Byron Bay Food Diary

Besides the rather obvious and well documented fact that Byron has an unfair share of Australian natural beauty -we were amazed at all the good food that is to be had on all ends of the food spectrum.

To start with there are a great many food products made locally from tasty bite-sized Byron Bay cookies to the terrific Byron Bay Chilli Co (made by the "Chilli Dude") Salsas and sauces (our favorite even in Sydney). It is like they have their own little alternative universe going where the tasty small batch foodstuffs have equal footing with the big labels.

Then there are the great local favorites like the burgers at The Rails.

Or the unbeatable fish and handcut chips at Fishmongers (hands down the best we've had in years)

Or any of the tasty baked treats at L'Ultime

Or the simplicity of sitting outside of Ate: The Art of Food in Bangalow (while not technically Byron), nibbling a cheese plate and watching the town slowly roll by.

And then there is Fins. I'm not sure what we can say about Fins that hasn't been said before but we are certainly happy to add emphasis to the praise it has received. It is an exceptional restaurant by any measure but even moreso for an attitude which mirrors it's laidback setting.

Here is what we sampled:

Steamed Sydney rock oysters (Hastings River) with kaffir lime chilli tamari and ginger

Soft shell mudcrab in chilli tempura and yuzu sauce

Piri Piri prawns Mozambique style

Mauritian Seafood Sambal - packed full of bugs, prawns, fish, clams in a spicy bouillabaisse

Morracan tagine of fish of the day, in this case beautiful NT wild barramundi - this was beautifully rich and arromatic with spices and meltingly soft dates

Flourless chocolate torte with Amaretto soaked prunes

...and don't forget to take home some of the delicious chilli capsicum jam. (we had some on toast this morning with some melted smoked cheddar)

Fins is at the Beach Hotel Jonson & Bay Streets Byron Bay, NSW 2481 Phone: (02) 6685 5029
L'Ultime Open 8am - 3pm Mon-Fri at the Johnson/Lawson St roundabout
'The Rails' The Railways Friendly Bar is on Jonson street
Fishmongers< is in Bay Lane (Behind the Beach Hotel)
Ate is at 33 Byron St Bangalow

Comments

[estee]

how funny! we were just there too!

[Sean]

oh shame we didn't know....would've been good to see you guys....

maybe a consolation brunch soon?

[estee]

yes, please! it's been too long since the last one!