I went here recently for the first time and I can't wait to go back!! It's kind of far away though, like really far, which is no good. But the food was amazing. The menu is pages and pages of fantastical sounding vegan chinese food. They are big on the meat-substitutes, by which i mean, this food could be mistaken for meat by texture and look. It's unreal. So many options, we over-ordered and couldn't eat it all. Which I felt wasteful and bad about, but I wanted to taste so many things!! The not-pork sweet and sour looked like the real deal and tasted wonderful. We also had tempura mushrooms (which included other vegetables too) and an entree sampler and some brown rice. It was quality. Service was excellent, the staff were really polite and prompt. The venue is pretty casual, they have boxes of tissues on the tables instead of serviettes, which is kind of quirky. Also, as you walk in along one wall is a buffet. On a shelf above the buffet are plates and take away containers. If you do not want to order from the unbelievably extensive menu, you can help yourself to either eat in or take away from the buffet and whatever you fill your plate or container with is charged on weight. This just seems so cool to me and I wished I lived local so I could do this all the time!! For vegans/vegetarians who don't mind food that looks like it's meat, this place is heaven. They are not licensed, so no alcohol. Which is not terrible, but worth mentioning.

I heard/read these were the best fish and chips in Byron Bay and though I haven't tried others to compare, I would not disagree with this claim. These fish and chips were presented like art! We got a family box to feed four. We hesitated on the cost, $45, but realistically if we brought all the foods individually in the box from anywhere, this price was possibly a bargain. Like I said, it presented amazingly, not your usual serve of fish and chips. Full of variety (oysters, fish, calamari, prawns, potato cakes and wedges) it ended up too much for us to finish (four adults). They had lots of packs to choose from and I look forward to going back and trying more.

I have been to Ruby's three times now. The first was before it had officially opened and we just had coffee and cake (hummingbird cake was excellent). The second visit we presumed everything was up and running, we ordered at the counter from a menu board - vegetable curry and a toasty - and went and sat outside. Really nice decor, art and books throughout and the food was top notch. I returned yesterday to Ruby's and they were even more established! Even more decorating had been done, there were printed breakfast and lunch menus on each table and now table service too. Vegetable curry was purchased again, dill and artichoke risotto balls in a thick tomato sauce with salad and a lasagna with salad. All meals were delicious, coffee and milkshakes were good and service was friendly. This place is definitely worth a look, especially for book lovers. Heaps of books to browse and some other gifts like olive oil, spreads, gingerbread and greeting cards. I will keep going back and can't wait to try breakfast there soon.

Approximate cost: $13.50 for lunch

Service here was excellent (except for forgetting an order of beer when dinner was served) but the prices did not match the food. Twenty something dollars for a bowl of pasta with a few mushrooms, rocket and oil through it. It was nice, but so not worth the money. The $35 three course meal and glass of wine was better value for my meat-eating company but again, the food was not outstanding. The individual prices for these dishes when not included as a three course meal were insane. Dessert was "sticky date pudding" which did not resemble any pudding I've ever seen. It was more like a dry slice of cinnamon tea cake with a scoop of ice cream. No sticky sauce, no pudding, no date flavor. This was normally priced at $12 a plate but came with the three course meal on this occasion. We all got a bit excited at the menu which read "coffee/tea and a petit four", what a great idea we all thought. But again, like no petit four I've ever seen, all that came with our beverages were stale tasting biscuit type things, not fancy little cake inventions we had anticipated. Pretty big let down on the food front then. We were reluctant to go in given prices in the first place but figured the price would at least reflect a memorable meal with quality food. Not so. I wouldn't go back for dinner.

Approximate cost: $18-$35

We had breakfast here one morning. Really nice looking inside and out. Good menu and food. Service was good. It was particularly nice seated out the front on the balcony area, though tables are pretty close to one another which is a tad squishy and the deck chairs were liked by some but not so much by others. This cafe looks out across the road to the beach and dolphins often surf in the waves which is truely spectacular. There is a nice art gallery next door as well for a look or to buy. Overall a good spot for a coffee, snack or meal.

