Six Incredible Food and Drink Venues on the NSW North Coast That Are Worthy of a Weekend Away This Winter

Jaw-dropping ocean views and the stylish Hamptons-esque pool aren’t the only reason Sydneysiders and Brisbanites flock to Halcyon House — a luxury boutique hotel on the Tweed Coast. It also boasts hatted restaurant, Paper Daisy, with executive chef Jason Barratt taking the helm from his previous post at Rae’s on Wategos.

During the North Coast Festival of Flavour, Paper Daisy will be hosting the Halcyon House Lunch — a three-course vegetarian share menu for $95 per person — on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5. There’ll be a wine pairing option and an extensive list of cocktails available, too. Be warned — it’ll be hard to resist a visit to the luxe hotel spa or retreating to one of the eclectically styled suites for a night or two during your visit. 

Ventura Brewing isn’t your typical brewery. Why? Well, there’s absolutely no beer to be found here. What you can expect, however, is a refreshing craft alcoholic kombucha made by two mates, Dom and Shanu, just outside the Tweed Valley town of Murwillumbah. The artisanal bev is made from premium and natural ingredients and is brewed in small batches with fresh herbs and botanicals for a clean, fresh taste.

Want to check it out for yourself? Ventura Brewing is throwing its doors open day as part of the North Coast Festival of Flavour on Saturday, June 4. At the event you’ll get to sample the different hard kombucha flavours on offer and sneak peak of the behind the scenes activities in a tour of this one-of-a-kind brewery. 

If you’re after an excellent day on the water in the Tweed Valley, look no further than Tweed Eco Cruises. This family-run business specialises in First Nations-led tours and river cruising in the Bundjalung Nation with a number of unique food experiences to enjoy. Our pick? The sunset picnic filled with locally produced cheeses, dips, antipasto, sparkling wine and more. 

You can also join them for a sumptuous three-hour floating dining experience against the backdrop of Wollumbin (Mount Warning) on Sunday, June 5, during the North Coast Festival of Flavour. The Tweed River Harvest Lunch Cruise will make its way down the river through mangroves and rainforests while you enjoy a banquet of freshly caught local seafood. Oysters, prawns and Tweed River mud crabs will be served alongside produce from local farmers while the family’s fishers take you through their sustainable fishing process in this incredible ‘sea-to-table’ experience.

Long Point Vineyard and Art Gallery combines arguably two of the most important things in life —wine and art — in an exciting imagination of a traditional vineyard. The venue is set amongst 12-acres in the Hastings region near Port Macquarie, and boasts outdoor artworks from Bondi’s Sculptures by the Sea to explore in between wine tastings. And, while it doesn’t have a kitchen, Long Point offers cheese boards which pair perfectly with your drop of choice.

Make a day of it on Saturday, June 4, when the vineyard is holding a Long Point Ladies Long Lunch, where over four hours you and some friends can listen to live music, play lawn games, and most importantly, nibble on grazing platters and sip vino in the sun. 

Potager is a kitchen garden on a 10-acre farm located at Carool in the Tweed Valley that celebrates fresh, locally sourced ingredients. You’ll often find the kitchen staff picking lettuce, herbs and veggies from the garden while eager patrons take their seats in the cosy dining room. Potager’s long lunches and degustation dinners are only held every few months which makes them very sought after — so much so they’re usually fully booked within 48 hours.

As part of the North Coast Festival of Flavour, Potager will be welcoming guests for another one of its renowned ‘Meet the Locals’ lunches happening on Saturday, June 4. Local producers alongside Potager’s gardener and head chef will welcome you with refreshing cocktails and delicious canapes in the garden followed a three-course lunch.

What started as an old tin packing shed on an avocado farm overlooking Wollumbin (Mount Warning) has now evolved into the fully-fledged low-impact brewery, Earth Beer Company. The brewery distributes locally using minimal packaging and even reuses its spent grain as food for the venue’s pet pigs. Earth Beer Company’s ethos runs along the lines of good people, good beer, and a love of the land they brew on.

It’s an ideal place to stop by for a beer and some eats on lazy Sunday afternoon. Or, you can book yourself into one of the company’s informal yet informative brewery tours. The tour includes a 45-minute information session and a tasting paddle for some all-important sampling — including a tasting of the brewery’s seasonal release.

If this sounds like your kind of place, make tracks to the venue’s North Coast Festival of Flavour event, Beer School which is taking place from Friday, June 3 till Sunday, June 5. Here, you’ll get to taste the brewery’s favourite beers and learn more about the process and history of the brewery.