From hidden gourmet treats in the lush hinterland and dining delights served up by the beach, there are so many culinary gems just waiting to be discovered in the epicurean paradise of Northern Rivers. We’re packing the car to explore some of the best ways to wine, dine, stay and play in one of Australia’s favourite foodie playgrounds.
DAYS 1 – 3 FIRST, WE FEAST
The rolling green hills of the Tweed Valley and the laidback charm of the Tweed Coast are an ideal introduction to the Northern Rivers gourmet trail, with a plethora of coast-to-country kitchens delivering some very special dining experiences. Begin your road trip in the rural haven of Carool, a 20-minute drive just over the border from Queensland, at the delightful Potager, a multi-award-winning hatted restaurant set within a charming country cottage on a four-hectare farm.
Homely dishes whipped up using homegrown and locally sourced organic produce, fish, and grass-fed meat provide every reason to settle in for a long lunch, making Potager the perfect start to a week of feasting ahead. Alternatively, you could head straight to the charming green enclave of Uki and spend your first day at one of the area’s beautiful hinterland retreats.
Wanting some serious luxury with your hinterland escape? Book in for a night at the couples-only haven of Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat instead, with its architecturally designed lodges and spa cabins by a babbling brook of pure, crystal-clear mountain water. You’re in for a blissful retreat to romance, tucked away together in the rainforest within one of the most beautiful corners on earth!
There are plenty more farm-fresh dining options for day two, and hungry bellies should make a beeline to Murwillumbah for lunch at one of the area’s finest restaurants. The century-old riverside manor, Tweed River House, sits on the banks of the Tweed River, with views across to Wollumbin (Mount Warning), a grand old dame that has been magnificently restored in the colonial style of bygone eras to offer diners an elegantly relaxed affair. Make a reservation ahead of time to take a seat out on the breezy terrace and savour a set menu of ever- evolving Provençal-style dishes and contemporary cuisine based around the very best of each season’s haul from the Northern Rivers’ farms, riverways and ocean, as well as many dishes inspired by native bush foods.
While you’re out this way, it’s an excellent opportunity to swing by Husk Distillers in the charming little riverside village of Tumbulgum, a mere ten-minute drive via the Tweed Valley Way. The Husk Cellar Door is connected to their working distillery, nestled into the landscape on the family farm, where they produce their dangerously delicious purple- hued Ink Gin and Husk Rum. Cutting back through the valley’s interior towards the Tweed Coast, make a stop at Farm & Co — if you time your visit right, you’ll see their sunflower fields in full bloom! — and be sure to explore Tropical Fruit World a little further along at Duranbah (take some farm-fresh goodies from the on-site Plantation Markets with you as you leave).
This working fruit farm grows over 500 fruits from around the world and offers tractor tours, Fruit Tasting sessions, a Wildlife Boat Cruise, macadamia nut cracking, and much more. Check in to plush boutique hotel Halcyon House in Cabarita Beach, a ten-minute drive away, to spend the rest of the day lounging poolside before taking a seat in the hotel’s gorgeously fitted-out hatted restaurant Paper Daisy, headed by one of Executive Chef Baxter Newstead. His training reads like a chef’s dream itinerary: Noma Australia, Vue de Monde, and Stockholm’s Michelin-starred Ekstedt. The food itself is deeply, specifically Northern Rivers. Seasonal, precise, and shaped entirely by what this remarkable region has to offer.
A dip or surf at Cabarita Beach the next morning will start your final day in the Tweed perfectly. Today should be all about the beach towns — this strip of coast has a windswept charm that you’ll want to soak up, plus plenty of seaside villages to explore. A five-minute drive south of Cabarita will lead you to the quiet enclave of Pottsville, where you can experience art on a plate at Pipit. The town’s most lauded and exciting fine-dining restaurant offers innovative degustation/prix fixe menus focused on wood-fired cooking, sustainable seafood, subtropical fruits and vegetables, and foraged wild edible plants gathered from the beautiful surrounding coastline.
DAYS 4 – 6 BRUNS TO BANGALOW
Once a sleepy fishing village, the riverside town of Brunswick Heads has undergone one of Northern Rivers’ most exciting metamorphoses in recent years. While the town has always had many great cafes and bars — including the iconic Hotel Brunswick, with its poinciana-shaded beer garden and colonnaded red-brick 1940s architecture — many highly-acclaimed restaurants have also made little old ‘Bruns’ a rival to neighbouring Byron Bay as a dining destination.
For a casual meal, do as the locals do and head to the funky little wood-fired Mexican cantina, La Casita, on the edge of town for authentic tacos and margaritas in their rustic terracotta courtyard, or opt for wood-fired pizza and Negronis at popular Italian joint Saint Maries.
