Below is a complete list of all the eateries at the Coffs Harbour Jetty Strip, their specialties, their phone numbers and a link to their website, if they have one. There are around 20 cafés and restaurants in all.

Where is the Jetty Strip of Restaurants?

The Jetty Strip is at the bottom end of Harbour Drive, Coffs Harbour, just before the road becomes Orlando Street. It runs between Marina Drive and Camperdown Street. See Map. It is opposite the Jetty Village Shopping Centre and near the railway crossing on Marina Drive, which goes to the Jetty Foreshores, Jetty Beach and the Coffs Harbour International Marina. It takes about 3 minutes to drive to the Jetty Strip from the Coffs Harbour CBD along Harbour Drive.

Part of Coffs Harbour's 'eat street' - the Jetty Strip with over a dozen cafés and restaurants

The cafés and restaurants at the Jetty Strip:

Starting from Jetty Dive Centre on the easternmost corner of the Jetty Strip, you’ll find the following eateries:

• Taste of North India  (Indian) – Phone: 02 – 6651 1668‎
• The Watermark Brasserie  (Modern Australian) – Phone: 02 – 6651 8221
• The Fishermans Katch  (Seafood & Grill) - Phone: 02 – 6652 4372
• Foreshores Café  (Modern Australian) - Phone: 02 – 6652 3127
• Ristorante Piccolo  (Modern Italian) - Phone: 02 – 6651 9599‎
• Fountain Restaurant  (Vietnamese) – Phone: 02 – 6651 1978
• Scoffs Restaurant  (Seafood & Grill) - Phone: 02 – 6651 1516
• Urban Espresso Lounge  (Coffee, Modern Australian) - Phone: 02 – 6651 1989
• Tandoori Oven  (Indian) – Phone: 02 – 6652 2279  
• The Crying Tiger Restaurant  (Thai) – Phone: 02 – 6650 0195‎
• Oberoi’s Indian Restaurant (Indian) – Phone: 6651 9699
• Golden Crown Chinese Restaurant  (Chinese) - Phone: 02 – 6651 6787
• Cold Rock Ice Creamery  (Ice cream, coffee, cake) – Phone: 6652 4999
• Water Surf Art Café  (Coffee, cake, sushi) – Phone: 02 6651 4500
• Maria’s Restaurant  (Italian) - Phone: 02 – 6651 3000
• Tahruah Thai Kitchen  (Thai) – Phone: 02 – 6651 5992‎
• Waves Bistro at the Pier Hotel  (Modern Pub Food) – Phone: 02 – 6651 8222

The great thing about these restaurants is that most are nice and casual and offer outdoor seating. (What would make that even greater is if the strip wasn’t so narrow and so close to the road where cars drive past.)

Opening Hours & Days:

Some of these are only open for breakfast, coffee and lunch until mid-afternoon, while others open for lunch and dinner or for dinner only. Also, some restaurants close on certain days (e.g. Sunday and Monday), so it’s worth to call and check opening hours before you plan your meal out.

Other close-by eateries near the Coffs Harbour Jetty (within easy walking distance):

• Fiasco Ristorante + Bar  (Italian & Wine Bar) – 22 Orlando St – Phone: 02 – 6651 2006
• Hog’s Breath Café  (Steak & Grill) – Jetty Village Shopping Centre – Phone: 02 – 6652 5646
• Y Knot Bistro at the Yacht Club  (Modern Australian) – 30 Marina Dr – Phone: 02 – 6651 1741
• Coffs Harbour Café  (Modern Australian Café & Seafood Restaurant) – Coffs Harbour Marina – Phone: 02 – 6651 6888
• Creekside Café at the Pet Porpoise Pool (Casual Meals) – 65 Orlando St – Phone: 02 - 6659 1911

Changes: Things can change quite quickly in the hospitality scene, so if you know something has changed and would like to send me an update or new information, please email me.

And… bon appétit!

The Coffs Creek Walk is right in town but nicely hidden away between the trees, and I can guarantee you’ll feel far away from it all. It’s a real bushwalk through the forested fringes of Coffs Creek, with several boardwalk sections across wetland areas and mangroves.

The Coffs Creek Walk is a real bush walk right in the middle of Coffs

Reasons to do the Coffs Creek Walk – or sections of it:

• Beauty: It’s a pretty walk along the water
• Accessibility: It’s very close to the Coffs Harbour city centre as well as the Jetty area
• Flexible length: you can join or leave the track from many different points along the route
• Easy: It’s not strenuous as it’s all flat – no hills!
• Cool: If the sun is hot, you’ll be protected by the shade of the trees
• Places to rest: You’ll pass many benches to rest on plus several cafés where you can stop for a drink.

