138 GOURMET TRAVELLER
they’re working with a bar kitchen and only serving
food till 8.30. Expect bigger things as they expand
the kitchen; Tim Philips, of Sydney’s Bulletin Place,
is making over the cocktail list in the meantime.
6 Lawson St, Byron Bay, (02) 6675 9140, locura.com.auRaes on Wategos
If you were looking for somewhere to point the blame-
finger for the wave of fancification that has overtaken
Byron in the past 20 or so years, this hotel-eatery could
be the place to start. Antony Catalano, former Domain
chief executive (and presumably someone with a keen
eye for a property deal), bought Vincent Rae’s last
stake in the business in 2014 and set about bringing
the place into the present day. This has involved Tamsin
Johnson’s design update, the hiring of general manager
Francesca Webster from Halcyon House and, most
recently, the recruitment of former Attica chef Jason
Barratt to the kitchen. And whether it’s the saltbush-
spiked agnolotti, the vegan take on the roast pineapple
dessert, zesty with lime and a spoonful of coconut
yoghurt, or the chilli snowpea-sprouts that Barratt serves
with his outstanding avocado toast at breakfast, the food
is the best it has been in years.6-8 Marine Pde, Byron
Bay, (02) 6685 5366, raes.com.auEthel
La Casita isn’t Team Fleet’s only other Brunswick
Heads offering – for breakfast, lunch and just about
everything else there’s Ethel Food Store, a café-cum-
traiteur that does sandwiches and pastries, and pours
Reuben Hills coffee, Good Happy kombucha and
Baladin softs. Stock up on Martelli pasta, passata and
Bunya Red Farm capers (“the best around,” according
to Astrid McCormack), or leave the hard yards to them
and pick up a fish pie, ready to go straight in the oven,
or a salad of raw broccoli, raisins and currants dressed
with cashew-nut cream.Shop 2/19 Booyun St, Brunswick
Heads, (02) 6685 1343, ethelfoodstore.com.auBarrio
Great coffee. All-day great food, eat in and to go.
Outdoor dining. The culinary force of nature that is
Francisco Smoje, working his Latin-inflected elemental
magic on the grill with hunks of meat, vegetables and
superb seafood. You won’t eat a better-cooked eggplant.
1 Porter St, Byron Bay, barriobyronbay.com.auMoonshine Coffee
Barely any food. Barely any seats. Barely more than a
(very tastefully appointed) shed. Barely a half-hour drive
on winding roads from Byron proper to the town of
Federal. And yet the house-roasted coffee will definitely
be the best you have in the region, and might be the best
you have all year, anywhere. Make the detour.3 Albert St,
Federal, (02) 6688 4718, moonshinecoffee.com.au➤Clockwise from
right: Raes
on Wategos;
Fisherman’s
Lookout at The
Pass; Astrid
McCormack,
of Fleet, La
Casita and Ethel;
adobo almonds,
tostadas with
burnt jalapeño
and salsa roja,
lima bean salad,
and octopus
ceviche at Locura.