From restaurants and bars to bakeries and burger joints, here are our top picks for spending a delicious few days in this rapidly changing coastal region.
Maybe it’s the winding curves of Waterfall Way or the laid-back, long-haired locals who never seem to be in a rush, but there’s something about the NSW Mid North Coast that makes you want to slow down and go with the flow. Just don’t sleep on making reservations at the restaurants, cafes and bars.
Some venues require an early start (Peach & Wolf), others call for an unexpected pullover (Pitstop Hamburgers) or a detour to a neighbouring town (Peaches). And while you might be many kilometres from a major city, bookings are still essential. Here’s everything to plan ahead for, so you can relax and enjoy once you’re there.
Charlie’s at Church, Bellingen
The bohemian village of Bellingen doesn’t believe in rushing – not even when it comes to pizza. At Charlie’s at Church, a green and gold-hued trattoria in the heart of town, the pizza-making process stretches over three days, with sourdough left to cold-ferment to develop flavour and form supple chew. Once ready, the base is spread with slow-simmered San Marzano tomato sauce, then smeared with smoked ricotta or scattered with purple violetta artichoke hearts. The same time and care goes into the pasta, which is made daily, and served with a fall-apart Dorrigo lamb shoulder, or a fermented chilli vodka sauce. If you can’t get a spot in the dining room, there’s always takeaway.
7 Church Street, Bellingen, charliesbellingen.com.au
Fiume, Bellingen
If you get the sense that this Bellingen cafe used to be a restaurant, you’re not wrong. The dining room, all olive green and honey timbers, is warm and inviting, while the smart, produce-driven menu hints at its former life as a Good Food Guide-listed bistro. Owners Fiona Richardson and Megs Black have since shifted the venue to daytime trade, with the exception of one dinner service on Saturday night. You can now wake up to a blue swimmer crab omelette with chilli katta sambol or sardines with pickled beets on locally made Darkwood sourdough. The menu is just as suited to a single-origin coffee on Loma beans as it is to a natural wine from Tumbarumba.
58 Hyde Street, Bellingen, fiumebellingen.com.au
Bruno’s, Bellingen
Bruno’s looks like any other weatherboard cottage in the backstreets of Bellingen, but step inside, and you’re met with a warm, firelit dining room and open kitchen lined with jars of pickles and ferments. Local couple Genevieve and Genaro Benmayor bought into the business in 2024 and, along with founder Oliver Gluck, they’ve kept the standards of this Good Food Guide favourite impressively high. Head chef Jesse Dolman makes the most of the valley’s produce, from steak tartare made with Dorrigo beef to fruity, chargrilled peppers from Autarky Farm, served with whipped ricotta and sesame-crusted flatbread. The side balcony is the prime perch, where locals gather over blackberry sours and the house lager brewed by Woolgoolga’s Woopi Brewing Co.
2 Oak Street, Bellingen, brunosbellingen.com.au
Pitstop Hamburgers, Thora
Midway between Bellingen and Dorrigo lies the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town of Thora, home to the Thora General Store – a post office, petrol station, bottle-o and now, a burger bar. Chef Giuseppe Gruwez, formerly of Sixpenny, has taken over the shop’s kitchen and back deck, where he flips smash burgers made with local beef, cheese, onion, pickles, and a choice of curried ketchup, tarragon remoulade or sweet mustard piccalilli. Crinkle-cut chips cooked in beef tallow and ice-cold strawberry milkshakes topped with whipped cream and sprinkles add to the nostalgic milk bar vibes.
2656 Waterfall Way, Thora, @pitstop.hamburgers
Peaches, Dorrigo
If you’re planning a trip to Dorrigo, make sure it falls on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, when Peaches patisserie is open. This mint-green bake shop is worth the detour, with glass cabinets brimming with cardamom twists, pistachio doughnuts, and rhubarb and custard crumble pies crafted by Beth O’Loughlin, who trained in Melbourne before returning to her home town. The local favourite is the ham and cheese croissant made with locally smoked ham and a black garlic and mustard bechamel – just follow the crumbs. If you’re planning a hike around Dangar Falls, the apple fritters travel well.