The Coffs Creek Walk is a circuit that takes you from the Coffs Harbour CBD to the mouth of Coffs Creek at the Jetty and back to the city centre along the other side of the creek.

The full circuit is about 9km, but really, the trail is as flexible as anything and you can make the walk as short or as long as you like. Since the Hogbin Drive bridge over Coffs Creek was completed early 2008, you can do a half circuit as well.

Of course, you can always just do little sections of the walk here and there, picking a 2km or 3km walk for instance. The most popular sections of the Creek Walk are between the CBD and the Promenade, and between the Promenade and the Pet Porpoise Pool at the Jetty (and vice versa).

Points of interest and places to stop along the way:

• Shops, cafés, restaurants at the Coffs Harbour CBD (one block away from the trail)
• Coffs Harbour Olympic Swimming Pool
• Coffs Harbour City Gallery
• Coffs Harbour Regional Botanic Garden
• Boutique shops and restaurants at The Promenade
• Great fishing spots
• Secluded benches and picnic areas
• Mangrove boardwalk
• Excellent swimming spots near the Orlando St road and railway bridge
• Pet Porpoise Pool & riverside café

Amazing panoramas over the Coffs Creek estuary at the coastal end of the walk

The northern side of the creek is officially a walking track only, but the southern side is a shared pedestrian/cycle path, so just watch out for bicycles when you’re walking.

You’ll come across beautiful vistas, especially when you see the sunlight reflecting in the water or can just make out the bends in the creek through the trees. The open parts around the creek’s wide and sandy estuary are equally stunning.

There are plenty of places to stop and rest, and you’ll hear all sorts of birds singing in the trees, no matter what time of day you’re there. If you’re really early, you may even cross paths with a koala or encounter other wildlife.

Best of all, it’s free, it’s healthy and you can end your walk with a nice refreshing swim in the creek or a cool drink at an al fresco café overlooking the water at The Promenade or the Pet Porpoise Pool!

To get an idea of the route and the distances, just look at the map that’s available on the Council website, which also has a PDF of the Coffs Creek Walk brochure that you can download.

I dare say that the Jetty at sunset is the top choice for local couples to have their bridal pictures taken, and you’ll see at least one bride and groom there most Saturday afternoons or early evening.

The Coffs Harbour Jetty and Muttonbird Island at dusk and with a full moon

The Coffs Harbour Jetty (which is heritage protected) juts out into the harbour and you’ll get a good look, from many angles depending on where you stop to enjoy the view, at:

• the International Marina with its yachts and fishing vessels,
• Muttonbird Island and people walking up and down its path,
• the southern breakwall, Corambirra Point, the Deep Sea Fishing Club and the boat ramp,
• relatively flat and safe Jetty Beach with the vegetated foreshores behind it,
• Coffs Harbour’s popular Jetty residential area with expensive apartments up on the hill,
• people swimming and canoeing in the harbour,
• kids jumping off the Jetty (in summer mostly),
• people fishing off the Jetty (all year round),
• and possibly (have a good look down and around from the end of the jetty…) dolphins and turtles in the  water.

No matter how many times you have walked on the Jetty, or walked below it on Jetty Beach, it’s always a great way to spend half an hour or an hour before or after dinner in the evening.

Jetty Beach, the marina and Muttonbird Island glowing just after sunset

You could get a nice big ice cream first from Cold Rock at the nearby Jetty Strip of restaurants (Harbour Drive) and see if it lasts you until you reach the end of the Jetty. Or take the walk before or after you have dinner at one of the dozen or so restaurants there.

Want to feel the sand between your toes? Get onto Jetty Beach and walk to the Deep Sea Fishing Club at the southern end to enjoy an affordable dinner with an incredible view from inside their restaurant or the big wraparound veranda.

And if the sky and clouds look promising, don’t forget to bring your camera!

To get there, drive north from Coffs Harbour, take the Emerald Beach turnoff from the Highway onto Fiddaman Road and turn right at Dammerel Crescent to the carpark at the foot of the headland.

Look At Me Now Headland is part of Moonee Beach Nature Reserve. There’s a short walking trail that takes you up and around the headland,  which is a significant Aboriginal site.

Start of short walking track at Look At Me Now Headland

At the start of the walking trail, there’s a National Parks & Wildlife Services information panel with plenty of interesting facts about the Aboriginal heritage and the flora and fauna of the area.

You can first take the 100m side track to Moonee Lookout for expansive views south over Moonee Beach Nature Reserve and out onto Mount Coramba in the western distance.

South Solitary Island and its Lighthouse as seen from the headland

Back on the main paved walkway over the headland, you’ll get amazing views over the Pacific Ocean, South Solitary Island with its heritage lighthouse (still working but now automatically operated), usually deserted Moonee Beach to the south and the village of Emerald Beach to the north.

