ASTRID MCCORMACK
AND JOSH LEWIS
Fleet (Brunswick Heads,
New South Wales)
“You could lay on the road on a Wednesday night
and be in no danger of being run over,” Astrid
McCormack laughs as she recounts what Brunswick
Heads was like when she and her partner Josh
Lewis opened Fleet in 2015. The sleepy town held
more appeal for the pair than its bustling neighbour
Byron Bay. First of all, there’s the fishing, a drawcard
for Lewis, who often takes the boat out pre-dawn.
Then there’s the pub, good coffee and a welcoming
community of locals and other sea changers.
Running a restaurant that’s perennially booked
out also helps make you known – McCormack says
her weekly visits to Byron Farmers Market are
never quick: “I’m always getting harassed: ‘Astrid,
Astrid, do you have any tables on the 14th of
June?’” This year, things will get even busier with
the opening of their Mexican restaurant La Casita,
just down the road from Fleet. Otherwise, catch
them on a rare day off at the New Brighton
Farmers Market, barefoot, reusable bags in
hand, doing as the locals do. ➤PHOTOGRAPHY KARA ROSENLUND (ASTRID MCCORMACK AND JOSH LEWIS) & JESSICA WYLD (SETH JAMES).
GOURMET TRAVELLER 67