10 of the best Norfolk Island restaurants and cafes

Dine on everything from fresh-from-the-sea fare to flavour-crammed breakfast classics at these Norfolk Island restaurants and cafes.

Slow food is more than a movement on Norfolk Island, it’s a way of life – and visitors reap the benefits. With much of its food grown in the island’s rich volcanic soil, including locally made meats, cheese, coffee and honey, and a bounty of fresh seafood waiting just offshore, every meal is a delicious occasion.

Locals have made the most of what they’ve been given, starting with the bananas; green bananas are fried into crispy fritters or cooked in milk to create ‘mudda’ (dumplings), while overripe bananas are often mashed and baked to create pihli. Nothing is wasted.

There are over 20 restaurants, cafes and takeaway shops to choose from – no small feat for an island roughly eight kilometres long and five kilometres wide. Here, a hit list to satisfy hearty appetites.

1. The Golden Orb Cafe

breakfast and coffee at The Golden Orb Cafe, Norfolk Island — Fuel up with a fine breakfast at The Golden Orb Cafe. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

Embrace the natural splendour of Norfolk Island’s lush surroundings with a seat in The Golden Orb Cafe ’s leafy courtyard. Open for breakfast and lunch from 7am, Wednesday to Sunday, the Norfolk Island eatery is a family-owned operation where locals love to unwind. The menu kicks off with the likes of a brekkie burger with hashbrown and hollandaise, eggs benedict several ways and a rich shakshouka before the kitchen switches into seafood crepes and homemade fettuccini with creamy garlic prawns for lunch. Just add Seven Miles’ Cat’s Pyjamas coffee, roasted in Sydney’s northern beaches, for a top-notch meal drenched in delights.

2. Cafe LaPérouse

a French-inspired dining setup at Cafe LaPérouse, Norfolk Island — Cafe LaPérouse nails French-inspired dining. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

Throwing open its doors in February 2025, Cafe LaPérouse is the island’s first French-inspired eatery and one of the newest culinary hot spots. A little slice of Paris right opposite the airport, the Norfolk Island cafe nails French-inspired dining while utilising the region’s finest ingredients. Think croque Mademoiselle, fluffy omelettes and savoury cheese puffs better known as gougère and adored globally. Unsurprisingly, it’s run by a French family who craft their magic entirely on-site and are also partial to whipping up unmissable sweet and savoury pastries. Wash your meal down with a Belgian chocolate, or two.

3. The Olive Cafe

a customer ordering at The Olive Cafe, Norfolk Island — Order a takeaway coffee from The Olive Cafe. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

The smell of bacon cooking on the grill and freshly brewed Old Quarter coffee lures just about everyone to The Olive Cafe come dawn. Open Monday to Saturday for breakfast, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. The Norfolk Island cafe’s menu boasts daily crowd-pleasers and hearty Italian-inspired fare at night. Find homemade muffins, smoothie bowls, breakfast burgers and crepes early in the day before burgers, salads and sandwiches roll out at lunch.

4. Bailey’s Restaurant at Governor’s Lodge

Located at Norfolk Island’s Governor’s Lodge, one of the best Norfolk Island accommodation options, Bailey’s Restaurant is renowned for its historic digs and modern Australian à la carte menu. Dishes highlight the culinary creativity and local flavours of Norfolk Island, spanning seafood starters of seared scallops, seafood pappardelle, and a garlic prawn hot pot, while sous vide lamb rump and chermoula king prawns impress as mains.

5. Salty Beer Garden

clinking cocktail glasses at Salty Beer Garden, Norfolk Island — Pair casual bites with delightful cocktails at Salty Beer Garden. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

Located in Burnt Pine, Salty Beer Garden is your trusty local pub and the place to seek out when laidback dining is high on the agenda. Serving up cold beers, casual bites and garden views, the Norfolk Island pub plates up gourmet burgers, toasties, fish and pulled pork tacos, rice bowls and wraps, plus a dedicated kids’ menu. The kitchen opens from midday to 8pm every day, but time your visit to a Wednesday, Friday or Sunday when live music dials up rowdy fun.

