Delicious Food at Tweed Heads
Good food is a way of life in the Tweed. We grow it, harvest it, prepare it and share it. Our plentiful farms reap fresh food all year around, found on menus in our awarded restaurants and at relaxed cafes.
From hinterland crops and pastures, we’re blessed with the freshest of fruits and vegetables, dairy milk and creamy cheeses, grass fed meats and free range chooks and chook eggs. From the sea and our myriad waterways are sourced salt and freshwater fish, mud and spanner crabs.
And it’s not just food we do well, it’s coffee, teas, beer, gin, rum and juices. Whether it’s calming, celebrating, cleansing or quenching, we’ve got your thirst needs covered too.
GOOD FLAVOURS START HERE
Fish and chips to fine seafood fare, vegan and vegetarian, bush tucker inspired experiences, global flavours and cheery pubs to chef hatted restaurants, there’s a taste of everything for everyone across the Tweed.
Baristas are making their mark too out of modest, hip bolt-holes and spaciously designed spaces are serving wholesome food bowls, turmeric lattes and sustainably caught fish dishes.
Grown here is Madura Tea, Australia’s only sub-tropical tea plantation and harvested from 250,000 tea bushes.
From cane sugar fields comes Australia’s only Agricole rum and the adored Ink Gin made in Tumbulgum by Husk Distillers.
With its roots in Byron Bay and a brewing plant located in the Tweed, Stone & Wood beer is also made here, along with a range of other tasty local brews.
The Tweed regions fertile volcanic soil produces the most fresh, flavourful produce all year round. Attracting some of Australia’s finest chefs and most awarded restaurants who transform this locally grown produce into mouth-watering delights.
Next time you’re staying at BIG4 Tweed Billabong, why not try out a local food gem or two.
You could even book yourself on to a food tour such as the ones organised by Tasting Plate Tours.
TWEED HEADS
Baked At Ancora
Parisian bakery meets riverside picnic spot, say hello to Baked at Ancora.
Watch yachts bobbing in crystal clear water while you devour a fresh croissant or work off their famous Hawaiian bread French Toast by taking a swing in their Insta-worthy hanging chairs.
The Bread Social
Do not come here with that one friend who likes to share things because, trust us, you’ll want to keep all of the treats from this modern-day bakery to yourself.
The Bread Social can lay claim to making Bay Street cool again and is the ideal post-surf pitstop to pick up a pork and fennel sausage roll or a poached pear and pistachio danish.
Gallura Italian
Hands down the most exciting restaurant opening of 2019, Gallura Italian co-owners Maki and Mike have over 40 years combined restaurant experience and it totally shows with this Sardinian-inspired breath of fresh air to the Tweed Coast dining scene.
A must-try is the Tweed king prawn lemon and butter risotto with candied lemon, enjoyed with stunning Italian wines and Sardinian beers you can’t get anywhere else…other than, well, Sardinia.
CHINDERAH
Cubby Bakehouse
Some things are just better on a fresh baguette and Cubby Bakehouse has all of those things and more; the standout being its eggs benny with delicious house made hollandaise.
Grab a table overlooking the Tweed River, or a takeaway to sit on the river bank.
CABARITA
Kartel Espresso
It’s not unheard of that people will drive past five cafes to get to one that serves Allpress Coffee.
Kartel Espresso is making a trip to the seaside town of Cabarita all the more worthwhile with their cute-as-a-button, hole-in-the-wall espresso bar, located just a sandy-footed walk from the beach.
Paper Daisy
Inside the gorgeous boutique hotel Halcyon House and practically sitting on the coastal sand dunes, is Paper Daisy restaurant.
Award-winning chef Jason Barratt has seen Paper Daisy win two chefs hats so far and with creations such as macaroni with king prawn, bush tomato and crab butter, we can easily see why.
MURWILLUMBAH
River House
Recently awarded its first Hat in the 2022 Australia Good Food Guide awards, this new local was an instant favourite. This stunning bistro and bar in a restored grand river house on the banks of the Tweed River, offers sweeping views of Wollumbin and the ranges. The curated menu is hand selected to showcase the very best of each season’s produce from the region’s fertile farmlands, riverways and ocean.
Bistro Livi
Nestled in the Art Deco building of Murwillumbah’s Art Precinct, Bistro Livi is a small-but-mighty neighbourhood restaurant that packs a punch when it comes to its culinary offering and personality. Bistro Livi’s menu changes weekly, ensuring the restaurant’s ethos stays the same – quality produce from the Northern Rivers, prepared in a simple yet sumptuous manner. Dishes that have been plated up include starters of anchovies served with fresh radishes, cured snapper, and plates of Jamon, followed by freshly caught blue swimmer crab with pepper, olive oil and lemon, grilled mackerel or sardines and charcoal-smoked steak and pork chops.
Keith’s Shop Of Really Really Really Good Things
Really? Yes, really. Keith and his shop of really good things consists of all manner of delights, from cookbooks to preserves, pickled delights and sauces galore.
Grab a coffee, smash a bacon and egg roll or settle in for a sneaky glass of natural wine – indeed all the really, really good things are here at Keith’s.
POTTSVILLE
Pipit
Pipit is a contemporary Australian restaurant by award-winning chef Ben Devlin. It is a celebration of the coastal lifestyle, centered in wood-fired cooking techniques and the unique flavours of New South Wales’ Northern Rivers.
