01 August 2008
Pat Nourse
Beach Hotel, Bay Street, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.
+61 2 6680 7055.
This is unquestionably the biggest news in regional dining in New South Wales in a long time. And in a strange twist of fate, we have one of Melbourne’s key restaurant families to thank. To their credit, John and Lisa van Haandel (owners, among other shiny things, of the Prince of Wales Hotel dine/drink complex in St Kilda) made almost no changes to the public bar and beer garden when they bought the iconic Beach Hotel late last year. But the restaurant has been transformed. Ex-Circa chef David Moyle presents a good selection of small plates augmented by a handful of main courses. Graze your way over beet and sugarcane with cucumber and dill jelly with goat’s curd and black pepper; spanner crab, chilli and lemon spaghettini with breadcrumbs; or the superb sesame tuna with luscious crab-dressed eggplant and shiso (Japanese microherbs). Or take the more rib-sticking route with the sorrel-sharpened dry red curry of reef fish and cuttlefish. This is serious cooking served in a seriously fun environment.
Open: dinner daily. Licensed. Mains $27-$32.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way May 2008
Updated: August 2008