Earlier this year we visited Byron Bay to enjoy the sun, sand and eat our way through all of the restaurants the region has to offer. Here is a food diary from our week-long holiday there!

Three Blue Ducks @ The Farm

The Farm is a great place to visit if you’re in the area and you could easily spend a couple of hours wandering around the paddocks and veggie gardens, visiting the animals and having a nice bite to eat. We had our favourite meal of the trip at the Three Blue Ducks restaurant here – dinner on our last night sitting under the fairy lights on the outdoor patio.

Much of the food served at the restaurant is sourced from the gardens on the farm or from the local area.

We can’t go wrong by starting with sourdough and cultured handmade butter.

The market fish is cooked perfectly and served with macadamia cream, zucchini, tomato, herb salsa verde, pickled squash and seaweed tapenade. The flavours here work so well together, and I especially like the umami-rich seaweed tapenade.

The porchetta comes complete with crackling, charred greens, a tangy davidson plum and cherry sauce and pickled fennel. The pork just melts in the mouth and we mop up every last bit of the sauce.

The steak is the special of the day and we are lucky enough to get the last serving. It’s cooked medium rare and bathed in a delicious anchovy butter. There’s also charred cos, pickles and mustard. A perfect dish.

This dish has Indian-inspired flavours which we love. The chicken is charred on the outside and so tasty. It’s paired with a yoghurt sauce, fresh salsa, lentils and a sweet and sour pineapple chutney.

We get sides of roasted potatoes and wok fried greens. They’re both really good – the potatoes come with crème fraiche laced with parsley and garlic and the greens have a smoky wok char.

The Eton Mess consists of smashed meringue, Davidson Plum jam, coconut, cream and passionfruit and is quite sweet. The Pannacotta is served deconstructed style with the floral flavour of lemon myrtle, white chocolate, biscuit crumb and balsamic strawberries. We share both among the five of us and it’s the perfect way to end the night!

Website: https://thefarm.com.au/, https://www.threeblueducks.com/byron/

The Woods

This charming little hippie café is in the quiet town of Bangalow, about a 15 minute drive from Byron Bay. The menu revolves around seasonal, sustainable food and veggies feature heavily. Most of the seating is outdoors in the courtyard, where you can sit and soak up the sun.

This version of the classic avo on toast is vibrant and fresh. It comes with a leafy herb and cress salad sprinkled with seeds and dukkah. Looks simple, but executed really well.

Dad loves this dish – it’s a Middle Eastern style breakfast of poached eggs with labne, herb salad, pomegranate, dukkah and harissa oil.

We also try the halloumi tacos with slaw, avo, pickled zucchini, herb salad and chilli jam.

I have to google Adaptogenic espresso to find out what exactly is in this frappe. Adaptogens are herbs that help the body ‘adapt’ to physical and emotional stressors by lowering cortisol levels. We can’t really taste the herbs in this, but the drink itself is delicious and perfect for a hot summer’s day.

Website: https://www.woodsbangalow.com.au/

Barrio

We loved the tapas-style food here, the menu is designed to share with Spanish and Middle Eastern influences.

We decide to go for the meat plate to try a bit of everything. There’s a herby lamb kebab, charred slices of beef short rib, and blushing provenir beef. It’s all so good, the simplicity of the meats lets the work of the grill really shine.

The flatbread is made to order and fragrant with the scent of toasted herbs and spices. It’s soft but sturdy and we love it so much we order more! The pippies are cooked simply in garlic and oil, they’re sweet and tasty and come with a herby sumac salad.

The veggie plate features all of the veggie dishes on the menu: eggplant and tahini, grilled mushrooms and smoked pumpkin. It’s a great choice if you can’t pick just one dish! There is a variety of textures and flavours – silky, smoky, creamy, bitter and sweet. I really love the eggplant, it comes with that same herby salad and a tangy yoghurt sauce.

Website: https://barriobyronbay.com.au/

Byron Bay General Store

This cafe is a short drive from the Byron Bay town centre and heroes vegetarian and plant based food.

Coffee is by Dukes in Melbourne and it’s great that they don’t charge for non-dairy milks. The Chai Latte is pretty as a picture and comes in a huge mug.

The zucchini fritters are some of the best I’ve had – they’re crispy on the outside with lots of greens in the middle. They come with a zucchini, cauliflower and rocket salad and a side of tzatziki which helps bring everything together. The avo alfalfa is huge, with a big pile of sprouts and toasted seeds on sourdough along with salsa verde and nutty tahini.

The buckwheat waffle is gluten free and comes with banana, strawberries, granola, coconut ice cream and a homemade sticky date sauce. It’s a little more dense than a typical waffle and the flavour combo of coconut and sticky date works a treat. You can order the smoothies as a drink or bowl – both of the ones we order are fruity and fresh.

Website: https://www.byrongeneralstore.com/

Balcony Bar & Oyster Co.

We come to Balcony Bar especially for their Wednesday oyster hour special where you can get oysters for $1.50 each! We go through about 4 dozen among the 5 of us, they’re so juicy and sweet.

We also share a selection of other items from the menu – crab lettuce tacos, a bucket of mussels with a garlic and parsley wine sauce, grilled squid and duck fat chips with roast garlic aioli.

Website: https://balcony.com.au/

OSushi

OSushi is a busy Japanese restaurant in the town centre and we visit for dinner one night.

We share a selection of sushi, sashimi, nigiri, agedashi tofu and a salmon salad. All are delicious!

Website: https://www.osushi.com.au/

Mez Club

The Mez Club is a place where you could easily spend an afternoon drinking and grazing with friends. The menu is designed to share, and we order a bit of everything.

We try the Muhammara and pumpkin hummus dips which both come with spongey pitta. The Muhammara is smoky with pomegranate, mint and sumac and the hummus is sweet with crispy spiced chickpeas. The arancini is yummy too.

We order some larger dishes to share. The mixed mushrooms are hearty and full of flavour. A creative dish of beetroot with grapes, hazelnuts, cashew cream and tangy goats cheese surprises us – the flavour combination is a little out of the ordinary but it works really well. There’s also a wonderful dish of semi gravalax salmon, confit fennel, sorrel and tarragon lime which is fresh and vibrant.

Website: https://www.mezclub.com.au/

Azure Bar & Grill Terrace @ Elements of Byron

We stayed at the Elements of Byron Resort so have dinner at the Azure Bar & Grill there one night.

All pizzas have a handmade sourdough base and feature fior di latte mozzarella. The prosciutto one has rocket and parmesan with a tomato base, while the prawn one has chopped prawns and chilli oil. I love the puffed, spongey crust.

This seafood pasta is a delight to eat, it has a nice seafood flavour and sauce is luscious and buttery with just the right amount of chilli.

This classic bolognese is done really well. It’s a huge serving so is good to share.

The market fish of the day is pan fried salmon with beans, potato, olives and sundried tomato. A good way to take a break from all of the carbs!

Website: https://elementsofbyron.com.au/azure-bar-and-grill/

Scratch Patisserie

We visited Scratch Patisserie’s stall at the Byron Bay Farmers Market during our stay and samples some pastries for brekkie!

Website: https://www.scratchpatisserie.com.au/

Combi

Combi is a picturesque little cafe in the town centre that focuses on local produce and plant-based food. We stop here for our last bite to eat before heading home!

We get takeaway acai bowls for the car trip home, which come with banana, strawberry, granola and cacao nibs. I added Byron Bay Peanut Butter to mine which is a nice creamy, nutty addition. We also get a homemade blueberry muffin, which is moist and tasty with a vegan icing.

Website: https://www.wearecombi.com.au/