Mullumbimby NSW, Australia

One of our favourite things to do in Venice is enjoy a spritz with some delicious cicchetti (the Venetian equivalent of tapas). There’s not many places in Australia that offer cicchetti so we were thrilled when Bacco opened its doors. This Italian enoteca brings the aperitivo tradition to Mullumbimby with a thoughtful wine list, charcuterie boards, and cicchetti. The cicchetti changes depending on what ingredients are available, with options displayed on the bar inside. Or build your own charcuterie board by selecting items off a check-list (there’s pre-selected options too). If you’re particularly hungry, you can order pizza from sibling venue Garden Pizza next door. To drink there’s a carefully curated wine list, spritzes, cocktails and beer, with Happy Hour (3–5pm) offering excellent value. The atmosphere is relaxed but refined, with vintage Italian posters and wine bottles lining the walls creating a European bistro atmosphere. But the best seats are in the garden courtyard, among the plants and dappled sunlight.

Baker & Daughters serves an ever-changing menu of delicious bread, pastries, cakes, quiches, pies and sandwiches, all made in-store. Plus good coffee and plenty of smiles. The family-run business is a Mullum favourite. There’s a strong sense of community, with the bakery providing a welcoming place for locals to meet – there’s often a queue out the door and groups chatting on the footpath, with coffee and pastry in hand. Be sure to visit during the week as they’re closed on weekends (and also over the Summer holidays).

If you’re going for a mosey along Mullum’s main street, be sure to drop into Hemp Culture for some environmentally-conscious shopping. The store carries an extensive range of Australian-made and designed hemp products, from clothing to cosmetics, self-care to homewares. Look out for local clothing brand Afend’s range of hemp tops, shirts, dresses, overalls, jeans, shorts and more.

An authentic Japanese restaurant and bar that offers a range of fresh, modern Japanese cuisine, including vegetarian and vegan options. They also offer take-away sushi at lunchtime, with plenty of delicious fillings available.

Visit this gallery and artist collective to discover work by over 60 local artists and makers. There’s paintings, sculptures, jewellery, clothing, homewares, hand-made crafts and local produce. It’s a great store to buy a unique gift or something for yourself to take home. The store is staffed by the passionate artists whose work is featured in-store – they’re always up for a chat and love to share stories about their work.

Mukti is an Australian skincare company that offers certified organic and natural skin, hair and body care products that use Australian bioactive native extracts. The Mukti Beauty Rooms are part of the brand’s headquarters, in Mullumbimby’s industrial estate. While their HQ is surrounded by factories, once you step through the door, you enter a calm, light-filled and welcoming environment that feels worlds away. Their menu of customised treatments are tailored to your skin’s specific needs. We recommend the Mukti Foundational Facial for a luxurious hour of relaxation and self-care that will leave your skin feeling deeply hydrated and revitalised – you’ll leave glowing, inside and out. There’s also Buccal treatments, massages and add-ons that include LED therapy, microneedle dermal rolling, Gua Sha massage and vitamin boosters. At the end of your treatment, you’ll receive personalised recommendations that you can try in-store or purchase to take home.

This Euro bistro and wine bar is a fun and friendly venue serving delicious drinks and even better food. The venue is from brothers Daniel and Alexander Ippoliti, who are behind popular Melbourne institutions Revolver Upstairs, Cookie and The Toff In Town. The Conti’s menu changes with the seasons – we had air dried yellow fin tuna toast, stracciatella with tomato, basil & green olives, beef meatballs with tomato, basil sugo & provolone, and an incredible (and huge!) pork cottaletta, with parmesan, capers, lemon, sage & pickled fennel. There are local beers on tap, local spirits, classic cocktails and a great selection of natural wines. We sat out on the street with Lotti, which was great for people-watching, but inside the vibes are high, with a moody bar and great beats playing throughout the night. The Conti is open, and busy, seven nights a week, and they serve breakfast on weekends too.

For a fabulous way to start a Friday morning, mosey through the Mullumbimby Farmers Market, held every Friday at the Mullum Showgrounds, 7–11am. There’s over 50 stalls, with fresh seasonal produce, flowers, baked goods, sustainable meat and seafood and hand-made local products. Grab something for breakfast and a coffee or fresh juice, find a spot under the giant fig trees, and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere, community spirit and live music. There’s regular workshops, cooking demonstrations, kids activities and competitions too.

