The once-sleepy Australian beach town has become a magnet for chefs and entrepreneurs.
When to Go In February, the tail end of Australian summer, the seasonal crowds die down, just in time for the Byron Bay Surf Festival (February 20–24), a soulful celebration of surfing, music, and art.
Why Now Surrounded by tropical farms, jungle, and the turquoise waves of the Pacific, Byron Bay is a coastal paradise just two hours south of busy Brisbane. Hippies and surfers have known this for decades, but Byron’s “cheer up, slow down, chill out” mantra has recently attracted a new generation of artisans, chefs, and entrepreneurs who are reshaping the small beach town. Try on the Byron life at Rowie, a clothing boutique that emphasizes beachy styles made from natural fibers, and Pop and Scott, stocked with minimalist furniture, ceramics, and clothing by Australian designers. But what’s really turning eyes to Byron Bay is the food and drink scene, which puts Byron Bay’s acclaimed local produce to creative new use. The team behind the farm-to-table restaurant Harvest Newrybar has created a mini dining empire that includes Chupacabra, a taquería that prepares Mexican dishes from regional ingredients. (Order the Yucatán-style grilled fish taco and a mango-chili slushie.) The vegetarian restaurant Folk, a local favorite for its plant-based dishes, recently added a sister café, Woods, 20 minutes away in the town of Bangalow. In early 2019, the Byron craft brewing company Stone & Woodwill unveil a new community brewery, and Cape Byron Distillery will lead tours that begin with a cocktail made from Brookie’s gin, flavored with native aniseed myrtle and finger limes. And the masterminds behind Three Blue Ducks—a restaurant on an 80-acre property known as the Farm—recently opened Locura, a Latin-inspired bar and restaurant serving tepache (a fermented pineapple drink) and fresh ceviche.
How to Get There Qantas and Virgin Australia offer direct flights between LAX and Brisbane. From Brisbane, it’s quickest to rent a car and drive the two hours to Byron Bay. —SERENA RENNER
(Published in the January/February Where to Go in 2019 issue of AFAR. View the PDF here, or read the online version here.)
