Finally, you’ve escaped! That’s how it feels here. Escaped the city, escaped the summer buzz of Byron Bay, escaped the daily grind. Here, in an unpolished cottage that has a fire going all winter, on a rustic deck overlooking the corrugated roof of adjoining (excellent) Harvest Bakery and into the hinterland, is one of our best restaurants. It’s hard not to be inspired by nature and Byron’s earthy vibe, as the kitchen at Harvest certainly is.

One of the restaurant’s biggest drawcards is its unique approach to food, including the use of native ingredients all sourced by its dedicated forager Peter Hardwick. Think coastal tea tree, Dorrigo pepper, brush cherry, kelp and pandanus.

Harvest is unafraid to push the boundaries of modern fare, and for diners that means plates that entice, excite and challenge. Prawns from nearby Ballina arrive as whole, charry delights accompanied by wilted, blackened kelp, akin in texture and flavour to oyster mushrooms, giving a hearty umami kick. Meanwhile, kangaroo is expertly cooked, its mild gaminess balanced by a syrupy brush cherry jus and petals of pickled onion.

A meal at Harvest is like a discovery tour of local Australian ingredients – think paperbark smoked beetroot, kangaroo floss, clam butter and wattleseed custard. A wedge of sugarloaf cabbage is doused with charred kelp vinegar and Parmesan is shaved over. Grilled octopus is a charred and whole in all its tentacled glory, tender and leaving us wishing they had more than eight legs.

The cocktails don’t disappoint, either. A ‘shark and stormy’ is superb, involving Dead Man’s Drop black spiced rum, Belgrove Distillery Ginger Hammer, ginger beer and lime. It’s intriguing and slurpable, and if just being here doesn’t get you in the mood immediately, the cocktail certainly will.

Must eat dish: grilled octopus with fermented capsicum, bottarga, kohlrabi
Instagram: @harvestnewrybar