Ottilies is a neighbourhood pizza and pasta restaurant from the team behind Baker & Daughters. With mostly outdoor dining (under a large awning) the venue is family- and dog-friendly, with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere – where everyone seems to know everyone. The menu features homestyle pizzas, perfect for feasting, including a very tasty potato, rosemary, mozzarella and parmesan pizza, and delicious hot salami pizza with tomato, olives, anchovy, garlic, fresh chilli and mozzarella. There’s appetizers like kingfish carpaccio or charred broccoli, salads (the roast beets are divine!), and mains including steak, risotto and pasta. You won’t leave hungry! Ottilies do take-away too – enjoy a delicious glass of orange wine and watch the pizzas being made with precision in the woodfired oven while you wait.

Pink Lotus is a Vietnamese restaurant in Mullum’s main street that serves authentic dishes for lunch and dinner, made with recipes that have been passed down through generations. Their menu covers light bites like rice paper rolls and spring rolls, refreshing rice noodle salad, fragrant pho and creamy laksa, tasty banh mi, sizzling stir-fry noodles and rich curries. Each dish uses fresh, seasonal, local and flavour-filled ingredients, including lemongrass, Thai basil, coriander, and pickled carrots. Grab a seat out on the street or in the beautiful moon gate garden out the back. Pink Lotus also has a venue in Brunswick Heads (though we think the original is best!).

Radiance Kitchen has been a popular Taiwanese food stall at the Mullumbimby Farmers’ Market for over 12 years. Radiance Oolong Teahouse expands on this offer at a new permanent home in Mullum’s main street. The menu of traditional Taiwanese food (including the tasty hand-made steamed dumplings Radiance Kitchen is known for) sits alongside a tea experience that includes varieties from Taiwan’s Alishan mountain range and Li Shan (Pear Mountain).

A health food store, community hub and not-for-profit environmental social enterprise in the heart of Mullumbimby. Santos Organics has been supplying locals with organic food and lifestyle products for over 40 years. Find fresh produce alongside bulk foods, packaged products, personal care products, vitamins and supplements. There’s two stores in Byron Bay too – one in town and a large warehouse in the industrial estate.

Housed inside a 1920’s bank building in the heart of Mullumbimby, The Banya is an adults-only European-inspired bathhouse with a modern twist. The venue features an Instagram-friendly marble tiled lap pool, two hot mineral pools, wood-fired sauna, steam room and cold plunge pool. Plus a sun deck, massages and a dining room for long lunches (cocktails included!) or post-treatment smoothies and health elixirs.

Housed in a beautiful two-story timber building built in 1904 in the heart of Mullum, The Middle Pub is the locals’ go-to. Grab a cold drink at the bar, pub meal in the modern bistro, or watch (or partake in!) their regular live entertainment – there’s musical bingo, raffle night, open jam sessions and ‘krappyokee’. The interiors offer old-world charm, with vintage furniture and historic photos throughout the original building. But the best spot in the venue is sitting out on the second-storey balcony overlooking the main street, with a cold beer in hand. Unfortunately not dog-friendly!

The Paddock Project is a working market garden, produce stall and kiosk on the main road into Mullum (look out for the big ‘LOVE’ sign). Fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown on the five-acre plot using syntropic farming principles and free of chemicals. The quality seasonal produce is harvested daily by a passionate team of staff and volunteers, including participants with disabilities. The Paddock Kiosk serves coffee, chai and simple, fresh dishes made with produce direct from the paddock and the local Mullumbimby area – the Paddock salad is a highlight, packed full with fresh leaves and seasonal vegetables (we added eggs and halloumi too). Enjoy your order in the shade of the banana trees, overlooking the paddock and Mount Chincogan beyond.

Wandana is a craft brewery on the edge of Mullumbimby’s industrial estate. Their family- and dog-friendly taproom and beer garden overlooks nearby Mount Chincogan and provides the perfect place to relax, enjoy a cold beer and watch the sun set. Their small-batch beers are hand-crafted, made on site and fermented to the vibrations of music – the only brewery in the world who makes their beer this way. Each beer has a specific genre of music played to it, from classical to dub, which impacts the flavour of the beer. There are 15 beers to choose from (including unique and interesting flavours) and tasting paddles available, so there’s something for everyone. If you’re not a beer drinker, there’s cocktails, wine, cider and non-alcoholic drinks too. There’s a permanent food truck on site, serving burgers, nachos and snacks Thursday to Sunday and DJ’s on weekends.