12 Best Restaurants in North Coast, New South Wales

Located in a picturesque seaside setting, this restaurant offers a menu featuring a variety of seafood dishes prepared with locally sourced ingredients. It's a relaxed dining experience with views of the ocean but offering a high-end culinary experience, with dishes like loin of kingfish and seared swordfish. This is a popular Friday and Saturday night spot for both locals and those visiting, wanting to savor delicious seafood.

This is a fine place to socialize with the locals and tourists and enjoy some honest, unpretentious food. The on-site restaurant and bar called The Golfy is open to nonmembers for dinner on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday, and the menu includes a variety of roasts (such as roast chicken or lamb), steak with garlic butter, schnitzel, fish, and salads. Friday night is the "big night out" on the island, when almost everyone turns up for the sunset barbecue—try the barbecue kingfish and grab an ice-cold beer. Desserts include what appears to be the island staple—sticky-date pudding and ice cream. It's best to come early to take in the view over the golf links and the lagoon beyond. 

This Byron Bay legend is bit of an all-rounder with a kiosk serving takeaway coffee and small breakfast eats like its homemade banana bread, and a fine-dining open-air dining room with sea views. On offer are some of the world's best wines with dishes like barbecue squid, kingfish sashimi, and saffron-infused mussels. For the meats eaters, try the dry-aged Scotch fillet served with wild mushrooms, wasabi leaf, and pickled turnip.

Offering authentic Spanish cuisine, featuring a menu brimming with traditional tapas like patatas bravas (fried potatoes in a spicy sauce) and gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), as well as hearty dishes such as paella and grilled meats. The restaurant's vibrant ambience evokes the warmth and charm of Spain, with grand doors opening up to traditional Spanish interiors.

By day, this is a stylish, contemporary café that packs in the crowds, thanks to its fabulously tasty meals. By night, it turns into a sophisticated bistro. Try the Corner Breakfast, which has everything from eggs the way you like them to ham hock--braised beans. Return for lunch or dinner and enjoy Wagyu beef steak or ricotta gnocchi. As the name suggests, it sits on a corner and is part of the Macquarie Waters Hotel & Apartments complex.

Named after a Lord Howe Island fishing vessel, Greenback's Eatery naturally specializes in fresh fish. This casual spot, basically a veranda attached to boat owner Dave Gardiner's house, is open only on Monday and Thursday night (from 6:30), and the only choice on the menu is the catch of the day, but at least you know it's superfresh. You can bring your own wine or beer, although it is licensed. It's small and popular with locals, so book ahead. Dave also sells fresh sashimi packs to take away.

Opened on the site of the Merewether Beach's original surfhouse (a lifeguard station), this stunning three-story venue has fantastic ocean views from all three of its eateries. The ground floor café, pizza, and gelato bar are steps from the beach, while the top-level restaurant has expansive panoramas and is open for lunch and dinner. You might begin with the local Port Stephens oysters with shallot vinegar before moving on to a seafood main. The dessert list is extensive and the wine list features wines from the Hunter Valley. The café is open for all-day breakfast and lunch daily, offering burgers and salads.

A new arrival to the Byron Bay food scene, this Japanese restaurant is unique with its all-black interiors and low lighting. The menu is Japanese fusion, focused on fresh local produce cooked on the hibachi grill. Here you can sample miso-glazed salmon, king prawn with yuzu kosho (chili paste) butter, or Wagyu beef served with yakiniku, a soy-based dipping sauce. There's also a nine-course tasting menu costing A$100 per person, with matching wine at A$35. This is fine dining with a wine bar feel, and the drinks list with carefully crafted cocktails is extensive. 

Meaning "rural" in Italian, this lushly decorated restaurant with stunning views over Newcastle Beach is one of the shining stars in the city's expanding dining scene. The restaurant serves cuisine inspired by the Mediterranean, from the shores of northern Africa to the foothills of Tuscany. There's a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options. The rich, Spanish-inspired interior design includes a retro Mediterranean map on the wall, brass sculptures, and a tiled bar adorned with a bull's head, while the outdoor look is pure Australian beach culture.

This waterfront restaurant with views of Coffs Creek (which is spotlighted at night—look for stingrays swimming by) leaves no culinary stone unturned in its search for novel flavors. The menu in the open-air dining room includes dishes like duck leg confit, beer steamed mussels, and prawns with fresh pasta and spicy chili oil. If you want a table on the deck in summer, book ahead. Service is friendly and attentive.

Found at The Farm, a working property near the main entry point into Byron Bay, Three Blue Ducks is the sister restaurant to the hugely successful Sydney eatery of the same name. This is the perfect spot for breakfast or lunch, with the coffee counter always heaving. The farm-to-table movement is in full flow within this barn-style restaurant, with everything on the menu grown or butchered on-site. And nothing goes to waste here, with the chefs creating innovative dishes that ensure all parts of plant and animal are used. The chicken liver parfait is a must try and their take on a simple beef burger is really a culinary delight.