thursday-to-Saturday dinner and sundowners sittings. It's open all week, though breakfast is walk-ins only, so get there early to snag a table with a view.
Shelter Lennox, Lennox Head - Credit: Shelter Lennox
Capiche
Where: East Ballina
Perched right above the ocean, Capiche turns out authentic Italian flavours from a menu that walks the line from delicate to decadent, think wood-fired pizza on a hand-spun base, house-made pasta and fresh local seafood. Every seat looks out over the water, making it as good for a sunset cocktail as it is for settling in as the tables fill and the lights go soft. For something more casual, the attached Capiche Kiosk serves coffee and brunch on the beachfront lawn, a short stroll from a swim at Lighthouse Beach.
Coastal fine dining
Raes Dining Room
Where: Byron Bay
Even if you aren’t staying in one of the seven luxe suites at Raes on Wategos, you can still get in some excellent celebrity spotting at the two-hat restaurant. The light and bright Raes Dining Room feels like a slice of the Mediterranean in Byron, offering a three-course a la carte or seven-course tasting menu with a focus on seafood and native ingredients.
The Hut Byron Bay
Where: Possum Creek
Tucked into the lush hinterland, The Hut Byron Bay occupies the old O'Possum Creek schoolhouse, a converted 1911 building that now channels the Mediterranean way of life. The menu is built for sharing, with simple, produce-driven dishes that lean into traditional Mediterranean flavours rather than Byron's usual coastal fare. It's lunch-only across Thursday to Sunday, so bookings are essential well before you make the drive out from Bangalow or Byron.
Bar Heather
Where: Byron Bay
Part of the Jonson Lane precinct, Bar Heather pairs a tight, Euro-inspired menu with produce sourced straight from local farmers. Chef Ollie Wong-Hee, formerly of Sydney's Sixpenny and Ester, turns out sharp, seasonal small plates, from oysters with ginger mignonette to k'gari scallops and a maltagliati with bay lobster and roe butter. The kitchen's earned it a chef's hat and the title of New Regional Restaurant of the Year in the 2024 Good Food Guide, so book ahead.
Frida’s Field
Where: Nashua
Frida’s Field might just be peak Byron – a regenerative and organic farm in the hinterland with its own herd of holistic Angus-Wagyu cattle, serving a paddock-to-plate lunch three days a week. Award-winning chef Alastair Waddell has been behind the pans at luminaries like Guillaume in Melbourne and Qualia on Hamilton Island, and first secured a coveted chef’s hat for Frida’s in 2023.
Beach Byron Bay
Where: Byron Bay
Perched right on the sand at Clarkes Beach, Beach is where locals and visitors gather for long lunches, sunset drinks and every table with a water view. Chef Barret Jones draws on global experience to turn Northern Rivers produce into inventive, seasonal plates, from hand-picked seafood to freshly shucked oysters finished with mandarin and yuzu kosho oil. Pair it with a pick from sommelier Adam's curated wine list. In the morning, don't skip the adjoining Beach Kiosk for coffee and a swim-side refuel.