6. The Homestead Restaurant

a close-up shot of a meat dish at The Homestead Restaurant, Norfolk Island — The Homestead Restaurant elevates the dining experience with an intensified menu of the island’s seasonal produce. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

It’s the wood-fuelled Argentinian Perilla grill at The Homestead Restaurant that elevates this dining experience. Cooking over embers intensifies the flavours of the island’s seasonal produce, meat and seafood – and it’s all thanks to the owner’s dad, who engineered it for Kurt and Jill Menghetti when they opened this contemporary boutique restaurant in 2019. Housed inside a 1930s island home, the culinary experience is one of the island’s most elevated with the likes of grilled wild octopus done with chorizo, local fish paired with cauliflower puree, duck confit and refined desserts lighting up tables. The team also bakes the island’s only wood-fired naturally fermented sourdough, attracting a cult following of its own.

7. Hilli Restaurant

a dining table at Hilli Restaurant, Norfolk Island — Pull up a chair for a European-inspired feast. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

In native Norfolk Island language, ‘hilli’ translates to lethargy, which perfectly describes how the owners of Hilli Restaurant want you to feel once you’re done dining with them. Feast inside or out in the courtyard alongside bright blooms as a European-inspired menu showcases the destination’s rich spoils. Traditional duck pâté infused with Cointreau, a creamy seafood crepe, delicate cheese soufflè, beef eye filet wrapped in smoky bacon and other moreish knockouts will keep spirits soaring. Visitors should note that they’re closed Wednesday and Thursday.

8. Baunti Tours

Determined to sample the freshest of flavours while visiting Norfolk Island? Once you’ve ticked off everything above, take your passion to the next level with one of Baunti Tours ’ group expeditions. Offering a progressive dinner inside a private island home, a gourmet picnic and even a breakfast bushwalk, operators have been shining a light on the island’s produce for more than 20 years. Our picks include the traditional Baunti Fish Fry, recreating ancient cooking adopted by the island’s original communities, and the Lavender Farm Tour taking guests through blooming lavender fields and into lunch built from paddock-to-plate wonders.

9. Bounty Bar & Grill

a steak dinner at Bounty Bar & Grill, Norfolk Island — Feast on a juicy steak to entice your appetite. (Image: Norfolk Island Tourism/Lumea Photo)

Housed within a charming 1900s building at the end of town is Bounty Bar & Grill . Open for lunch and dinner, the Norfolk Island restaurant offers a contemporary menu that champions local meats and produce with a range of two-person share platters to seriously entice. Don’t overlook the Surf and Turf, a juicy steak cooked to your liking and served alongside King prawns or seared scallops, and the loaded pizza selections, too. The team also open their doors from 9am for coffee and cake.

10. Juddway

Grab and go a flavour-packed foot-long sando at Juddway , a Norfolk Island takeaway joint that instantly endears. It’s a fuss-free feed filled with locally sourced standouts, such as the prawn and crab roll, classic BLT, cold cut creations and saucy Italian meat subs. Simply rock up, pick something off the chalkboard and get stuck in quick sticks, saving you more time to explore the magical destination’s countless gems.

Discover some of the best places to stay on Norfolk Island

City buzz, gourmet trails, surf breaks and art scenes are all at your fingertips.

When it comes to planning a trip, picking a holiday destination is the easy part. The real dilemma is where to set yourself up for the night. Do you go coastal, city, or countryside? Somewhere remote and rugged, or right in the action? Luckily, the Sunshine Coast, and huge number of amazing Sunshine Coast day trips, have kindly made the choice for you.

Ditch the hotel-hopping and suitcase-lugging. Instead, base yourself at Novotel Sunshine Coast or Mantra Mooloolaba , where big-city culture, vine-covered valleys, and theme parks are all within a two-hour drive.

1. Sunshine Coast to Brisbane

Drive time: 1 hour 20 minutes (105km)

Shake off the sand from your sandals and swap the beach for the throb of the Queensland capital. Ease in gently with a bougainvillea-filled stroll through South Bank, iced latte in hand, before cooling off at Streets Beach lagoon – Brisbane’s answer to the coast (but without the waves).

Once firmly in big-city mode, hit up the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) , home to Australia’s largest collection of modern and contemporary artworks. Dive into the past at the Queensland Museum, where prehistoric fossils of Australian dinosaurs and megafauna collide with First Nations cultural collections and interactive science exhibits.