It was named the 2023 Good Food Guide’s Regional Restaurant of the Year and was awarded 2 hats!
The coastal dining menu and open-plan kitchen design is light, casual, and relaxed. The menu focuses on local vegetables, sustainable seafood and poultry, and the menu changes seasonally to showcase the best available ingredients of the region.
The best seats in the house are at the kitchen counter which is designed to break down the barriers between staff, chefs, and diners.
CAROOL
Potager
Potager is a rustic garden-to-table restaurant sitting in Carool on the edge of the Tweed Valley and is a scenic 25-minute drive from the Gold Coast Airport.
Both grown onsite and locally sourced produce makes for a fresh and authentic Tweed Coast dining experience.
CASUARINA
Lolita’s Mexican Cantina
This seriously funky cantina serves modern Mexican at its’ best. Inspired by flavours from home, Head Chef Armando Enriquez’ serves up the best local produce with fresh authentic flavours and exciting twists on classic Mexican cuisine. If you’re looking for the Coast’s best cocktails, you’ve found them! Expect an epic classic Margarita and a variety of other exciting options to impress even the most experienced of barflies.
Tucker
With the owners of Blackboard Coffee Roasters backing the cafe component of The Commons at Casuarina, you know you’re in for a treat.
With relaxed yet attentive service in a sun-drenched and texture-filled setting, Tucker has your all-day weekend brunching nosh covered.
KINGSCLIFF
Taverna
Long Greek lunches under breezy white umbrellas, Taverna is the best spot for a sneaky midday Aperol Spritz or a crispy slice of Byron Bay haloumi drizzled with bush honey and rosemary.
Be sure to snap a photo in front of their adorable peppermint door and let those wafting Greek flavours draw you inside.
Kingscliff Farmers Market
Open on Saturdays from 7am to 11am, at the Kingscliff Farmers Market you can purchase direct from the growers and creators that call this fertile farming region home.
Our pick is the super fresh cheese made by Deb from Cheesus Loves You.
UKI
Mavis’s Kitchen
Sitting in the footprint of Mount Warning, this stunning farmhouse restaurant boasts beautiful lush gardens where you can see fresh produce being grown, before making its way to your plate.
Fully licenced and with plenty of spots from which to admire the surrounding countryside, stop at Mavis’s Kitchen to complete a magical day exploring the pristine landscapes of the Tweed Coast and hinterland.
Mavis’s Kitchen only use fresh and organic produce to serve simple, home cooked and unpretentious dishes in a beautiful environment.
Much of what you’ll have for lunch or dinner comes from the vegetable and herb garden that meanders through the orchard on their property.
The property is located at the foot of Wollumbin-Mount Warning in the lush Tweed Valley, just an hour’s drive from either Byron Bay or Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. In this tranquil retreat, you’ll feel worlds away.
CUDGEN
Farm & Co.
If you’re searching for a sweet country drive from the Tweed Coast, we highly recommend Farm & Co.
Not only does this working farm produce fresh organic produce, it also has a farm-to-plate cafe, Insta-famous sunflower fields and friendly farm animals to keep the kids entertained.
Keep your eyes peeled for Schmokey, the resident farmhouse cat often found lazing on a hay bale.
Red Earth Brewery
New kid on the block, Red Earth Brewery is answering your thirsty ale prayers.
With views to Mount Warning and frothy cold ones poured straight from the vat, you could easily make Red Earth your new local.
Located five minutes’ drive west of Kingscliff and based on a working avocado farm, Red Earth Brewing takes its name from the volcanic soil of the fertile Tweed caldera.
With avocado trees, cane fields and trademark red soil as its backdrop, this grand old building originally functioned as an avocado production shed.
A rustic corrugated façade, raked ceilings and a collection of salvaged doors and windows round out the industrial tap room interiors. With a hyper local and low-impact focus, many ingredients will be sourced from nearby farms, while the spelt byproduct is carried over by tractor and distributed as feed to Farm & Co’s rescue pigs.
Progressive yet totally raw, we reckon breweries don’t come more Australiana than this. Community is at the cornerstone of this tightknit region and will be at the heart of everything produced at Red Earth Brewing.
With the slogan “brewed by mates for mates”, for six years head brewer Zeke Hower honed his skills with the legendary Stone & Wood Brewing Co., and is now the skillful master of ales, lagers and everything in between at this new 12-hectolitre brewhouse.
While you’ll totally want to skip across the border to sample the goods this summer, rest assured it most certainly won’t be your last trip to Red Earth Brewery.
Once the liquid gold is consistently flowing from the taps, subsequent phases planned for the brewhouse are equally exciting.
TUMBULGUM
If you haven’t sampled Husk’s famous purple Ink Gin or Spiced Bam Bam rum then you’d best book yourself a distillery tour, pronto.
Sitting amongst the sugar cane fields, Husk Distillery really is the best place to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon on the grass accompanied by one of their generous grazing boards complete with Ink Gin and tonic in hand.
Set on 150acres on the banks of the Tweed River in Tumbulgum, enjoy views across the valley to Wollumbin and the border ranges.
Visit the cellar door for a cocktail and lunch, purchase limited release products or join a distillery tour (bookings recommended).
The behind-the-scenes distillery tour runs for 45 minutes and includes an Ink Gin and Tonic on arrival and a rum tasting flight in the barrel house.
Learn the process of making Husk Rum and Ink Gin from paddock to bottle.
