The 15 Best Cafés in Byron Bay
Whether you’re after a quick bite, good coffee and a pastry, or a long lazy lunch, these epic cafés in Byron have got you covered.
Byron is home to some of the best restaurants north of Sydney, and its daytime dining scene isn’t too shabby either. So much so that narrowing down the best cafés in Byron Bay to only 15 was no easy task!
From places serving indulgent brunches complete with cocktails to healthy salad lunches and everything in between, there’s a huge choice of options in town. But if you’re looking for the best of the best, these are our must-visit cafès for an unmissable breakfast, brunch, or lunch.
Bayleaf Café
Bayleaf is a crowd favourite located in central Byron Bay. Superb coffee is a given and accompanies a range of healthy breakfast dishes or larger mains for lunch. These include classics like avo on toast and housemade granola alongside their popular sweet potato flatbread and breaky greens. The service is efficient and friendly, and the food is always thoughtfully presented.
It’s no secret that Bayleaf is one of the best cafés in Byron Bay, so you may have to wait for a table. If you’re pressed for time, they’ve recently upgraded their takeaway section, which now has extra outside seating.
Its sunny street-front location and modern exterior add to the café’s super cool vibe. Also, keep an eye out for the striking mural on the end wall of the café, the most recent of which was painted by local artist Courtney Cook.
Find it: 2A Marvell St, Byron Bay
Folk
Folk is a Byron Bay café committed to vegetarian and plant-based food. The food features original ingredient combinations, creating bold and hearty flavours, while the presentation wouldn’t look out of place in a fine dining restaurant. Look out for interesting main courses like the Folk burrito and their healthy soba noodle salad.
On the drinks menu, fresh-brewed coffee vies with lattes, house-crafted teas, and delicious non-dairy smoothies.
Its laid-back garden is a great place to find some calm and relax, while inside, you’ll find more tables set off by rugs and plenty of trailing hanging baskets.
Find it: 1/399 Ewingsdale Rd, Byron Bay
Sunday Sustainable Bakery
The daily queue at Sunday Sustainable Bakery tells you everything you need to know about this local institution that’s as popular with Byron locals as it is with visitors to the town.
As a fully stocked bakery, it sells a great variety of bread, sweet and savoury pastries, sandwiches, and baguettes. The desserts are worth the trip alone – try the carrot cake and thank us later!
If you’re after something more substantial, you can also order dishes, including their famous egg and bacon roll and smashed avocado vegan yin toast.
Everything produced at Sunday Sustainable is organic and sustainably made as far as possible. And all dishes are handmade in house with local organic ingredients where possible.
Find it: 101 Jonson St, Byron Bay
Three Blue Ducks at The Farm Byron Bay
Set in a beautiful rural location just off the Pacific Highway, Three Blue Ducks is a joy whether you head there for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Situated adjacent to an 80-acre working farm, it’s a relaxed arrangement with a bar, plenty of outside seating, and sweeping countryside views.
Breakfast dishes in the restaurant include original combinations, such as pear and almond fruit toast and avocado houmous with charred corn. If it’s a special occasion or you just fancy a treat, mimosas and a couple of cocktails are available from 10 am.
Or, in an original twist, you can pre-order a picnic hamper for breakfast, brunch, or lunch, bring a blanket to sit on, and stroll to the dedicated picnic spots to eat. The morning hamper has juice, baguettes, salumi, and brie to start, and the larger hamper additionally has crackers, houmous, olives, and seasonal berries.
Although the vibe is rustic, Three Blue Ducks is one of the pricier places to eat in Byron Bay, but worth every cent as the food is fantastic.
Find it: The Farm, 11 Ewingsdale Rd, Ewingsdale
Top Shop
Located about a ten-minute walk from Clarkes Beach and set in an old 1950’s milk bar, Top Shop is a magnet for visitors and locals.
