The Byron Bay General Store

Amazing food, great coffee and the staff are the best! Visiting for the weekend and we came here for breakfast 2 days in a row. Loved it, such an awesome vibe �

Love the relaxed vibe and the friendly staff. The Lordy was super tasty but the Royale wasn’t as good (I have yet to find any meat replacement burger tasty). Would come back.

When people keep telling you that you need to visit Byron Bay to see most beautiful sunrise/sunset ever, and you’re just like... naaaah I’ll go for the food 🤤

Yesterday was my first time in Byron Bay and of course that I had to visit the only and only epic @byron_general_store store. I knew how old this place was but I didn’t know it still had its original structure since 1947, being amongst Byron Shire’s oldest buildings.

And while it much be of interest to many of you, it is to me because it tells a story. The most beautiful story that one could ever tell because it is related all of us 🌎

True, I wasn’t born back then, but this place has had many different names, looks and identities up to this day. And the owners Ben and Phil have done such an amazing job reinventing this place in the ultimate sustainable way possible. Beyond what you can ever imagine. SERIOUSLY. From recyclable timber, to as little plastic as possible, EVERYTHING to reduce the eco footprint, I have never been in a place that is more ethical than this. They even have solar panels on the roof!

Since they opened their doors it has been non-stop busy - I CAN CONFIRM. They have those chilled cool vibes that attracts everyone and obviously makes it an iconic place for locals and visitors to meet, gather, eat, drink and... get the goods 😍🤗 They do represent the heart and true soul of this town and it’s impossible not to fall in love.

The store isn’t too big but definitely beautiful enough to make everyone say wow wow and wow. They pay attention to every detail from the tables that feature a brown colour with blue and green stripes to the the vases and real plants everywhere. It’s just like being in nature, real nature. Everyone seems to be respectful towards the place too and no one would definitely dare to ruin such natural beauty. They have blankets and also pillow for extra comfort and the seats and dining places are of all heights - from the very low where you’re almost close to the ground to the normal height ones, in a big massive community table, and even tall ones by the windows. There is both an inside area and an outside that is covered and let’s the sun shine over you while enjoying your food. It is a remarkable to just... be.

The menu isn’t not very extensive either but certainly big enough and there are two things I want to highlight. First you need to make your order at the counter when you walk in and pay straight away, and only then sit and wait for your food. Your name will be called once the food and or coffee is ready and you will need to collect the food They will call your name out once the food is ready and you kindly get up and collect it at the counter. I actually think this is a very smart idea as it is not only smart of them considering the place is quite busy and this facilitated the service and makes is more efficient but also it gives you that feeling of ‘ooooooh my food is ready 🤗🤭😂’ that whole it may seem quite childish, trust me, you will definitely have it here. The second thing is that all items are vegan friendly unless they are labelled NV (Not Vegan) - how amazing is that?! This obviously resonates with the place’s ethos and again says a lot about the people that run it. If we all could do a little of what this place does for this world, the planet would be a better place. A more sustainable one. They are doing everything they can to leave a smaller footprint and I think that itself is just a reason to visit ❤️

I took a look through the menu, but I knew exactly what I wanted. I had previously seen their smoothie bowls and a couple of more items and the pictures looked like some little cute bowls that I thought would be not enough for me as I am used to bigger bowls. I am sure they would still taste amazing because I don’t think you can go wrong with anything that you choose here, so here’s what I had:

- Vegan Buckwheat Waffle - THE BEST buckwheat waffle of all times. Seriously. It is a house made waffle made with buckwheat and while you may think that it can have a bit of a more dry taste, it really doesn’t! The consistency was excellent with a slight crunch on the outside and more soft inside, flawless in shape and of good portion. It is taller and thicker than most waffles I’ve had which makes it more filling and very appreciated 👏 it came topped with the famous coconut ice cream by Coyo Organics, in a meticulous large and perfect scoop and had some slices of local organic bananas that were ideally ripe, but not too much. It also came with what I thought it was salted caramel sauce but it was actually a sticky date sauce! Very interesting as it wasn’t as sweet as o would expect and paired really well! For the extra sweetness they actually use maple syrup and the seasonal fruit, along with a few bits and pieces of granola that I absolutely loved. You cannot go wrong with this, really. It is incredible and I would have it again indeed.

- Pitaya Smoothie - since I thought about not getting a smoothie bowl, obviously I had to have the smoothie 😂 and while the acai was very tempting too (as was the peanut butter cacao too!), I cannot resist a pitaya smoothie 🥰 this was a smoothie made with organic dragon-fruit, banana and mango blended with coconut water. It was perfect in every sense and it ticked again all the boxes in terms of consistency, taste and size was really reasonable too. You can turn your smoothie too into a bowl for an extra $4 and all of them are dairy free and are topped with fresh organic banana, coconut flakes, chia seeds, local paleo granola and seasonal fruit.

- Almond Latte with cinnamon - a cute little coffee to see how different it was from the Melbourne one and it sure had a different taste. It came nicely presented, with a strong taste but good amount of foam. They used Marvell Street and I had never had that before, so it was a good change! They are clearly popular as the barista didn’t stop for a second 👍

Absolutely a gem of the ocean, in land. My only question now is: when can I move in?! 😍🤤

Great little cafe tucked away from the business of byron bay. Wonderful menu and great coffee. I had the avo and alfafa which was fresh, unique and delicious. Prices are very reasonable and the venue is cosy and cute.

This is a beautiful little cafe tucked away from the main Byron drag. The meals and beautiful and reasonably priced. I enjoyed the brekky box and the eggs must be really fresh because the yolk was really yellow. The food came out really quick too.

A bit out of the main hustle of Byron Bay’s main st, the General Store was a great find. Staff were amazing and the fitout set the mood for chill time. A kids play area kept the little ones occupied while we had coffees. Coffee was good but not a huge fan of the random mugs and cups they use.
Toasted banana bread and brownie were both scrumptious!

We always love when new places open up in Byron. The food is really good, we love to see a vegan element to the menu. The set up is super cool and it’s a bit extra quiet being on the outside of town. Definitely recommend coming here!