Jad A.
Yelp
A real foodie will travel for the best food there is, & thankfully for us, Harvest Cafe located in the historic town of Newrybar in the Byron Bay hinterland, about 20 mins south west of Byron Bay central, is more than worth it. It is a must-stop & must-do if you ever find yourself in the region. "Harvest" is actually composed of the cafe, a deli, & a bakery, across three restored buildings, & the property also includes a wonderful herb & vegetable garden, from which the cafe is able to use organic, fresh produce in all of the seasonal dishes that are created. The whole place just exudes quality & a country charm that one can fall in love with, & leave city-life behind.
The Deli is stocked with local & international products, sauces, condiments, cacao chocolates, there's a cold room for it's boutique cheeses, aged meats, charcuterie, pastries, croissants, salted caramel donuts, many more, & our favourite Portuguese tarts.
The Bakery is an open plan rustic affair, with the star attraction being the 103 year old woodfired oven from where Harvest's famous organic sour dough bread, baguettes & french pastries, supplying the cafe, the deli & specially selected local outlets, are produced fresh each morning. Like the Deli, the Bakery sells out of it's most popular items, & people line up early in the morning not to miss out.
The Cafe was what we were there for & it absolutely hits a perfect note from the moment you step in. In addition to the beautiful country surrounds, you have the warm inviting tones of timber floors, comfy leather couches next to a fire place, copper industrial light shades, a sexy bar next to the open kitchen, & a wrap-around verandah that says, "take a load off, you deserve it". It's this perfect mix of casual sophistication.
Staff were excellent, from start to finish, friendly & attentive, not over-bearing, & it's the small things we appreciated, like topping up our glass of water each time they walked by. Entree's ranged from $7 - $30, Mains from $29 - $85, Desserts $16, & their drinks list is extensive, with their own "harvest cocktails", as well as wines sourced locally & internationally.
For entrees we ordered:
(1) Ginger kingfish sashimi, avocado, fingerlime, seaweed and radish ($22) &
(2) Warm corned beef, cucumber, cucamelon and feta ($22)
The sashimi was light, & fresh, with the combination of all elements just divine! Similarly, delighted at the corned beef, with it's orchestra of flavours.
For mains:
(1) Braised beef brisket, bavette with pickles and smoked potato mayo ($35) &
(2) Burrawong chicken, roast corn, spring onion and pearl barley ($35). Nothing more to say. You must try it, just delightful.
And for the grand finale..dessert, we had the (Harvest's version of) "Cherry Ripe" ($16) & the Elderflower & blueberry parfait, white chocolate & macadamia ($16). Wow, absolute Wow. Perfect way to end an amazing time at Harvest Cafe. Will be back, & if it wasn't a 2 hour drive away, we'd be here regularly.