There’s no doubt that having a good meal can make your day. Luckily you’re spoilt for choice in Coffs Harbour! You can choose between most cuisines including Italian, Thai, Modern Australian and Indian. There’s casual bars where you can sit back and chill while live music plays, and intimate restaurants where you can give the chef free rein to serve their best. You can also enjoy a refined, fine dining experience that rivals the world’s best. So, for your next trip, we’ve curated a handy list of the top places to eat out while in Coffs Harbour.

Taste of North India

For an authentic, tongue-tingling curry all you need to do is head to Taste of North India. It’s a family-owned restaurant whose head chef even uses onion and coriander grown in his mother’s garden. The menu features a mixture of traditional Indian curries and tandoori dishes, with the option to choose your own level of spiciness. Get the tandoori sizzler to try all of their tandoori clay oven dishes or stick to the classics, including vindaloo, rogan josh and tikka masala. If you don’t feel like dining in, it’s not a problem. Taste of North India also offers takeaway dishes and home delivery within the Coffs Harbour CBD and Sapphire Beach area. You might even get a discount for picking it up yourself!

396 Harbour Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6651 1668 | Website | Tuesday to Sunday 5.00pm–9.00pm 

Jetty Beach House

Overlooking the sea, Jetty Beach House celebrates the coastal lifestyle Coffs Harbour is known for. The decor, menu and location come together to create the atmosphere of a fun beach club where you can sit back and relax while enjoying a cocktail or two. The menu is a fusion of modern Australian and international cuisine. Seafood features heavily, including local fish and lobster, pacific oysters and smoked salmon. For those of you who aren’t a big fan of seafood there’s no need to worry, they have you covered. There’s a range of other delicious dishes such as smokey beef ribs, salads and burgers. One tip for the Jetty Beach House is to keep an eye out for special deals! On some nights kids eat free while others have great deals on schooners and oysters.

1 Jordan Esplanade | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 5603 3860 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tuesday to Thursday 12.00pm–4.00pm | Friday 12.00pm–late | Saturday 11.30am–late | Sunday 11.30am–5.00pm

Suban Thai

If you love yourself some Thai food then Suban Thai is worth a visit. Their menu consists of authentic and traditional recipes from different regions across Thailand and wherever possible, local produce is used. There’s a huge range of options on the menu so you’ll easily find something you enjoy. There are classic Thai dishes including tom yum soup, masaman curry, pad thai and green curry. You can also try something you might not have heard of like pad peow waan or choo chee. One of the cool things about Suban Thai is how customisable the dishes are. Most of the stir-frys, curries, soups and salads come with a choice of protein, including chicken, beef, pork, fish, lamb, duck, prawns and tofu. You can also let them know what level of spice you can handle.

Shop 7, Coffs Retail Centre, Gordon Street | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 5606 1448 | Facebook | Monday to Friday 11.00am–3.00pm, 5.00pm–9.00pm | Saturday to Sunday 5.00pm–9.00pm

Element Bar

Open for lunch and dinner, Element Bar has an eclectic yet relaxed vibe with staff who are there to help you have a good time. Adding to the atmosphere is the live music performances held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You won’t go thirsty with 10 craft beers on tap and an unbelievably large range of beers, ciders and seltzers in the fridges. There’s also a pretty decent cocktail and wine list. At lunch you could have a filling burger, footlong gourmet hotdog, pizza or just some tasty bites to share. Meanwhile, dinner is a choice between an expansive list of share options or your own meal – the hickory smoked BBQ beef short ribs or chilli prawn and chorizo fettuccine sound tempting!

380 Harbour Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6651 6655 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | (02) 6651 6655 | Monday to Thursday 12.00pm–11.00pm | Friday to Saturday 12.00pm–1.00pm

Shearwater Restaurant

On the banks of the peaceful Coffs Creek is Shearwater Restaurant. Their seating area is open to the water and is perfect for a relaxing meal with family and friends. Open throughout the day, the menu changes depending on when you go, but the quality and focus on local produce stays the same. There are also options that cater for vegan and gluten-free diets. For breakfast, choose from a range of classic dishes, including smashed avocado, eggs benedict and the Shearwater breakfast, which comes with all the cooked brekky favourites. Lunch is a mixture of entrees, mains, pastas and salads, with the duck leg confit or sirloin with grilled prawns sounding particularly tasty. By dinner, the menu has changed again with the addition of pizzas and a few new gourmet meal choices.

319-321 Harbour Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6651 6053 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tuesday to Wednesday 8.00am–3.00pm | Thursday to Saturday 8.00am–3.00pm, 5.00pm–10.00pm | Sunday 8.00am–3.00pm

Latitude 30

Located at the Coffs Harbour International Marina, Latitude 30 looks out over the Pacific Ocean towards Little Muttonbird Island. They’re open for lunch and dinner, with a small bites menu also being available in the afternoons. There might not be a dress code – but that doesn’t mean you won’t be getting a quality feed; the chefs have designed a delicious menu that heroes local ingredients, including oysters, fish, lobster and beef. If you’re a seafood lover, you’ll be particularly delighted as the offerings include a seafood chowder, four styles of oyster, seared scallops, seafood platters and a lobster mornay. If you’re a bigger group of 10 or more people, there’s a chef’s version of the standard menu which your guests can choose a two- or three-course meal from.

