Beach Byron Bay — Restaurant in Byron Bay

We had part of our wedding celebrations here as the location is stunning and the space was perfect for our numbers. We hired the venue from 11.45am-4.45pm on a Thursday, and the fee for venue hire was the same price as we would have been charged for 4pm-midnight on a Saturday. (5 hours on a weekday, compared with 8 hours on a Saturday night)! According to their Ts and Cs, it didn’t make sense. Instead of clarifying in a polite way why the venue hire was the same and explaining their fee structure, when we queried this, Belinda was abrupt and rude and made us feel like we were accusing her of ripping people off, when we were just trying to get a clear explanation. We chose to let this go though because it was our fault for not clarifying this earlier and everything had been booked already, and we were only a month out. This definitely tarnished the lead up to the wedding though and we didn’t feel comfortable at that stage.

We were tossing up between canapés and a cheese/charcuterie board, and after we were sent a photo of how the cheese/charcuterie board we chose this option as it looked amazing. On the day however, we were mortified to see how our cheese platter was set up - it was completely different and was missing key items such as figs, nuts and bread sticks. The cheese block looked like it had been dropped on the ground and just picked back up and placed on the table all crumbled. Worst of all was that there was a whole board of cheap looking mortadella deli ham that had come from Woolies, rather than the gourmet deli meats we had been promised. we have posted the pictures below to show the difference. We didn’t say anything on the day because it was obviously too late, but when we raised this issue with Belinda, she merely stated that we got everything that was on the event order form. We were so disappointed at this, given we had specifically ordered the cheese/charcuterie platter based on the picture that was shown to us.

On another even more disappointing note, we had agreed that no drinks were to be served unless ordered, given we had a small wedding and it didn’t make sense for bar staff to be going around with trays of drinks. On the day, we saw a staff member carrying a tray of beers and offering them to people who already had drinks in their hand. Again, very disappointing and concerned us that we were getting charged for drinks we did not consume. Apparently a few beers were taken off the bill, however we can’t be sure this happened. As when I told the bar staff of this issue, she said she would take them off the account, but then a minute later we saw her trying to offload the drinks to our guests on the other side of the room!

Overall, it’s a shame that we had these issues because we really love the location and everything else on the day outside of our time at Beach ran so smoothly. We have been considering whether to write review for the last month, because we understand the impact that “bad” reviews can have on a business, however we have been honest in our review here, and feel that couples who are considering having their wedding at Beach need to be aware of what can happen. Unfortunately this did impact our day and we are thankful that the rest of the day was perfect and the other venue where we had our reception executed everything amazingly.

As we said, the location is amazing, great place for a drink. However the 1 star review is for the lack of integrity and customer service provided by Beach for such a significant...

The restaurant doesnt even deserve 1 star. Today my sister and I went to have breakfast there and it is now in my top 5 worst dining experiences. Since new management took over only a little while back, what used to be a fantastic place to dine has now become tragic.

The coffee was fine, but was delivered by a waiter who had an attitude. The food was terrible.

After sitting down for a little while we wanted to order but we had to wait as the waitress felt it was a priority to clear tables before serving patrons, so we were finally able to grab her attention. I ordered the "pikelets with marscarpone and honeycomb" for $14 as stated on the menu. I was super excited sounded awesome thought I was in for a treat. Turns out they served it with 4 tiny little thin pikelets not close to satisfying even the smallest of appetites, on a huge plate with a dollop of marscarpone and an actual piece of honeycomb. No garnish, no colour, presentation sucked, everything was basically chucked on the plate. Then I went to taste the honeycomb, thinking that it was edible as I was told that it was by the manager and waitstaff. After I cut off a piece and ate it, I realised it doesn't matter how long I chewed it, it wasnt going down. The honeycomb (which of course is beeswax) coated my teeth and had to spit it out onto my plate, it was disgusting and mushed in with my pikelets.

In regards to my sisters meal, she wanted scrambled eggs but they only offered poached and fried, so she asked for her eggs to be well done. She also ordered bacon as an addition and kale on the side. The one egg was well done and the other was runny. She had two dry pieces of toast and she actually had to ask for butter as it didnt come with. She then found a yellow worm in her tasteless sauteed kale (couldnt believe it got worse). My sister was also told that she cant take her bacon home with her as the deli area of the restaurant is licensed for takeaway food but the restaurant is not even though they are one entity, so the waitress watched us wrap it in a napkin to take home with us.

We complained to the waitstaff who said that the manager will come to talk to us and so we waited. The manager never came, so we went to the counter where he was and told him what the issues were. He smirked at us and kept saying "ok" trying to show us overtly that he didnt care because he knows Byron is small and that they will still get patrons because people love the location.

It doesnt even look like management are taking these reviews seriously, which annoys me even more because clearly nothing has changed.

Please dont support people's businesses who clearly dont give a f**k, you are the one who will lose out. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes that are fantastic in Byron, you dont need to slum it here and hopefully they will get the message and hire people that know how to manage a decent...

No other word can describe our evening better than 'spectacular'. The entire experience was one my husband and I will remember for a long time. On arrival the sun had decided to make an appearance, after being hidden all day, making one of the best sunsets of the year. You won't get a better view from any other restaurant on the north coast. We started with a delicious cocktail and local beer with some bread, olives and an amazing special dish of mussels escabeche which was a particular highlight. The flavours were balanced and the entire dish textural and very well executed. Our entrees of mackerel salad and barbequed squid were a perfect compliment to the crisp, full flavoured rose from the Adelaide Hills we had chosen. The mackerel was punchy but simplistic in presentation and the accompaniment of endive, preserved lemon and remoulade a perfect balance, cutting through the oily richness of the mackerel. The squid, I could have eaten again for dessert it was so good. Perfectly tender, big barbequed flavours with garlic, chilli and leeks that added a touch of sweetness. It took me straight to the Mediterranean and was the highlight of the meal for us both. We both opted for the roasted fish for our main course, which that evening was Kingfish. Crispy skinned perfection with a divine pistachio and green olive tapenade and al dente asparagus and green harissa, all of which balanced the kingfish beautifully. We didn't need sides as the portion was completely adequate, but we did anyway! We had the most delicious fries with little flecks of dried seaweed (yum!) and barbequed greens with fermented sunflower, again absolutely delicious. I can't actually believe we fitted in desserts after all that loveliness, but the cloud cake with plum and zesty yuzu jelly was a great finish to a very big flavoured dinner. My husband loved his spiced layer cake with caramelised mango and dates, which he enjoyed with a glass of vintage port. We had impeccable service at Beach. It was an absolute pleasure to be looked after by such passionate and enthusiastic people that clearly enjoyed being there. This is such a treat as you don't often get the full package, especially in Byron Bay. Beach however is the standout amongst it's lesser competitors. They have it all. The ambience, the view, the staff, the food, the wine list, the whole package and it's a 'spectacular' one at that. Thank you to everyone that made our...