In Byron Bay, Great Breaks, Amazing Food – and Possible Hemsworth Sightings

Alexandra Carlton / Virtuoso

Light Years' prawn sandwich and peach cocktail The Halcyon House. King prawns at the Smoking Camel.

pairing. 

Jessie Prince Halcyon House Kim Stephen

The case for taking a culinary road trip through Australia’s celebrity-beloved Northern Rivers.

In Australia’s Byron Bay, lush rain forest brushes up against salt-white beaches, wild waves are studded with surfers, and glamorous people stroll in sand-tone linens. As actor Chris Hemsworth’s home base and the backdrop for the soapy Netflix reality show Byron Baes, this once laid-back beach town has become quite the global spectacle. 

But Byron and its surrounding Northern Rivers region – a semitropical destination just an hour’s flight north of Sydney – should be on travelers’ radar for another reason: the excellent food scene. Northern Rivers’ locally owned restaurants serve up some of the most exciting meals in Australia today, featuring ingredients sourced from a close-knit community of farmers and fishers who work together to put the country’s top produce onto tables. 

You’ll want a car to discover this slice of tiny coastal towns and rain-forest hideaways. Ask your Virtuoso travel advisor to arrange the day-trip routes and reservations, and make your home base the 22-room Malibu-meets-Mediterranean Halcyon House in Cabarita Beach, where spritzes taste better poolside, and the charming restaurant Paper Daisy immerses diners in driftwood and deep-sea blues. Booking a table is worth it for the XO and miso Ballina king prawns alone, or the pineapple-and-lime Splice dessert, reminiscent of the classic Aussie ice cream on a stick. Then hit the road for these destination meals. 

Day One: Byron Bay 

The town of Byron Bay is known for its sun-splashed cafés and beachy eats (think fresh fish tacos and açai smoothies). Dig just beyond the basic fare to find energetic, Byron-inflected Middle Eastern dishes such as smashed falafel with green goddess sauce at The Smoking Camel, or zesty-fresh pan-Asian shared plates at Light Years (go for the sesame-spiked “strange flavor” sauce, served on a cauliflower and coconut salad). Afterward, Byron’s sunset creates the backsplash for a house margarita (Patrón reposado, mandarin, grapefruit, and sea salt foam) at waterfront Raes on Wategos.

Indulge in a whole barramundi at Three Blue Ducks.

Three Blue Ducks

Day Two: The Hinterland 

Traveling on Tweed Valley Way, past the tiny townships of Burringbar and Stokers Siding, tree-ripe bananas and avocados fill roadside honesty boxes and signs warn of jaywalking koalas. In 40 minutes, you’ll reach the town of Bangalow on the edge of the dewy rain forest. There, the hand-stretched pizzas at Ciao, Mate! add of-the-place twists to old favorites, such as a Hawaiian pie made with local pork and Aleppo pepper. Add a charcuterie starter of ’roo salami for a real taste of the landscape.  

Sister establishment You Beauty puts a cool-kid twist on the classic Aussie pub; head here for kangaroo skewers topped with an Aussie-style satay sauce (macadamias and lemon myrtle). Another ten minutes north and you’re firmly in farm country, where the balcony at Three Blue Ducks, set on an 80-acre working livestock and macadamia farm, makes a scenic snack spot for crackling pork and hibiscus kombucha. Before hitting the road again, wander down to the grove to gather a to-go handful of creamy macadamia nuts.

Chook (chicken) shops form a nostalgic part of many Australians’ childhoods; they’re somewhere the whole family can pile into after weekend footy practice. Fifteen minutes north of Three Blue Ducks, in Brunswick Heads, the retro Birds of Paradise Rotisserie dishes out chicken rolls with bone gravy and chips (ask for extra chicken salt on your fries). When he’s not working, co-owner Josh Lewis spends his time fishing for spotted mackerel and other fresh catch to supply his mates’ nearby restaurant menus.

Livi's exterior.

Jessie Prince

Day Three: Murwillumbah

Turn inland along the twisting Clothiers Creek Road on the 25-minute drive to Murwillumbah, dotted with dramatic art deco buildings at the edge of the McPherson Range. At Bistro Livi, a quiet corner of warm woods and olive-green textiles, Nikki Wilson greets guests – often including area chefs and farmers – while her twin sister, Danni, works the kitchen. A simple plate of crisp crudités grown at nearby Boon Luck Farm comes fresh-picked barely hours before dinner with whipped mullet roe on the side.

After a bite, a lazy browse around the adjoining M|Arts Precinct is in order – pick up slow-design keepsakes such as pottery, candles, and paper goods. Or head around the block to sample from wheels of heady Brie at Kat Harvey Cheese before turning back toward Cabarita Beach. If you haven’t met a Hemsworth at this point, at least you’ve eaten like an Aussie A-lister.

Your Aussie A-lister meal await....

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