The Good Life
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The Loft: new, classy If you haven’t visited Loft Byron Bay yet, follow the crowd! With a comfortable but classy interior, a cool breeze and premium view, Loft is turning into a favourite lunch spot, not least because the prices are pretty reasonable for a venue like this. The long-awaited bar and eatery is now one month young and is located at the top of Jonson St. If you’re heading from the beach, shake the sand off your shoes and make your way up their large wooden staircase. You will be greeted by their fresh-as-it-gets deli and oyster bar, and a hostess to help you get sorted. Loft’s food menu invites you to share a wide range of cured meats and cheeses on
top of a local seafood selection. If you do make it to lunch, their $35 seafood special includes their crowd favourite ceviche, the best way to start tasting your way through the menu. Vegetarians and vegans are not forgotten with coal-smoked beetroot and caramelised Japanese pumpkin dishes available. And then there’s the bar… that’s on par with the view, with a careful curation of international and local wines, beers, and cocktails. The wine list lets you try grapes from all over the world, opt for more local wine, or select an organic option. When you start having trouble making
Quality surf shack
choices it’s time to call on the staff! As well as being genuine, and sometimes pretty funny, they’re happy to make suggestions for food you could be exploring and what booze you might enjoy. Excellent service is the key to a hospitality establishment, and at this young venue there seems to be a relaxed energy and passion that will make you feel at home.
The Loft’s open white chic interior is matched with warm wooden furniture that offers comfort-focused design. You can lay back in the lounge area or prop yourself up on one of the high stools that are ideal for people watching, one storey above the main street crowd. Oh, and don’t forget to look up to check out the brushed brass lighting that adds a little bit of bling to a Byron setting. The interior design, produce, presentation, and service are of a style that will hit the mark with locals and visitors – a bit of Melbourne with a Byron twist, perhaps. Venue owner Matt Hunt is set on creating a home away from home for his customers, and it seems to be working. Q The Loft, 4 Jonson St, Byron. Ph 6680 9183
Loftbyronbay.com.au.
S Haslam Shelter in Lennox Head is a gem of understated quality. It has a real surf shack vibe; you can even eat on the row of stools along the open front window and allow the feeling of the dunes to come inside, watching the locals turn up on their bikes. But it has proved itself the top place to eat in Lennox Head by earning a hat in this year’s Good Food Guide. If you’re down the beach, you can still turn up in bare feet, but it’s also worth a special trip from Byron to check out the wine list and menu; Shelter made the list of the Top 12 Best New Restaurants opened this year in the nation, with a focus on ethically sustainable, seasonal products sourced from local producers. ‘We really love the independents,’ says owner Andrew Love. ‘We focus on natural and organic wines, for example, rather than stuff you can buy in a bottleshop. We think it’s important to stick to our ethics, as a company but also as people. ‘When we found this location, we just really wanted to do something special,’ says Andrew. But this also is a ‘neighbourhood’ restaurant, so ‘we won’t turn you away if you
Good Taste BALLINA
have bare feet!’ says Andrew. ‘The locals were really excited for us about the hat, and to tell you the truth we didn’t see the hat coming – we didn’t clock any of the reviewers.’ There didn’t seem to be any reviewers when I was there last week, either; in fact it was a refreshing change from Byron to look around and see 90 per cent of the customers smiling at each other at any one time. I was smiling too, enjoying a pineapple and sage cocktail, a really excellent sweet and sour eggplant entrée with seaweed and chili, followed by a unique chilled Gentle Folk red paired with a delicious vegetarian ‘maltagliati’ pasta (literally the ‘poorly cut’ offcuts of pasta). Even the black coffee seemed special; the single origin featured this week was from Costa Rica and came with some tasting notes and a bit about the beans. Adding to the ‘surf shack’ feel is the location. When you hit the beach you turn north out of the bustle of Lennox, and the restaurant seems like it’s one of the houses on the beachfront. Thoroughly recommended as a place crisp battered fish AND CHIPS to chill near the beach with or quality food and wine. PAN ROASTED tasmanian salmon
LOFT SEAFOOD LUNCH 2 co urse S E T ME N U
{12-3pm EVERYDAY} ceviche or
oysters
&
Eating Out Guide
www.echo.net.au/good-taste
$35
Ballina RSL Club
Terrace Sessions
1 Grant St, Ballina 6681 9500 www.ballinarsl.com.au Open 7 Days Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks
Every Friday & Saturday Night 7.30pm to 10.30pm Free Live Music Share Plate Specials $9 Cocktails - 8pm to 9pm Beer and Wine of the Week Beverage Tasting
Wharf Bar & Restaurant
Open 7.30am Daily. Open till late Thurs–Sun Coffee, breakfast, lunch & dinner, functions & weddings. Fully Licensed. 12-24 Fawcett St, Ballina 6686 5259 / 6685 6011
TAKEAWAY WOOD FIRED PIZZAS Or dine in & enjoy live music Friday, Saturday & Sunday with our NEW range of Wood Fired Pizzas WharfBarBallina@gmail.com.au www.WharfBarBallina.com.au
BRUNSWICK HEADS
The Kingswood Open from midday till late takeaway, lunch & dinner 6 days a week (closed Tues) 2/26 Mullumbimbi St, Brunswick Heads 6685 1111
• natural, biodynamic & organic wines • coastal kitchen • craft beer • caffeine • picnic boxes • the river & you the.kingswood thekingswoodbrunswickheads www.thekingswood.com.au
BYRON BAY
Fishheads
7:30am till late Coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, functions and weddings. HAPPY HOUR 4–6PM MON–FRI 1 Jonson St, Byron Bay 6680 7632
No Bones Food & Cocktails Open every day from 5pm 11 Fletcher Street, Byron Bay 6680 7418 @nobonesbyronbay
BEACH FRONT HAPPY HOUR $12 Cocktails + $7 Tapas $6 Beers + Wines + Spirits MONDAY TO FRIDAY 4pm to 6pm
NEW - VEGAN - RESTAURANT We are part of a plant based movement and invite you to join us on our expedition to save the Earth one Brussels Sprout at a time. Spread the word #plantpowered #brusselsnotbeef
Q Shelter, 41 Pacific Pde,
4 Jonson St Byron Bay 02 6680 9183
@loftbyronbay loftbyronbay.com.au
20 The Byron Shire Echo mşưĕŔćĕſ ǩǯǽ ǩǧǨǯ
Lennox Head. shelterlennox.com.au. Ph 6687 7757. 7 days 6.30am–3pm. Dinner (Thurs, Fri, Sat) 5–9pm North Coast news daily in Echonetdaily www.echo.net.au