You can dine at the bar.
1/5You can dine at the bar.Jess Kearney
Roasted quail,prawns in bisque,fried bread and potato chip with comte.
2/5Roasted quail,prawns in bisque,fried bread and potato chip with comte.Jess Kearney
Ballina pippies with tarragon and tomato vinaigrette.
3/5Ballina pippies with tarragon and tomato vinaigrette.Supplied
The bar is stocked with lo-fi drops.
4/5The bar is stocked with lo-fi drops.Jess Kearney
Bar Heather feels like a European wine bar.
5/5Bar Heather feels like a European wine bar.Supplied

Good Food hat15.5/20

Contemporary$$

Come for the wine,sure – owners James Audas and Tom Sheer made a name for themselves dealing in fancy lo-fi vino – but Ollie Wong-Hee’s cooking will likewise inspire future visits.

Wong-Hee is an expert at presenting produce in surprising ways,such as the prawn toast featuring Queensland green kings squished between two slices of crisp-fried pain a l’ancienne. Or steamed Ballina pipis served with a Mexican tarragon and tomato vinaigrette and local Baker&Daughters baguette,an exercise in precise restraint.

Fresh from the hibachi,Stradbroke Island cuttlefish with Okinawa spinach and a fennel-seed vinaigrette is a highlight. Subtle,distinctive and delicious.

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Everything here sings from the same song sheet,including some killer natural wines recommended by informed waitstaff. All this in a smart European-style dining room,a handsome stage for such deft food and drink.

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