1 Marina Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6651 6888 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Monday to Sunday 11.00am–10.00pm

CreAsian

CreAsian is a fusion restaurant that combines South East Asian flavours with traditional Chinese dishes and cooking techniques. It’s a family restaurant and local institution that’s now headed by Owen Young, whose father, aunty and grandfather also worked there. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner six days a week and offers an all-day menu. On the entree list you’ll find dumplings, savoury pancakes, soup, spring rolls and pork buns. For mains there’s a huge choice of beef, chicken, king prawn, lamb, pork, squid, egg and vegetarian dishes. To help make it easier, they’ve also compiled a short list of dishes the chef recommends, including salt and pepper king prawns, mongolian lamb and pork spare ribs peking sauce – yum!

Shop 72 City Square, 66–90 Harbour Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6652 4368 | Website | Facebook | Monday to Wednesday 11.00am–2.00pm | Thursday to Saturday 11.00am–2.00pm, 5.00pm–7.00pm

Pizza Vino

If you’re craving some good Italian food then Pizza Vino is worth checking out. The venue is a little rustic in design and customers rave about the service. To start off, maybe have some traditional bruschetta or creamy garlic prawns with prosciutto dust. If you’re feeling pizza for dinner then you’re in the right place, with an extensive list of traditional and gourmet pizzas. Otherwise, they have quite the list of pastas and mains, which can be accompanied by a glass of Australian or Italian wine. Bellissimo! If you’re staying nearby and feel like eating in, Pizza Vino also has an extensive takeaway menu. Choose between a range of pizzas in three different sizes, scaloppini with your choice of sauce, Italian breads (including garlic bread!) and pasta.

Shop 10, 361 Harbour Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6650 9112 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tuesday to Saturday 5.00pm–9.00pm

Sea Salt

Given its beachside location you might be wondering where the best classic fish and chips joint in Coffs Harbour is. Our answer; give Sea Salt a try! Using wild-caught, local seafood from Australia and New Zealand, Sea Salt offers many of the fish and chips dishes you’d expect, including battered fish, hand-crumbed calamari, potato scallops and banana fritters. You can also get some of the catch of the day, which changes depending on what’s available fresh, as well as seafood and vegetarian burgers and wraps. From their Coffs Harbour location, it’s not far to walk to Jetty Beach. Get your Sea Salt order to go and have a true holiday experience, sitting on the beach eating fish and chips as the sun sets and stars start to shine.

Shop 14 in Jetty Village Shopping Centre | 361 Harbour Drive | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | 1300 737 258 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Monday to Sunday 11.00am–7.30pm

Grazie Papi

Open every day for dinner, Grazie Papi is another Coffs Harbour business that’s been shaped by the passion of the family that owns it. Inspired by Italian culture and cuisine, the menu is set up just like you see in Italy. It’s divided into antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni and wood-fired pizza, with dishes such as calamari fritti, gnocchi de patate al ragu and woodfired whole spatchcock. As any pizza aficionado would know, one of the best ways (if not the best!) to cook a pizza is in a wood-fired pizza oven. At Grazie Papi, you can enjoy one of their pizzas either at the restaurant or as takeaway, depending on how you feel. The toppings are quite traditional and include the diavola, pork and fennel sausage, tricolore and pugliese.

22 Orlando Street | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | 0475 387 535 | Website | Instagram | Monday to Saturday 4.00pm–10.00pm | Sunday 3.00pm–8.00pm

Casay On The Beach

Found at the northern end of Coffs Harbour, Casay On The Beach is located at the BreakFree Aanuka Beach Resort. It has indoor and outdoor seating available and looks out towards Diggers Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Open for dinner, Casay on the Beach serves a limited menu of gourmet dishes. For starters, try some of the Asian-inspired dishes, housemade bread, local river oysters or signature Aanuka tasting plate. From there move on to one of the mains, which includes a vegetarian gnocchi, duck confit and swordfish with Kipfler potato. Finish the meal with desert, choosing between classics like the brulee or chocolate terrine.

11 Firman Drive |  Coffs Harbour NSW 2459 | (02) 6652 7555 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tuesday to Saturday 5.30pm–8.30pm

Thai Inthanon Kitchen

Thai Inthanon Kitchen is open for lunch and dinner most days and is in a convenient spot if you’re doing a bit of shopping in the Harbour Drive area. A small and simple restaurant, it serves up a range of authentic Thai recipes. The menu includes starters, rice, noodle, curry and soup dishes, and you’ll find all the favourites, such as pad thai and thai green curry, as well as some you might not know like pad see-ew and gang bhah. Some dishes offer a choice of protein and the chef’s specials include pad satay, pad prik khing and larb ped yang – you’ll just have to visit to find out what they are! At lunch, there’s a special menu to choose from. It has a limited number of very well-priced dishes, including satay chicken, larb tofu and Thai omelette.

71 Grafton Street | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6651 9914 | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Monday 5.30pm–9.00pm | Tuesday to Sunday 11.30am–3.00pm, 5.30pm–9.00pm

Aromas of India

Established over 10 years ago, Aromas of India is owned and run by its head chef. As the name suggests, the menu is centred around traditional recipes and cooking techniques from India. There are chicken, lamb, beef, goat, fish, prawn and vegetarian dishes to choose from, including chickpea curry, rogan josh and madras. Try the homemade samosas or one of the many flavours of freshly made naan bread. To take your meal to the next level, don’t forget to try a dessert or drink. Kulfi is a traditional Indian ice cream, while gulab jamun is a sweet dessert that has Persian and Indian heritage. If it’s hot, you can’t go past a mango lassi which is a creamy drink made mostly of mango, yoghurt and milk.

38 Moonee Street | Coffs Harbour NSW 2450 | (02) 6671 4313 | Website | Monday to Saturday 11.00am–2.00pm, 5.00pm–9.00pm