53 Hickory Street, Dorrigo, peachespatisserie.com.au
Morty’s Joint, Sawtell
Bianca Wendt and Ric Divola have stepped away from Bar Que Sera in Sawtell, but you can still catch their cooking at Morty’s Joint next door. Morty, their blue cattle dog, can usually be found sunbathing out the front or wandering table to table collecting pats (and fries). Whole free-range birds are broken down to make the Nashville-style MFC (Morty’s Fried Chicken), which is twice-fried, doused in duck fat chilli oil and served as a two-piece feed or loaded onto a burger with yuzu mayo and slaw. Other cuts become popcorn chicken, soy and sesame wings, panko-crusted schnitzels and chicken gravy. This is a proper locals’ hangout, complete with drink specials, drag bingo, weekly trivia and live music.
63 First Avenue, Sawtell, mortys-joint.com
The Stunned Mullet, Port Macquarie
You might be a little open-mouthed at the name, but this 20-year-old stalwart isn’t battering mugil cephalus. Instead, you’re more likely to find Glacier 51 toothfish in a shiitake suimono – an umami-rich broth brightened with anise and chilli, or fried king prawns, propped tail-up on a bed of roasted oat flakes. While seafood is a strength, the menu roams widely, from spice-rubbed quail to Tajima wagyu. Tufted banquettes and sleek copper lighting set a polished tone, while walls lined with bottles hint at the depth of the wine program. The list spans more than 60 pages (or rather, iPad screens) filled with prized finds curated over two decades by owner and collector Lou Perri.
24 William Street, Port Macquarie, thestunnedmullet.com.au
Banks Cafe, Port Macquarie
For breakfast by the water, nowhere will get you closer to the edge than Banks Cafe. This converted beach house has cocooning white interiors and a sunny timber deck, while picnic tables and striped umbrellas are set along the banks of the Hastings River. It’s prime pelican territory, so keep an eye on your blue swimmer crab scrambled eggs and butter-poached prawn croissants. Open all day, the menu features beer-battered fish and chips for lunch, and pan-seared barramundi with fennel beurre blanc in the evening. Book ahead if you can – the queues can also bank up.
9 Mcinherney Close, Port Macquarie, bankscafe.com.au
Stef & Co Osteria, Coffs Harbour
Chef Stefano Mazzina is the “Stef”; pasta-maker Vito Di Grusa and bar manager Roberto Volgo are the “Co”. Together, they run a three-in-one Italian precinct at Coffs Harbour development The Promenade. There’s a cafe and bakery for cornettos, fagottino pastry parcels and pizza slices. The osteria is the spot for pasta – the standout being the pici aglione, tossed through a bright sauce of San Marzano tomatoes and sweet elephant garlic. Cannoli shells are baked onsite and filled to order with either sweet ricotta or savoury tuna tartare. After dinner, head downstairs to the cocktail bar, where there’s live music every Sunday.
319-321 Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, stefandco.com.au
Peach and Wolf Bakery, Coffs Harbour
Not to be confused with Peaches in Dorrigo, this bakery-cafe now has two locations in Coffs Harbour and a kiosk in Woolgoolga, and it’s where the locals stop for an Allpress coffee after a beach run. You’ll find pain au chocolat and brulee tarts in the cabinet, but the bestseller is the cinnie scroll – a coiled, cultured butter croissant crusted in cinnamon sugar. The monkey bread is its bigger, pull-apart cousin, swirled with vanilla and butterscotch custard.
29/87 Ocean Parade and 27 Gordon Street, Coffs Harbour, peachandwolfbakery.square.site
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Erina Starkey – Erina is the Good Food App Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously, Erina held a number of editing roles at delicious.com.au and writing roles at Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.