The menu concentrates mostly on breakfast, brunch, and lunch items and offers a selection of bowl dishes, such as granola or omelette, spinach, and feta. Additionally, they serve filled bagels and rolls, large sandwiches, and a selection of burgers with chips. Top Shop coffee is something of a phenomenon, and the menu is reasonably priced.
You’ll find limited seating inside but several benches outside, plus a large grassy area to enjoy your morning brew in the sun.
Find it: 65 Carlyle St, Byron Bay
Dip
Dip is short for ‘Dining in Paris’. The menu may be simple French fare, but these dishes, made in the hands of an expert, are delicious. The morning menu ranges from pastries, muffins, Croque madame, and bacon and egg roll to classic eggs benedict and a number of other variations.
The café’s French owner inspired the art deco décor and the French antiques, which are reminiscent of Paris in the 1930s. The design is trendy and clean, with an open kitchen and plenty of seating both inside and out.
Word has obviously got around, and Dip is a busy destination for breakfast and brunch.
Find it: 1/21/25 Fletcher St, Byron Bay
Bali Bagus
Just steps from Main Beach, Bali Bagus is small but perfectly formed. The menu style is modern Australian with some Indonesian influences, and breakfast dishes include nasi goreng, Indo-style fried rice, and corn fritters with lemongrass and kaffir lime. All the dishes are made from scratch on the premises, and gluten-free options are available.
To drink, you can choose from seven exotic Indonesian inspired smoothies, which are made with fresh fruit, plant milk, and vegan yoghurt. Freshly brewed coffee is courtesy of Byron Bay Coffee Company.
The open-fronted restaurant gives way to parasol covered seating with sea views from some of the tables. Inside, one wall is dedicated to the vibrant artwork of an Indonesian dragon.
Find it: 3/14 Bay St, Byron Bay
The Roadhouse
Set in the shade of huge palms, The Roadhouse is ideal for breakfast or a late brunch. The breakfast menu offers classics like avo on toast and eggs benny alongside porridge, granola, and pancakes.
Its large, shaded terrace leads to an attractive and stylish interior where engraved light fittings hang over homely wooden tables and chairs. There’s also a relaxed bar for beers and cocktails in the afternoon.
Find it: 6/142 Bangalow Rd, Byron Bay
The Rocks at Aquarius
Set just back from Main Beach in central Byron Bay, the Rocks is a popular place for locals and visitors to hang out and get their caffeine fix, courtesy of Byron Bay Coffee Company.
The menu is eclectic and changes seasonally. Old favourites like smashed avo or smoked salmon on sourdough sit alongside healthy bowls packed with quinoa, charred broccoli, sauerkraut, and edamame. Service in the Rocks is the best combination of friendly and efficient, and the dishes are thoughtfully presented.
The outside terrace offers a mix of shaded tables and sunny bench seating, while inside, the restaurant is open plan with big tables and bench seating.
Find it: 16 Lawson St, Byron Bay
The Olive Place
Take a five-minute drive out of town and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to the south of France. The Olive Place started out life as an (incredibly popular) market stall at the markets in and around Byron Bay and now occupies a prime location on the Arts and Industry Estate as a café and deli, complete with a sunny terrace perfect for a morning espresso.
The food is fresh and inspired by the flavours of the Mediterranean and includes a mouthwatering variety of baguettes alongside delicious quiches, soups, and salads, plus great coffee and juices. While you’re waiting for your food, it’s hard to resist going home with something from the deli, which sells a range of Byron Bay Olive Co products, cured meats, and cheeses – and our favourite, sweet garlic with herbs.
Find it: 2/29 Brigantine St, Byron Bay
The Hideout
True to its name, The Hideout is tucked away between Lawson Street and Bay Lane in the centre of town. For breakfast and brunch, the menu is modern Australian cuisine, and the café’s home-baked muffins, banana bread, and pancakes all have a loyal following.
For larger appetites, the big breakfast range includes scrambled eggs with spinach and parmesan, eggs benedict, and bruschetta with poached eggs. To drink, you can choose from various freshly squeezed juices, speciality coffees, lattes, and iced coffees.