Don’t be startled if you see a bunch of Eastern Grey Kangaroos grazing or lazing around the headland – they actually live there and as long as you leave them be, they’ll hardly take any notice of you. I’ve taken lots of kangaroo photos there because, being so out in the open and up on the headland, they make a great contrast with the blue sky or ocean behind them.

Kangaroos at Look At Me Now Headland with Moonee Beach behind

Between May and November, there’s also a good chance you’ll spot migrating humpback whales from here.

You can return to the carpark the same way you came or take the stairs down onto Shelley Beach and at about two-thirds of the length of the beach, take the track leading back to the other side of the carpark (that’s a 700m circuit in all, according to the info panel).

There are two very nice restaurants, a general store and an art gallery on Fiddamans Road, in case you were looking at staying on in Emerald Beach a while longer.

• great natural beauty,
• an attractive main beach (Sawtell Beach) tucked in between Boambee and Bonville headlands,
• picturesque Boambee and Bonville Creeks to swim, fish or paddle a canoe in, and
• a charming main street (First Ave) lined with great old fig trees, boutique shops and galleries and lots of al fresco cafés.

A great way to really enjoy all this beauty, if the weather is nice (which it can be year round), is to go for a stroll around Bonville Headland (also referred to as Sawtell Headland), look at the waves and the surfers, and to take a dip in the ocean, creek or rock pool.

The rock pool on Bonville Headland, Sawtell

Drive through First Ave (if coming from Coffs Harbour), turn left into Boronia Street and drive to the end. Park your car and go for a stroll or just sit down on a bench to take in the magnificent views across the ocean and south along Bonville Creek and Bongil Bongil National Park.  

All you need to bring is your swimmers/bathers and a towel, and go for a swim in the ocean or in the bend at the mouth of Bonville Creek. The rock pool on the south of the headland is ideal to do some short laps, protected from the waves.

Of course, you can also bring your kayak, canoe, air mattress or other inflatable device and paddle up and down Bonville Creek. You’ll soon be surrounded by the trees and birds of Bongil Bongil National Park.

I must admit I don’t go to Sawtell often enough. I know it’s there, I know I love it there, I know it’s only 10 minutes by car from Coffs Harbour, but somehow I don’t often actually go.

Today though, we went for breakfast at the Sawtell Surf Club Café which is right on Sawtell Beach. It’s outside seating only (partly under cover), it has wide open views out over the ocean and serves fantastic food. I wouldn’t go anywhere else after a swim in Sawtell, as you’re virtually still on the beach!

The view from just in front of the Surf Club Café, Sawtell

View from the top of Muttonbird Island over Coffs Harbour

Muttonbird Island is unique because:

• although it’s an island, you can walk to it because it’s attached to the mainland via the northern breakwall, so it’s very accessible;
• it’s a seabird rookery and is home to thousands of muttonbirds (wedge-tailed shearwaters, is what they’re called officially) between August and April;
• there’s a paved path over the top to the other side (1km return), giving you unsurpassed 360-degree views from the top back over Coffs Harbour, along the coast, the beaches and the ocean;
• there’s a viewing platform at the end from where you can watch for passing humpback whales between May and November;
• it’s a Nature Reserve and the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service has put up interpretive signs with interesting information about the shearwaters/muttonbirds and marine life such as the whales.

Throughout the day, people stroll along the North Wall, and may decide to go up Muttonbird Island or not. Usually the ones with proper walking shoes or trainers on and walking faster will go up. Who needs to go to the gym if you can tick off a trek up Muttonbird every day or a couple of times a week?!

Whether you go up or not (at least go halfway for the view back over the marina and Coffs Harbour!), there’s lots going on to look at when you walk along the North Wall too.

Coffs Harbour marina with fishing boats and pelicans

The scene will be different every day: fishermen offloading sharks and other big fish from their fishing boats, seagulls and pelicans in the air or the water, nice yachts moored in the marina, kayaks and canoes in the harbour, people fishing off the rocks on the breakwall, people jogging, walking their dog, cycling, swimming, snorkelling… it’s never the same and that’s why I never tire of this activitity.

It gives me fresh air to breath, great views and things to look at, a happy feeling inside to realise I’m living in such a wonderful place, and a health boost from the climb up Muttonbird Island. What more could you want?

And of course, when you come back, you can say you’ve “earned” that coffee & cake or brekkie at Wild Harvest (halfway along the North Wall), cone of ice cream from the Gelateria, fish & chips from the Fishermen’s Co-op, takeaway burger from Julie’s Galley or lunch on the veranda at the Yacht Club restaurant Y Knot (at the start of the North Wall) – so you can sit down and admire that view just a little bit longer!