Destination Dining: Spotlight on Northern Rivers

Located at the top of NSW, the Northern Rivers is a food lover’s paradise. Blessed with an endless coastland flush with fresh seafood, fertile valleys and sub-tropical areas, the region provides the perfect canvas for a destination dining trail. From Yamba to the Tweed, a trip to the Northern Rivers wouldn’t be complete without sampling some of the region’s fantastic food. Here’s a list of a few “must-do” foodie experiences to get you inspired:

• Every Thursday there’s a farmers’ market in the “Rainbow Region” from 8am-11am on Butler Street Reserve, Byron Bay, and at the Bangalow Hotel in Mullumbimby on Fridays. Try Chef Roberto Costanzo’s menu at Nomadic Kitchen; he buys his produce direct from fellow market stallholders and comes up with some really innovative dishes. 
• It would be amiss to stop in Yamba without sampling the local prawns for which the town is famous. Located in the Clarence Valley, Yamba has an established fishing fleet that supplies the local cafes, restaurants, markets and the popular Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-operative with an abundance of fresh seafood. 
• Harvest in Newrybar sports a verandah with views of the undulating green hills – along with a bakery, deli, kitchen garden, award winning wine-list and cooking school. Others, such as Town in the bustle of Bangalow and Fleetin the sleepy riverside town Brunswick Heads guarantee memorable dining experiences. Other sure-fire dining bets include 100 Mile Table in the Byron Arts & Industry Estate and Taverna in Kingscliff.
• Offering a range of gourmet full day tours throughout the Tweed, Currumbin and Byron Bay, Tasting Plate Tours ensure you discover (and taste) the very best produce from the Northern Rivers. Visiting farms, providores, eateries and award winning distilleries and breweries, their small group tours will leave your taste buds delighted. 
• Start off your day with a visit to The Farm Byron Bay at Ewingsdale – a working farm that houses a collection of micro-businesses united by their dedication to sustainable and ethical practises. Sit down for breakfast outside at Three Blue Ducks, a farm-to-table dining experience, or pick up some sensational pastries and a steaming hot coffee from The Bread Social and find somewhere nice in the surrounding fields to sit and enjoy them. There’s also a produce store, and a beautiful flower shop, Flowers at the Farm, selling fresh flowers, plants and gifts. There’s a daily farm tour, workshops and kids’ activities aplenty.
• Mavis’ Kitchen at Uki to the south of Murwillumbah has an abundant garden that supplies some of the fresh ingredients found on the menu. Located at the foot of Mount Warning, an overnight stay in one of their cabins is the perfect way to extend your stay in the region.
• At the finer end of the dining spectrum you are spoilt for choice: Fins at Salt Village, South Kingscliff is a long-term resident. Chef Steve Snow put sustainable seafood on the menu more than two decades ago. He likes to mix things up and the restaurant has a fun pop-up bar that changes with the season. At Paper Daisy, the pool-side restaurant at Halcyon House in Cabarita Beach, chef Ben Devlin is also expressing the terroir of the region on his menu, which means working directly with local suppliers and, like Steven Snow, fishermen.
• Put tropical fruit to the taste test and learn to tell a jackfruit from a jaboticaba at Tropical Fruit World or take in the tranquillity of a native bush-food fingerlime orchard at Buck’s Farm at Chillingham. Go overboard with Tweed Endeavour Cruises amongst the mangroves as you hunt the famed Tweed River Mud Crab. 

For more information on food experiences in the Northern Rivers go to visitnsw.com.