All this learning got you hungry? Howard Smith Wharves calls. Here, riverside dining delivers breweries with meat-forward menus, Japanese fine dining and overwater bars. If you’ve got room for more, Fortitude Valley’s shopping boutiques await you and your wallet.

woman walking around Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) — Wander the Gallery of Modern Art. (Image: TEQ)

2. Sunshine Coast to the Scenic Rim

Drive time: 2 hours 15 minutes (170km)

Make your way inland to the Scenic Rim for the state’s best vineyards and age-old volcanic slopes. Start your day early (like, sparrow’s breakfast early) at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park . Here, take a treetop walk through the canopy and hand-feed the wild birds who flock here.

Next, it’s your turn to eat. Here, the food scene operates where locally sourced produce is an expectation, not an exception. Order a picnic basket crammed with regional wine and cheese to devour next to the creek at Canungra Valley Vineyards . Or perhaps a grazing platter of vegan and non-vegan cheeses at Witches Falls Winery .

Feeling bold? Tackle the Twin Falls circuit in Springbrook National Park. Or keep the gourmet life going with a Scenic Rim Brewery tasting paddle, best enjoyed while taking in the rise of the Great Dividing Range.

woman with cheese and wine at Witches Falls Winery — Enjoy a cheese platter at Witches Falls Winery. (Image: TEQ)

3. Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast

Drive time: 2 hours (180km)

Surf, sand and sparkling skylines might be the Gold Coast’s MO, but there’s more to Surfers Paradise and beyond. Kick things off with a beachfront coffee at Burleigh Heads, then hike through Burleigh Head National Park to look over the ocean and whale sightings (dependent on the season, of course).

Cool off in the calm waters of Tallebudgera Creek before chowing down on the famously buttery Moreton Bay bug rolls at Rick Shores . Travelling with the kids? Then you can’t miss Australia’s theme park capital, with Dreamworld ’s big rides and Warner Bros. Movie World ’s Hollywood treatment at hand to keep the family entertained.

aerial view of Tallebudgera Creek — Dive into Tallebudgera Creek. (Image: TEQ)

4. Sunshine Coast to Tweed Heads

Drive time: 2 hours 15 minutes (200km)

Dare to cross enemy lines? Then welcome to New South Wales. Tweed Heads blends the laid-back attitude of the Northern Rivers with high-quality dining, experimental art, and farm-fresh indulgence – a combo worth the drive.

Start strong with a long, lazy brunch at Tweed River House , then swing by Tropical Fruit World for exotic finds like red dragon fruit, handfuls of lychees and black sapote. Next, hit M|Arts Precinct – an art deco hub of micro galleries, artist workshops and one-off boutiques.

Round off the day with sunset drinks at Husk Distillers among the glowing cane fields, and order one with their famous Ink Gin. You’ll thank us later.

exterior of Husk Distillers — Taste the famous Ink Gin at Husk Distillers. (Image: Destination NSW)

5. Sunshine Coast Hinterland

Drive time: 1 hour (70km)

Strap on those hiking boots and make tracks inland, where volcanic peaks, misty rainforest and hinterland townships beckon. Ease in with the Glass House Mountains Lookout Walk, or, if you have energy to burn, tackle the Mount Ngungun Summit Walk for a 360-degree sight of the surrounding summits.

Next: Montville. This township delivers European-style architecture and old-world appeal. Nearby, settle in at Flame Hill Vineyard, where a large pour of estate-grown wine comes with encompassing views of the countryside.

Not ready to leave the hinterland villages just yet? Of course not. Meander past art galleries and indie shops at Maleny. Nab some fudge from Sweets on Maple for a sweet fix. Or go salty at Maleny Dairies with a farm tour and a chunky wedge of their deliciously creamy cheese.

End the day among the eucalypts and rainforests of Kondalilla National Park. Here, the Kondalilla Falls Circuit winds down through trees humming with life to a rock pool beneath a waterfall – as if designed for soaking tired feet before heading back to the coast.

view of Mount Ngungun on the scenic rim queensland — Take on the Mount Ngungun Summit Walk (Image: TEQ)

Start planning your Sunshine home base at all.com.