The brochures and website for the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House gave me high expectations. Unfortunately the experience did not quite stand up. Staff were really friendly and the devonshire tea was yummy and well presented, but the actual maze and butterfly house is overrated in my opinion. Ok for small kids, but the accompanying admission price for adults is a little steep for what you get. The butterfly house is pretty small, we wouldn't have spent even 10 minutes in it - there is just not that much to see (unless you're REALLY into butterfles) and the maze and 'reward' for completing the maze quiz is probably not worthwhile for anyone over the age of 8-10. A nice spot for a cuppa and a shop and something for young kids to have a look, but much more hype than happening for me.

Approximate cost: $12 per adult

A really modern attractive cafe just out of Coffs. Worth the short drive up the highway, excellent all day menu (breakfast and lunch). The banana pancakes for breakfast are incredible (but deathly sweet so beware!), open green omlette, BLT (no bacon but with eggs) and breakfast pizza are some other faves. The milkshakes and dairy-free smothie are also worth noting - yum! Great spot for families with a big playground just outside the cafe doors. Also a short boardwalk to another of the North Coasts stunning beaches (this one is not recommended for swimming though). They get pretty busy on weekends so booking is recommended. Service is good, but really this is just a great spot for a coffee or meal with family and friends. Best place in the Coffs area for breakfast hands-down.

Approximate cost: $8-$20

With two competing whale watch tours right next to each other at Coffs Jetty, we found the brochure for the Pacific Explorer sold itself much better so gave it a go. What fun!!! It's a smaller boat so you can pretty much remain in the one spot for the entire trip and see all round. Due to the size they also take less passengers so you feel more involved in what's going on. We saw lots of whales, two came very close to the boat before diving under the boat and out the other side. Lee and her crew were excellent. Full of whale information and passion for what they do which added to the excitement. Also on board the boat was Midge the sea dog, an added novelty. When not whale watching we were in awe of Midge's confidence in hanging almost right over the edge without falling over. He was very friendly and made for some great photos. A casual tea or coffee and biscuits and cake was handed out during our trip which was also nice. This was excellent value for money, the trip lasting about 2.5 hours. Great to see whales but also the boat ride itself was thoroughly enjoyable. I am not even tempted to try another tour and would not only recommend this trip to others but will continue to travel on it myself. One thing to note is that they don't have eftpos for payment. Which might seem obvious on a boat, but we honestly had not even thought of it and were lucky we just had enough cash to pay, so bring cash!

Approximate cost: $40 per adult

I brought a number of items from Peters of Kensington on-line. Delivery was quick and well packed. I had a few of the items gift wrapped. The ribbon used was really pretty but the wrapping had item stickers on some of the products which tore when I pulled them off so I am re-wrapping these myself. Excellent range of things to shop for and brand names are most often cheaper than if buying elsewhere. Not everything though, one item I brought had the original company details on the product which I looked up and this particular item was cheaper from the source than what I'd paid through Peters. But you can't win them all! Definitely got great value out of other items purchased. Overall though this is a great website, easy to navigate and perfect for gift shopping.

Our meal here was not the experience we'd hoped for. We decided to just order from the regular menu rather than have tepanyaki (figuring it was better value for money) and so were seated in the store entrance, which was less than impressive on the atmosphere front. The door to the venue has a really loud piercing buzzer that is constant until the door is closed. So it was pretty awful for every person who came and went throughout our meal. This space is also a very small one and having two occupied tables was somewhat squishy and annoying as staff tried to pass ours to get to the table behind. The staff on this occasion were pretty dreadful too. It took one of the inside chefs (who was very polite) to come out and check on us maybe 10 minutes after being seated to actually give us a menu. Then proceeded another maybe 15 minutes before a waitress even took our drink order, let alone food. It was very evident all of the waiting attention was going to the inside and as if being stuck in the foyer wasn't bad enough, being ignored did not help the situation!! Food was very good quality but was delivered staggered, similar to if you were having tepanyaki at the grill. Veg tempura to start followed by calamari (on a plate on it's own with nothing else) then salmon (again, with no accompanying rice or vegetables) then a plate of veg arrived after that followed by our two orders of vegie fried rice. We shared all the meals, but having ordered it all at once, were not expecting their arrival to be one dish at a time. Between four of us we were certainly not in a position to fill up in such a time frame having quartered each dish as it was served. Totally weird and disappointing not to be able to mix and eat all the food at once. We may return to try tepanyaki here in the future, but given they offer a main menu also and have seating in the foyer, they would do well to better serve customers here to make a better and more lasting impression. Food was not necessarily over-priced for quality, but for the experience, we paid way more than we felt we enjoyed.