We arrived at Byron Bay around dinner time, and after checking in at our accommodations, we set out to look for something to eat. As we wandered the streets, we made note of several viable options including Subway, but we wanted to try a new restaurant. We kept walking, heading towards the beach until we spotted a seedy bunch huddled in front of a store on the sidewalk. That's when we decided it might be safest to just head back to the restaurant closest to where we were staying and save the sightseeing for when the sun was out. So we ended up at Earth N Sea.
Earth N Sea is a family friendly restaurant featuring pizza and pasta with a very homey feel. Everything on the menu sounded delicious and after all that walking around in the breezy night air, I was ready to eat something warm and hearty.
I ordered a lasagna, Andrew had their carbonara pasta and Nathan had the kid's tortellini (on Andrew's "recommendation") and we all went to bed (early) that night stuffed and satisfied.
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After watching the sunrise at the lighthouse, we were starving and unfortunately, there weren't a lot of places open for breakfast at 7:30am. The cafe up at the lighthouse didn't open until 9am (depending on the weather) and that didn't work for us at all so we headed back into town in search for some food. After consulting Around Me (thank goodness for iPhones!), we discovered a cafe with good ratings just up the street from where we stayed.
Bayleaf Cafe had a very relaxed vibe and was full of regulars. The server seemed to know everyone who walked in, hugged every other person and sat down with us at our table as she took our orders. A really friendly place.
At first glance, I was a little worried about their tiny menu. But seeing as how I made my first glance as I was marching my entire family into the cafe, I didn't have much time or opportunity to change my mind. So we sat at the window seat at a large communal table and looked over the menu, which happened to printed out on a regular piece of A4 paper. Nothing fancy at all but I kind of liked that.
I shared a stack of pancakes with Nathan and Andrew had eggs benny. I also had a beautiful cappuccino that the server recommended. Sorry, no pictures of Nathan. He was sitting on my lap complaining that it was cold because we sat beside the open window even though he was the one who chose our seats.
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Fishheads came highly recommended by one of my new mommy friends. Her exact words were: "Get take-away from Fish Heads. Don't eat in their restaurant. Just get take-away and eat on the beach". So that's exactly what we did. We ordered a Meal for Two, set up our mat on the beach and ate.
The only problem with showing up on the beach with a box full of food was the seagulls that surrounded us, like that scene in Lion King when the hyenas surrounded Simba. Luckily, we had Nathan, our trusty seagull chaser. He ran circles around our mat, chasing the seagulls far away before coming back to eat the rest of his meal.
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We stumbled upon O Sushi one night as we searched for dinner. It was rainy, we were hungry and Caleb was crying so we needed to make a quick decision. I was a little skeptical because places with signs boasting itself as the "National Winner of the 2010 I ♥ Food Awards" can go either way. It's either really good and costs a lot, or mediocre and costs a lot. I should've went with my gut because this place was mediocre and cost way more than it was worth.
It's basically a sushi train place with some more unique items on the menu, which I suppose is how they won the award? I'm no expert, but I didn't think it was anything special. Who eats haloumi at a Japanese restaurant anyway?
We ended up grabbing a dish or two and once Nathan was full, we left. Andrew ate a lot of fruit when we got home and I lost my appetite at some point between reading their ridiculously priced menu and dealing with crappy service.
mmm fish and chips :)
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