The Hideout has a shaded terrace for sitting outside, and inside, a large open bar and restaurant are lit with numerous pendant lights.
Find it: 6/13 Lawson St, Byron Bay
Combi
Combi is a popular Byron Bay breakfast spot specialising in vegan and vegetarian food, with a couple of options for meat-eaters. For brunch and lunch, you’ll find well-presented dishes of buckwheat pancakes, organic sourdough crumpets, toasted sandwiches, soup, and acai bowls. They also offer a small menu for kids.
The coffee is an organic, locally roasted Combi blend with hints of plum, nougat, and cacao. And you can also choose from a great variety of other drinks, including fruit and nut smoothies made with plant milk.
Inside, the seating design is quirky, with chunky wooden tables and tree stump stools, plus there’s pavement seating outside.
Find it: 5b/21, 25 Fletcher St, Byron Bay
Manna Haven
In the centre of Byron Bay, Manna Haven is something of an institution where you’ll want to return again and again for well-cooked, tasty meals.
It’s one of the best cafés in Byron Bay for vegetarian food, and most dishes are also vegan, with gluten-free options available. The café rotates the menu weekly, so you’ll never get bored. Main dishes are inventive and include flavours from Europe, Mexico, and India, while salad mains show equal imagination. Drinks include house chai lattes, teas, and hot chocolate.
As the wordplay of the title hints, Manna Haven is run by a ministry of the Byron Bay SDA Church as a not-for-profit organisation.
Find it: 97 Jonson Street, Byron Bay
Fel’s Kitchen
Tucked away down a side street in central Byron, Fel’s Kitchen is a modern open-fronted diner serving delicious healthy food. The star attraction is the great range of salads in the display counter, plus hot pies, savoury tarts, and soups. You’ll also find a small menu, which includes classics like avo on toast alongside a nourish bowl and a green burger.
The cafe uses Little Marionette coffee beans for brewed coffees, along with a selection of teas, lattes, and freshly squeezed juices. There’s a daily changing range of smoothies aimed at improving immunity and skin condition.
Felicia Dekeghel, Fel, is the cook and nutritional driving force behind all the food and drinks. Honey and other natural sweeteners replace refined sugars, and she uses local, fresh, seasonal produce wherever possible.
Find it: 3/30 Fletcher St, Byron Bay
The Pass Café
As you might guess by the name, The Pass Café is situated just off the beach at The Pass and offers distant views over the beach and across the bay. In a secluded spot surrounded by parkland, the café has a large shaded terrace with wicker chairs and tables and more seating indoors.
Breakfast dishes are straightforward but substantial and include buttermilk pancakes, eggs on sourdough, a gourmet bacon and egg roll, and a fruit and muesli section. There are also several vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options.
The drinks menu includes an extensive range of freshly brewed and iced coffees, teas, numerous smoothies, and freshly squeezed juices.
Find it: 1 Brook Drive, Byron Bay
Bonus: Cape Byron Lighthouse Cafe
Ok, so we said it was hard narrowing Byron’s best cafés down to 15! While we didn’t include Cape Byron Lighthouse Cafe in the main list as it’s more of a kiosk than a full-scale eaterie, we couldn’t leave it out altogether. This place is easily one of the best cafés in Byron Bay for coffee with a view, offering spectacular ocean views across the whole bay and, of course, the lighthouse itself.
The café serves good coffee and other drinks, along with ice creams and light snacks like filled rolls and acai bowls.
You’ll find it in the red-roofed building just down the hill from the lighthouse and can get there by doing the famous Byron Bay lighthouse walk or driving up (parking is $8 an hour without a National Parks pass).
Share your favourite cafés in Byron Bay
All of our guides are based on local knowledge and impartial feedback, so if you think we’ve missed one of the best cafés in Byron Bay, let us know! Contact us here or drop us a message on social media to share your favourite place, and we’ll check it out.
