Byron and Beyond by Elizabeth Meryment

No more only tempeh burgers, this area now tastes like sensational seafood, pub food from the heart and clever cocktails to boot.

On the way from Ballina airport to our accommodation in Byron Bay, a swishly repurposed 1970s roadside motel called Swell, our Uber driver insists on a detour. “Let’s take the scenic route,” he enthuses. “Come on, guys. Do you want to take the scenic route?”

It seems easier to accede to his insistence than not, so we find ourselves on this sunny Tuesday being transported through the lush and verdant hills of Byron Shire, up a winding road that has a magnificent view east over the Pacific. Suddenly our driver pulls up and points out a hedge that’s protecting a parcel of land in this wondrous landscape. “That’s where Chris Hemsworth is building his house,” he informs us. “Right there. That’s it.”

I think we’re supposed to be impressed, so we duly stare at the hedge, nodding. And then we’re on the road again, winding past farms, ­orchards and dairies to Australia’s most fashionable beach village.

It has been frequently observed that Byron Bay isn’t what it used to be. For better or worse, the sleepy town with its glittering beaches, lush hinterland and hippy vibe has changed. These days it’s a place where celebrities hide behind hedges, developers are on the march with the determination of fire ants and property prices are as absurd as Sydney’s.

Apart from all that, another change is taking place: a culinary revolution is sweeping through a town that for decades was fuelled on tempeh burgers and Earth ’n’ Sea Pizza (which, not ­coincidentally, closed in 2022 after 19 years). Regional dining here is having a moment.

“On the dining front, the quality and diversity of the offerings has exploded over the last few years,” says Kim Stephen, co-owner of Light Years, a modern-Asian diner that has become a much-admired fixture in Byron.

Light Years opened here in 2017, offering a menu of cheery, full-throttle Asian eats (see the breakout box) and in the seven years and one relocation since, Stephen and business partner James Sutherland have expanded their ­portfolio to include Pixie Food & Wine ­(contemporary Italian), The Smoking Camel (casual Middle Eastern) and Moonlight (a ­hibachi grill and wine bar). “Most people move to Byron Bay for the weather and lifestyle,” says Stephen. “But for me it was the opportunity to open a business in an area that had a large amount of popularity, but not a lot in the way of progressive dining venues.”

This success has been noticed by some of the nation’s biggest hospitality players. Last year Sydney hospitality king Justin Hemmes bought two sizeable blocks on Byron’s bustling Jonson Street, while media identity Antony Catalano has also splashed cash around the town. Not only does he own the legendary Wategos Beach hotel and restaurant Raes, Catalano is backing The Bonobo, a glossy timeshare resort development opposite one of the Hemmes properties on Jonson Street. Couple this development with the opening of new resorts including the flashy Hotel Marvell, and the ongoing success of the Three Blue Ducks’ cafe theme park, The Farm, outside Byron in Ewingsdale, and you have an area seriously on the make.

“Byron has seen significant change over the past few years,” says Raes on Wategos’ general manager Marty McCaig, who keeps a watchful eye over the neighbourhood. “Though I would say most of it has been necessary to respond to the increased traffic to the area.”

And while Byron has been a hive of activity, locals attest that much of the culinary action in the region is happening outside the town itself. From ­Cabarita to Bangalow to Eltham, seriously good restaurants, cafes, bistros, pubs and bakeries are popping up all over the Northern Rivers region, powered by chefs who have ­escaped the big city in search of a simpler life.

One of the most praised over the past 18 months has been Bistro Livi, a 36-seat diner in Murwillumbah, in the Tweed Shire 45 minutes north of Byron. Run by a trio of hospitality veterans who cut their teeth in the rough and tumble of Melbourne’s restaurant industry, Livi is a surprise package in every way, offering a slick, big-city dining experience in the humblest of small towns. “The idea is to make a neighbourhood restaurant, a place where locals can come,” says executive chef Ewen Crawford (ex-MoVida, Melbourne) modestly.

Crawford agrees Murwillumbah was not noted for its gourmet culture before Livi opened, with the town then offering “a few cafes, cheap eats and takeaways”. These days, though, serious food lovers will drive from the Gold Coast or Byron to try Crawford’s dishes, which include yellowfin tuna with wakame and roasted stuffed quail.

