Byron and Beyond by Elizabeth Meryment – Restaurants Part 1

Restaurants (Part 2) of Elizabeth Merymen’s Weekend Australian Magazine article Byron and Beyond (May 4-5 2024).

View the full Weekend Australian (May 4-5, 2024) article here: Why the NSW Northern Rivers is Australia’s new food capital | The Australian

Pipit Restaurant in Pottsville. Photo: Sabine Bannard

Pipit

Chef and owner Ben Devlin has a heap of awards and plenty of admirers for his light-flooded corner spot in petite and picturesque Pottsville. Devlin cooks over coals and uses red meat sparingly, preferring a more coastal-leaning menu sourced from the lush Tweed Valley surrounds. Pipit’s five-course $160 set dinner menu (on three nights a week) offers dishes like hot-smoked red dragonfruit with yellowfin tuna, umeboshi, shiso and native pepper, and duck with persimmon, squash and pepitas. Lunch is à la carte and a more laid-back undertaking, which is not to say it aims lower. Go for grilled Spanish mackerel with zucchini, almond and bay leaf butter or Mitoyo eggplant with pickled onion and chestnut mushrooms. Pipit is a distillation of the Northern Rivers on the plate.

Shop 4/8 Coronation Ave, Pottsville NSW
Price guide: $12 – $44. Tasting menu is $160pp
Hours: Set menu dinner Thu – Sat, A la carte lunch Fri – Sun, a la carte dinner Mon.
Menu // Book now
pipitrestaurant.com

Our thoughts:  A delightful restaurant favouring fresh locally sourced produce and a commitment to minimising waste by inventive recipes.  You will see locals eat here!

Bistro Livi in Murwillumbah NSW

Bistro Livi

A 36-seat diner in the expert hands of sisters Danni Wilson (ex-Carlton Wine Room), Nikky Wilson (ex-MoVida), and chef Ewen Crawford (also ex-MoVida). The team has nailed it, from the ambience to the flavours, the sleek interiors of this sunlight-filled Art Deco space, and the well-mixed cocktails. Food-wise, the flavours are unfussy and bright, with ingredients (Ballina squid, Stokers Siding mushrooms) left alone to shine. This is a small-town venue with big-city sensibilities. What a combination.

Cnr Brisbane St &, Proudfoots Ln, Murwillumbah, NSW
Price guide: around $45pp
Hours: Wed-Fri: 5:30pm – 8:30pm | Sat: 12pm – 8:30pm
Book now // bistrolivi.com

Our thoughts: On our list to visit!

Kangaroo tartare, red pepper, yuzu, beach mustard at Paper Daisy restaurant. Picture: Francesca Owen

Paper Daisy

Halcyon House was a seminal hotel when it opened in 2015, leading a trend of repurposing old beachside motels into something cool and chic, while its restaurant, Paper Daisy, brought seriously good dining to a town that had been not much more than a blip on the map. These days chef Andrew Milford sends out thoughtfully simple dishes that lean into classic Mediterranean flavours. Think barbecued octopus with mozzarella and harissa or steak tartare with anchovy, tarragon and potato chips. Wear your kaftan and begin with oysters and an ink gin cocktail at the bar; the beach is just over the way.

21 Cypress Cres, Cabarita Beach, NSW
Price guide: $40 – $100
Hours: Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat: 12pm – 11:30pm | Wed, Thu, Sun: 12pm – 10:30pm
Menu // Book now
halcyonhouse.com.au/paper-daisy-restaurant

Our thoughts:  Non- inhouse guests welcome after 3pm and a delightful spot to enjoy a cheeky Aperol Spritz at the bar – all year round.  Food is beautifully presented and delicious.

Ciao Mate in Byron Bay is all in on tasty Italian Photo: Instagram

Ciao Mate/You Beauty

Zero-waste chef Matt Stone has gone all Italian cucina at Ciao Mate!, a cheeky but savvy neighbourhood pizzeria. Mostly he plays it straight with excellent pizzas, but he also throws in curveballs to keep things interesting (such as crostoli with mahi mahi, chorizo oil, tomato, saffron sauce and fermented chilli).

Crostoli with mahi mahi, chorizo oil, tomato, saffron sauce and fermented chilli

The menu changes regularly, so wait to be told what’s on offer once seated. Stone also runs You Beauty, a tapas restaurant, in Bangalow.

Ciao Mate!
33 Byron Street, Bangalow NSW
Price guide: About $40 – $100
Hours: Mon-Sat: 5pm – 10pm
Menu // Book now
ciaomate.com.au

The Hut restaurant in Byron Bay. Photo: Mia Forrest

Our thoughts:  Don’t travel to Byron much but I love a good Hawaiian pizza!  Are you tempted?

The Hut

A 1911-built weatherboard former schoolhouse (pictured above) in Possum Creek, a short drive from Bangalow, might seem an unlikely place for a Mediterranean-style menu to play out. But the heritage of owners Bruno Conti (head chef), Augusto Pedroso (sommelier) andAchille Martino (floor manager) is written across the menu in bold. Come for dishes like octopus with Ligurian olives and black hummus, or whole snapper with pine nuts and cherry tomatoes, and stay for the goodtime sunny Med vibes.

471 Friday Hut Road, Possum Creek, NSW
Price guide: $25-$100
Hours: Thu-Sun: 12pm – 6pm
Menu // Book now
thehutbyronbay.com.au

Our thoughts: A quick 20 minute drive from Byron Bay – the sharing menu would be my pick!

Frida’s Field restaurant in Byron Bay.

Frida’s Field

Chef Alastair Waddell weaves Northern Rivers flavours through a considered ($110) menu that makes use of produce grown onsite at this private ecofarm’s market garden, orchard and paddock. It is deliberate and honest farm-to-table dining with dishes like raw fish with cultured cream, succulents and seaweed jelly, and rib-eye with anchovy butter. Hidden in the hinterland, there is no chance you will simply stumble across Frida’s Field so be sure to book into one of the three lunch services per week.

76 Booyong Road, Nashua, NSW
Price guide: $110pp
Hours: Wed: 4pm – 10pm | Thu-Fri: 4pm – 12am | Sat: 3pm – 12am | Sun: 3pm – 9pm
Menu // Book now
fridasfield.com

Our thoughts:  An easy 45 minute drive away from La Petit Unite (passing through the delightful Bangalow) so great for a late lunch or early dinner.