Eat & Drink in Port Mac
Birdrock’s Oysters & Aperol
Taste Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie’s food and drink scene buzzes with relaxed coastal charm, from sunlit cafes serving perfect flat whites to polished water view restaurants plating fresh local seafood and inventive modern Australian dishes. Tucked between them are breezy bars, friendly pubs and enough gelato joints to keep everyone happy.
Port Macquarie’s café and breakfast scene is a delicious blend of laid-back coastal charm and inventive modern flavours, where seasonal produce and excellent coffee take centre stage.
Cafes & Breakfast
Port Macquarie’s restaurants serve up a delightful mix of seaside charm and culinary creativity, from fresh locally caught seafood to modern Australian fare. Many offer fabulous water views and emphasise paddock to plate seasonal dining.
Restaurants
Port Macquarie has a strong pub and bar scene for a regional town, with waterfront venues, a nationally awarded live music pub, an impressive whisky bar, and several heritage country pubs within 30 minutes of the CBD.
Best Pubs & Bars
Wine. Brew. Distill.
Port Macquarie’s rolling hinterland and coastal climate nurture a vibrant scene of wineries, breweries and distilleries where handcrafted flavours reflect the region’s rich soils and laid-back lifestyle.
Locals Love
FAQ
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Yes, plenty. Port Macquarie has an abundance of cafes, restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars to suit all appetites and budgets! Most surround the waterfront, and fresh seafood is a specialty, along with local produce from the Hastings Valley nearby. See our ‘best of’ in each major dining category on this page above.
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Yes. The Stunned Mullet is a destination diner and multi-award winner, overlooking Town Beach. Other favourites include Birdrock Bar & Grill, The Beachfront Bar & Grill, and Whalebone Wharf.
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There are plenty of great places to eat which are kid-friendly with room for them to roam and play, including Pancake Place, Panthers, Drift Cafe at Port City Bowlo, Home@Roto cafe, Little Shack, Salty Crew, Chop n Chill, and Coast at Lighthouse Beach. Tacking Point Tavern, Settlers Inn and Lake Cathie Tavern all have good value kids menus and playgrounds.
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Port Macquarie is known for its fabulous seafood, as you’d expect! For fresh seafood, favourites include Port Fresh Seafoods, The Big Oyster, and Laurieton Seafoods. For Seafood restaurants, Bills Fish House & Bar, Whalebone Wharf, Rocksalt at the Marina and Mekong Thai Laos all serve up local caught seafood, with many other restaurants featuring local seafood as well.
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The Port Macquarie region has four popular wineries, along with a number of brewers and distillers producing top shelf stuff. Award-winning Cassegrain Wines is probably best known, then Bago Maze & Wine for their spectacular family-friendly property, Long Point Vineyard and Art Gallery is loved for its grounds and local creatives, and Douglas Vale Historic Homestead and Vineyard has a fascinating history to explore. Maria River Distillery and Port Macquarie Distillery both produce sought-after gins and liqueurs. Moore Beer Brewing has 17 taps serving up innovative and popular beers, and Black Duck Brewery has recently had a makeover and has reopened under new management.
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Yes, for a regional town, Port Macquarie has a surprisingly vibrant bar scene! Popular bars include Florence Jones Cheese & Wine, Stick Bar, Bar Florian, Zebu and Jimmy’s Bar (Whiskey a specialty). Pubs are well represented, with Finnian’s Irish Tavern (known for live music and good times), The Beach House on Town Green, Little Shack (bar/eatery/cafe), The ‘Macca’, and a bunch of friendly taverns and clubs including Port City Bowling Club (multi-venue, newly renovated, ocean views), Tacking Point Tavern, Settlers Inn, The Westport Club, and Panthers.
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Port Macquarie’s hinterland options are decent, with a solid lineup of cafes in Wauchope along with a popular Italian Trattoria and the renovated heritage Wauchope Hotel. Further west, there’s the Beechwood Hotel, the Byabarra Cafe and in Comboyne, the Udder Cow. Down south, the Royal Hotel at Kew is a destination pub known for it’s elevated pub dining, expansive beer garden and superb heritage restoration. Laurieton and North Haven have plenty of cafes to choose from, with a number of clubs as well.
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Many of Port Macquarie’s eateries allow leashed dogs in their alfresco areas, including Little Shack, Chop n Chill, Florence Jones, Frankies, Pancake Place, Salty Crew, Coast, and in the beer gardens at Tacking Point Tavern, The Royal at Kew, and more.