Whether you’re planning a full-on eating itinerary or just stopping through town, the best Yamba restaurants provide delicious and diverse delights.
This little NSW surf town, just two hours south of the Gold Coast, punches well above its weight in the dining stakes. From overachieving burger joints and refined special occasion feasts to authentic Neapolitan pizzerias and Mexican fiestas, the finest Yamba restaurants promise to please every palate.
The shortlist
Best for seafood: Sandbar Yamba
Best date spot: El Ocaso
Best views: Pacific Hotel
Best casual eats: BrGr Spot
Best family-friendly dining: The Mexican
1. Paradiso Restaurant & Bar
Paradiso is a buzzing haven of Asian-inspired fare. The kitchen crew, who launched this place on the back of successful careers in the big smoke, play around with the freshest of local seafood, fusing absolute flavour bombs with top-notch produce. The Paradiso clincher? The bar team is equally renowned thanks to their killer cocktails that utilise seasonal fruit and excellent spirits.
Dinner is the only meal on offer, and it’s served across two sittings every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you haven’t got a booking and you’re just keen to sample those crafty concoctions, you’re good to stay in the bar area and take your time.
Cuisine: Asian
Average Price: $$$-$$$$
Atmosphere: Sizzling
Review: 4/5
Location: 10 Clarence St, Yamba
2. Karrikin
Arguably Yamba’s most lauded restaurant, Karrikin is the place to celebrate special occasions – though there’s no reason why you shouldn’t stop by for a casual dinner either. As of September 2024, the original owners have put the establishment up for sale in its entirety (stock and staff included), however it remains open to fuel locals and visitors via their exceptional brand of seasonal, locally sourced wizardry.
A four-course menu rotates daily based on whatever’s peaking at the time, but you can expect native ingredients to make regular appearances (while the current owners are in place, anyway).
You might find dishes like potato dumplings with snapper mousse and pickles, smoked fish with Davidson plum cracker, and perfectly prepared pork with cabbage, apple and chard sui gravy, lining the menu. All the finer details have been considered too, right down to the artful presentation of dishes, beautiful ceramic plates and fancy glassware.
What’s more, the setting is glorious, all sage and grey walls, matte black furnishings and plenty of timber. There’s also a breezy indoor-outdoor feel to the space, with bifold doors opening the seated bar counter to the undercover patio out front, and the dining room leading through to a leafy backyard.
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Average Price: $$$$
Atmosphere: Elegant
Review: 4/5
Location: 27 Coldstream St, Yamba
3. Drift
A Neapolitan-style pizzeria, Drift has amassed a loyal legion of followers for its high-end pizzas, which are lovingly assembled using free-range charcuterie, organic Australian stone-milled flour, and artisanal cheeses.
It’s also become one of the best Yamba restaurants thanks to its warm hospitality and attention to every angle, as its cocktails are similarly top-shelf, paired with house made syrups and fresh cold-pressed juices.
The wine list has been carefully curated too, pleasing even the most discerning of oenophiles with a smattering of pét-nats and generous cross-section of old and new world wines. Vegetarians and vegans are catered to here as well, and there’s a handful of side dishes and salads to choose from.
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Average Price: $$$$
Atmosphere: Elegant
Review: 3.5/5
Location: 29 Yamba St, Yamba
4. Playa Bodega
Dial up your holiday vibes at Playa Bodega, where authentic Mexican cuisine takes centre stage and the family-friendly good times roll endlessly. Cruise the menu for the classics, including outstanding Yamba King Prawn Tacos that shine a light on the region’s most famed deep-sea export, plus there’s a kids’ menu stacked with just-cheese nachos and chips and nuggets.
It only opened in the early months of 2024 and has already become one of the most-loved restaurants in town thanks to its skilful ode to traditional street food and, of course, expertly shaken margaritas.
Cuisine: Mexican
Average Price: $$-$$$
Atmosphere: Fun-fuelled
Review: 3.5/5
Location: 16 Clarence St, Yamba
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5. Sandbar Yamba
While you can pull up a curb-side chair at Sandbar Yamba to enjoy brekky, the best time to trial this Yamba restaurant is lunch. Clear the calendar as long lunching is all too encouraged thanks to the lashings of sun streaming onto its front patio. Expansive windows thanks to French doors make the inside spots equally heavenly on a clear day.
The food is French, with the likes of chicken liver parfait, truffle croque madame, Moules mariniere mussels and steak frites dotting a rich menu, but there are other European influences and plenty of locally sourced seafood, including those famous Yamba prawns. Consider the very reasonable set menu, priced at $79, which includes three courses plus a glass of wine, for stress-free decision making.
Cuisine: European, leaning very French
Average Price: $$$$
Atmosphere: Breezy
Review: 4/5
Location: 30 Clarence St, Yamba
6. Pacific Hotel
Locals, tourists, passers-through – everyone pops into the Pacific Hotel, the Yamba pub high on the hill above Main Beach. It’s your classic Australian beach pub – wood-panelled walls, historical photographs of the region, and a large oval bar splitting the pool tables at the front and dining at the back. Best of all, a lot of the popular Yamba Airbnbs are within walking distance, meaning it’ll fast become your (temporary) local.
Food-wise, you’ll find all your pub meal favourites. Love a steak? It’s on the menu. More of a schnitty or parma person? Both are present and accounted for. Aside from the stalwarts, market catches of the day are available alongside house made tartare sauce, chips and salad, as well as crumbed fish burgers and more. Pair your pick with a cold one and stunning ocean views, and you’ve nailed the perfect afternoon.