Get up early the following day to make the drive south to Byron Bay to catch the sunrise from Australia’s most easterly point with a walk along the iconic Cape Byron Walking Track. Or be the first to watch the sun come up on the sunrise tour with Zephyr Horses — their ‘Forest to Beach’ rides take you through tea tree forests and over the dunes for a spectacular ride along the beach. Zephyr Horses also run slow-paced riding tours of The Farm Byron Bay in Ewingsdale most Fridays and Saturdays, with a behind-the-scenes look (on horseback!) at their sustainable agricultural operation and environmentally- conscious farming.
Stay on for breakfast afterwards and grab some buttery pastry goodness from The Bread Social, The Farm’s artisan bakehouse, or hang around for a memorable lunch at Three Blue Ducks, the restaurant, cafe and produce store at The Farm with an ethos for creating simple, seasonal dishes packed with nutrients and flavour. You can also bring a rug and set yourself up with a picnic in the gorgeous fields of The Farm — Three Blue Ducks can provide the hampers, including a variety of meats, cheeses, dips, bread, and other artisan goodies. You’ll have no shortage of places to dine tonight in Byron Bay — from bustling beachside restaurants to the ultra-hip eateries in town, Byron is an epicurean epicentre, boasting some of the best restaurants in NSW!
Some of our faves? Light Years delivers modern Asian fusion cuisine with superb style, or try its sister venue, Moonlight, an intimate restaurant and wine bar that heroes the hibachi grill, one of Japan’s oldest cooking traditions. Plant-based lovers will adore No Bones for contemporary vegan cuisine paired with natural wines. And no dining experience in Byron Bay is complete without booking ahead for a meal at one of the town’s two iconic establishments. Raes Dining Room at the ultra-chic Raes on Wategos hotel remains a favourite haunt for locals and tourists alike, and the perfect perch for oysters and lobster rolls or a cocktail or two after a dip at Wategos.
Or arrive late afternoon at Beach Byron Bay to take in a stunning vista, with unparalleled views of Julian Rocks, Clarkes Beach and The Pass (you may just spot dolphins swimming offshore, too!). Day six should have you back in the car to make the 15-minute drive south to Bangalow, that pretty town between the coast and the hinterland that you just can’t help but fall in love with (we know, us too!)!
Make a pitstop at Woods, nestled in the arts precinct on Station Street (the sister venue to Byron favourite Folk) for a caffeine or superfood smoothie hit, or a relaxed breakfast or brunch — if you can get a seat! — to perk up before continuing on to lunch at You Beauty, the kind of corner bar and dining room that feels like it’s always been there — warm, unhurried, and completely at home in Bangalow. The menu is produce-led and Northern Rivers through and through, built around shared plates, house-made charcuterie, and whatever the region is growing or catching right now.
DAY 7 A FOODIE FAREWELL
Drive along the lush roads out of Bangalow that lead to Possum Creek, and you’ll come across one of the Northern Rivers’ shining hinterland dining stars, The Hut Byron Bay. Housed in the Old Possum Creek School House, this charming restaurant encapsulates relaxed hinterland hospitality with a menu made to be shared. Feast on authentic Mediterranean fare in the sun-drenched dining room; the dishes on offer celebrate the simplicity of European flavours, focusing on Spanish, Greek and southern Italian classics.
Chef Bruno Conti and his team create the menu for each weekend (the restaurant is only open for lunch from Thursday to Sunday), working closely with local fishermen and farmers to craft dishes that celebrate what’s in season, but vegetarians and vegans are also well catered for with their own delicious menu. Or end your epic Northern Rivers’ gourmet road trip with a paddock-to-plate experience to remember at one of Byron Shire’s most charming culinary destinations. Hidden away within the rolling green fields of a 120-acre sustainable cattle farm in the hinterland hamlet of Nashua, Frida’s Field serves up long table- style banquet lunches inside an architecturally designed and converted timber barn, with an ever-changing menu crafted by head chef Alastair Waddell (multi-winner of The Australian Good Food Guide’s one hat award) that focuses on farm-to-table food.
A set selection of omnivore and vegetarian dishes are served as a communal feast every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, celebrating delicious, produce-driven cuisine using seasonal crops grown right here on the farm and produce from other local growers. Frida’s Field offers guests a unique insight into the Northern Rivers’ burgeoning regenerative agricultural movement, crafting a grassroots experience that connects diners to the land. Even the farm’s resident Angus-Wagyu cattle provide a suitable starring role to the banquet, roaming a stone’s throw from the barn against a backdrop of stunning pastoral views. It’s the perfect ending to a gastronomic adventure and a shining example of why you need to put the Northern Rivers’ on your self- drive map — an unforgettable gourmet getaway filled to the brim with natural wonders, all dished up in style!
Natalie Bannister has been part of Holidays for Couples since its earliest days and has worn many hats within the brand. At just 18 she set off to live in a hut on Koh Phangan, Thailand, sparking a lifelong love affair with travel. Today, as editor of the digital magazine, she continues to explore the world with the same curiosity and passion, returning to Thailand regularly more than 25 years later.
