Harvest Cafe

My partner and I went to Harvest Cafe in Newrybar last weekend for a late lunch. It was a rainy day and   the restaurant was packed. It looked like they had every member of staff on working like crazy (I later found out that they were preparing for a 110 person wedding function arriving shortly after lunch service). 

I have been to Harvest a few times now and it never fails to impress me.  It’s basically an old farmhouse that was gutted and transformed into a country chic cafe.  The ambience is cozy and inviting; complete with a fireplace and leather lounges.

The staff was clearly stressed but we finally got our San Pellegrino and menu’s. 

The soup of the day was Cream of Cauliflower with paprika oil and fish of the day was Grilled Tuna Steak on a bed of salad.  The wine list included selections from Australia, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Chile & France.  Cocktails that stood out were The Naked Native (sugar coated lemon flesh with lime juice, chilled pear vodka, a splash of Frangelico, finished with native Rosella flowers) and the Little Buddha (gently heated organic milk infused with kassia bark, Dom Benetine, freshly gound nutmeg & a splash of orange flamed Chartruese) YUM!

The menu had a few classics, and in the end we decided to start with ½ dozen natural Sydney Rock oysters with Nam Jim ($16) and ½ dozen Harvest baked Sydney Rock Oysters ($16). 

I started with a glass of 2008 Pizzini Pinot Grigio from King Valley VIC by the glass ($7.5) and we ordered a bottle of a 2008 Jed Malbec  from the Mendoza region of Argentina (kudos to the server who gave us a brief history on the wine producers and the region famous for the Malbec varietal)

For mains, my partner had the Lamb Kibbeh parcel wrapped in brick pastry and served with a rocket salad & tomato relish.

I opted for the Fish of the Day (no surprises there).  

My fish was absolutely beautiful; grilled rare and served on a bed of green beans, thinly sliced radish, rocket, mulberries, baby potato, Spanish onion and fennel. It was reminiscent of a nicoise salad and I was in heaven. The mulberries were an interesting and yummy surprise complimenting the fennel perfectly. Sadly our camera battery died at this point and there isn’t an image to capture how fresh and gorgeous this dish really was.

I would definitely recommend this cafe for anyone who wants to experience the freshest available produce from around the Northern Rivers region.