This is a magic spot on the lake right with the restaurant extending out on the jetty. It's a lovely relaxed place to meet people for coffee and yummy cakes though I haven't tried other meals. They also make good milkshakes and fresh juices and they also have freezer boxes with icecreams for when you're just passing on those boiling summer days.

I engaged Leanne White about eight years ago for some help with a family law matter. She was just starting out in Forster at the time. From all my dealings with her, I found her to be honest, kind, hard-working and professional. She helped me out heaps and it was great value. As a woman it is nice to have had a sympathetic female ear to discuss a family law matter in particular. I appreciated her understanding and caring manner. I thoroughly recommend her.

I can recommend Gary the Tap Man for his very fast and expert service of our shower and kitchen taps recently. He's straightforward and upfront and appears very experienced. As he is employed by my real estate, I can't comment on cost, but it seems the real estate is happy to retain his services, so he must be reasonable.

My son went here for about six months a few years back. Opposite Forster Primary School, this centre has several huge, leafy, tree-filled playground areas out front with heaps of good equipment and lots of shade, and indoors are several interconnected large rooms for the two age groups. This centre has a great deal of respect in the community and word of mouth and it's considered to be very educational and great preparation for primary school. It is also very cheap to attend, like less than half the price of others. All up I'd say it was a very experienced and well-run community preschool.

My parents have happily used this dentist for years and recommended him to me. I found him to be brisk, efficient and well-priced. The surgery is also in a good location if you're coming from Forster as it's close to the bridge. I think he seems as good a dentist as any, and didn't try to upsell anything to me. In fact, when I enquired about the possibility of teeth whitening, he laughed and told me I didn't need a dentist I needed a shrink. (Mind you, at the time I did find that a little patronising and annoying, but maybe his chairside manner is just better suited to some than others....)

This is the cutest little daycare centre, just across the road from the ocean and Pebbly Playground (good for visiting after pickup!). My son attends the centre two days a week and, despite being the kind of kid that claims to want to have a 'home day' everyday, whenever I pick him up I find him running around with his mates laughing and having a great time. The staff are all very lovely people who are always there to discuss your child and have helped us through so many issues over the years. It is always good to see how happy all the kids are at this preschool, and the atmosphere is fun and happy. The kids are split into two rooms/age groups and the children going to kindy next year are having 'lessons' to prepare them. They also get to go to kindergym at the Aquatic Centre through the preschool. The school is very conscious of good nutrition, sun safety and so on. The school does cost slightly more than average, but I find it worth it. Ultimately, I fully trust them with my child - and what greater compliment can you give a preschool? :)

My son attended here for several years and really loved it. They have a huge and interesting front playground, and a bright, colourful clean interior. The staff are lovely and we never had any issues with this preschool whatsoever. My son loved going there (he went four days a week). I can genuinely recommend Louise (the director) and her lovely staff, all of whom are the type of workers who love their job. It was also reasonably priced and offers long daycare hours.

We've been using these vets for about a decade and have absolutely nothing but praise for how they've handled our three cats over the years. We have had everything from checkups and vaccinations and microchipping done, my two female cats were desexed there (with one cat requiring stitches to be redone when she chewed them out, which was thankfully re-done for free) and my senior cat has had teeth removed here. The vets are all very calm and reassuring and I've always felt things were well explained and all my questions answered. I also find the premises are spacious, clean, and well-maintained which is important to me.

We get fish and chips here on occasion. They currently have a buy-one-get-one-free offer for fish n chips (total $12 or so) which is painted on the window so might be ongoing. We find their chips ok, but not the best. I do like their battered fish, they get it pretty much right. I like that they serve lots of lemon and that the premises are clean and fresh looking. You can get a great variety of seafoods and plenty of options, and it's a great spot overlooking the main street.

I've been taking myself and my two little boys to Dr Seaniger for years. He has a very nice, kind and gentle manner and is especially careful with children, to not scare them. I can definitely recommend his service for checkups (we haven't had anything more tricky than that!). It's very well-priced too and they don't try to talk you into things you don't need.