Cuisine: Pub fare
Average Price: $$$
Atmosphere: Casual
Review: 3.5/5
Location: 30 Clarence St, Yamba
7. El Ocaso
Looking to treat yourselves? El Ocaso is an intimate Yamba restaurant serving up some of the most outstanding plates in the region. Bringing an authentic splash of the Mediterranean to the NSW North Coast, the hot spot offers refined dining in a beautiful fit-out pointed over the Clarence River.
Don’t miss the magic they make out of local produce, including a photo-ready carpaccio whenever it returns to the menu. Local seafood is presented with artistic flair while the cocktails are playful and creative, a signature characteristic of this standout dining destination.
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Average Price: $$$$
Atmosphere: Relaxed yet chic
Review: 4/5
Location: 6/18 Coldstream St, Yamba
8. BrGr Spot
When the post-beach craving for a burger strikes, head for Brgr Spot. This tried-and-true outfit, just a block back from Yamba’s Main Beach, is known for its fries (shoestring or sweet potato) as much as its burgers and reasonable prices.
Find both vegetarian and vegan options on the menu, and if the kids are tagging along, there’s a dedicated ‘Groms’ menu with nuggets, a basic burger and fried halloumi up for grabs.
A pretty generous selection of beers, wines and cocktails are also on the agenda, ensuring afternoons at this Yamba restaurant are lazy and lengthy.
Cuisine: Burgers
Average Price: $$
Atmosphere: Chilled out
Review: 3/5
Location: 2/15 Clarence St, Yamba
9. The Mexican
It’s frozen margarita o’clock at The Mexican where families head for the generously plated flavours of Mexico. While a liquid diet may be tempting, dive into its menu of all the household names including jalapeno poppers, burritos, enchiladas, sizzling fajitas and even a crowd-pleasing Mexi Layer Dip, which is exactly what it sounds like and unapologetically indulgent.
The fit-out encourages you to let ‘er rip, too, as red leather booths and rainbow-hued Papel Picado bunting (you’ll know it when you see it) hangs from the ceiling. A Yamba restaurant for guaranteed great times.
Cuisine: Mexican
Average Price: $$$
Atmosphere: Intoxicating
Review: 3.5/5
Location: 25 Coldstream St, Yamba
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10. Sweet N Spicy Cafe
Sure, they’re labelled a cafe, but this casual spot invites BYO wine and dishes up abundantly plated main meals, so it’s a firm Yamba restaurant favourite.
It’s hard to pin down Sweet N Spicy Cafe’s exact cuisine, which veers a little all over the place, but there’s a definite pan-Asian lean — think Vietnamese beef salad, Thai-style choo chee prawns and Malaysian chicken curry, with some arancini, buffalo wings, and beef empanadas thrown in for good measure.
Beyond the food, it’s the warm, friendly and efficient service that keeps diners coming back for more.
Cuisine: International
Average Price: $$-$$$
Atmosphere: Casual
Review: 3/5
Location: 28B Yamba St, Yamba
11. Sassafras
Love Italian food? Lock in a visit to Sassafras, a family-friendly joint situated in the middle of town. The menu is all about no-fuss eats – woodfired pizzas (some of the best Yamba pizza on offer, in fact), classic pastas and fun, summery cocktails.
With plenty of outdoor seating, Sassafras is also a pet-friendly Yamba restaurant if you’ve got your fur baby in tow. A must-try is the interestingly named ‘Rat Baits’ – little fresh-baked breads with a trio of house-made butter.
Music fans will love the live gigs Sassafras holds, too. Check the website for artists and dates.
Cuisine: Italian
Average Price: $$$
Atmosphere: Light and local
Review: 3.5/5
Location: 2/16 Yamba St, Yamba
12. Yamba’s Fisho
Looking for the best fish and chips around? It’s in town at Yamba’s Fisho. Technically a tiny takeaway shop on Yamba’s main street corner, we’re giving it a pass into the Yamba restaurants category thanks to its picnic tables right out front — an unofficial alfresco dining area.
Grilled, battered or crumbed, the delicacies are focused on local, fresh seafood and the team regularly update their Facebook page with recent catches.
Yamba’s Fisho is always brimming with fresh Yamba prawns and cooks up some of the best potato scallops in the country. Prices are cheap, the service is fast and the chips are crunchy, salty and consistently delicious.
Cuisine: Fish and chips
Average Price: $$
Atmosphere: Informal
Review: 4/5
Location: Corner Yamba and Coldstream Streets, Yamba
13. Restaurant 1894
Found inside the beautiful heritage Argyle Hotel in nearby Maclean, Restaurant 1894 is a 25-minute drive from central Yamba and worth the extra effort. The building was reopened in November 2024 after restoration efforts that have kept the original digs in tip-top shape, and Restaurant 1894 is its flagship dining offering.
Spanning finessed pub classics including Yamba prawn linguine, a mixed mushroom risotto and various Angus cuts, the menu is drawing hungry locals from across the Clarence Valley. Wash it all down with a quality drop off the restaurant’s international wine menu.
Cuisine: Pub fare
Average Price: $$$
Atmosphere: Cheerful
Review: 3.5/5
Location: 205 River St, Maclean
This article was originally written by Melissa Mason with updates by Kristie Lau-Adams.