“We have a lot of people who have never heard of Murwillumbah before,” he says. “They come down [from the Gold Coast] to check us out and it works well. There’s accommodation at the pub and people come and stay.” Has it changed perceptions of the town? “I think so.”

Down the road at even tinier Pottsville, ­husband-and-wife team Yen Trinh and Ben Devlin have been running the much-loved Pipit since 2019. Pipit is a small fine diner that operates on a low-waste, sustainable, local ­produce-forward ethos; dishes include pickled octopus and fig leaf oil, and crumbed bay lobster tail with samphire butter and finger lime.

Trinh says the couple met and worked in Brisbane but always wanted a place of their own in the Northern Rivers, so when the space in Pottsville came up, it seemed right to take it. Devlin had been head chef at the nearby Paper Daisy, in Cabarita, at the time, so had already found his feet in destination coastal dining.

“The thing about the Northern Rivers is that there are a lot of little towns that happen to have something amazing,” Trinh says. “Pottsville didn’t have anything. We looked at Cabarita but Paper Daisy was there so we had to spread ourselves out.” Trinh says part of the restaurant’s magic is that it works collaboratively with local producers to highlight the wonders that come from the earth and the sea. “We’re very local in what we serve and at the end of the meal we give people a map of producers in the area,” she says. “We really love sending people to explore the region.”

One of those producers is Australian Bay Lobster, a Chinderah-based business that produces a soft-shelled Moreton Bay bug (called a “bay lobster”) that has been embraced by restaurants across the area. ­Manager James Dalton says both the Byron and Tweed shires are developing a formidable reputation as culinary destinations, not only because of the calibre of chefs who have moved here but because the whole region is fuelled on some of Australia’s best produce, from prawns to avocados to dairy.

“It is exciting to see how agritourism is ­coming along here, and that will keep on developing,” says Dalton, who works with top restaurants from Raes to Pipit. “A lot of these little towns from Newrybar to Tweed Heads have some great drawcards.”

Raes on Wategos executive chef Jason Saxby, who moved from Sydney in 2017, agrees the ­arrival of talent in the area has brought huge changes to the way food is considered. “The influx of incredible talent to this region has really been the catalyst for change,” he says, adding that many have moved into the area for a sea-change as well as for a creative challenge. “Affordability is a part of it, I’m sure. But I also feel that people are just wanting space, fresh air and maybe a slightly slower pace to life.

“This was the case for me personally. It has been a dream to own land and build a family home, and this is something we’ve been able to achieve here in the Northern Rivers. And also, it’s not a terrible bit of scenery around here is it?”

Crawford agrees that part of the reason many creatives, including chefs, are attracted to the far north of NSW is to escape the drama of big-city life and to soak up the beauty of the ­bucolic environment. “We had been living in inner-city Melbourne for a long time and as much as we loved it, we thought we’d bring the kids up this way to give them a different lifestyle,” he says. “And it has been great.”

There is one thing that all the operators agree on, and that is that in regional areas like the Northern Rivers it is not possible to simply rely on the tourist trade – and celebrities – to keep afloat. “We’ve always had a strong emphasis on our connection with the local community,” says Light Years’ Kim Stephen. “At the times when tourists are scarce it’s incredibly humbling to witness the support this small town continues to show our venues.”

That said, the occasional appearance of Chris Hemsworth and pals in the restaurant surely isn’t hurting matters either.

View the full article here: Why the NSW Northern Rivers is Australia’s new food capital | The Australian

For Elizabeth Merymont’s 12 restaurant reviews, please see:

Byron and Beyond by Elizabeth Meryment – Restaurants Part 1
Byron and Beyond by Elizabeth Meryment – Restaurants Part 2

We have added in our thoughts on each restaurant.

Elizabeth Meryment is a senior travel, food and lifestyle writer and journalist. Based in Sydney, she has been a writer, editor, and contributor to The Australian since 2003, and has worked across titles including The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Qantas Magazine, delicious and more. Since 2022, she has edited lifestyle content for The Weekend Australian Magazine.

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