Where to find the best brunch in Berry (plus 12 must-stop cafes and restaurants in Shoalhaven)

Welcome to Shoalhaven, where historic tree-lined townships roll into scenic coastal communities, and there are more must-stop cafes, wine bars and restaurants than one road trip could ever cover.

This collection features 12 budget-friendly venues to bookmark for your next sojourn south, from slow-fermented sourdough and jam-filled doughnuts at some of the state’s greatest regional bakeries, to handmade dumplings at a fairy-lit food truck in Nowra.

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Berry General Store, Berry

Berry General Store could inspire you to make a tree change. Wouldn’t it be nice to kick off your weekend with a big plate of ricotta hotcakes, slathered in whipped butter and maple syrup, eaten on the front verandah? Or to purchase a collection of bougie snacks, condiments and sodas for a picnic at nearby Apex Park? Or to celebrate the end of a long workday with a bottle of (fun, natural-leaning, probably Australian-made) wine and big plates of gochujang vodka rigatoni with your friends in the fairy-lit courtyard? Sign me up.

23 Prince Alfred Street, Berry, theberrygeneralstore.au

Berry Donut Van, Berry

This is one occasion when it’s worthwhile to join the (mostly fast-moving) queue. Yes, you’ve tried cinnamon doughnuts before. And yes, there’s nothing particularly different about these. But you cannot discount the simple joy of eating a made-to-order doughnut rolled in a generous coat of cinnamon sugar, caramelised ever-so-slightly against hot dough. It’s no mistake that travellers have returned to Berry Donut Van year-on-year since 1964 – they are masters of the classic.

73 Queen Street, Berry, instagram.com/berrydonutvan

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Lagom Bakery, Burill Lake

If you ask a Milton local where to get brekkie, they will invariably encourage you to drive 15 minutes down the road to Lagom Bakery at Burrill Lake. The bakery, co-founded by head baker Brinley Kettle, almost always has a line out the front. It’s known for its long-ferment bread (try the cheese and jalapeno sourdough loaf) and seasonal toasties, but the pastry counter is similarly impressive with thick slices of carrot cake (yes, with cream cheese frosting) and a viennoiserie-style cardamon bun. As a bonus, they serve specialty coffee and organic matcha lattes.

98 McDonald Parade, Burrill Lake, lagombakery.com.au

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Beurre Noisette, Milton

Beurre Noisette is a small, sunlit bakery with a commitment to classic French patisserie. It’s led by French-born pastry chef Alex Pautonnier, who followed his wife and business partner Tess Pautonnier back to her hometown of Milton during the COVID-19 pandemic. They know how to get customers through the door – the shopfront’s big glass window is always filled with golden croissants, and the pastry cabinet displays all manner of delicate chocolate eclairs, strawberry and cream danishes and lemon meringue tarts. For something more substantial, try a croissant sandwich filled with fresh cheese, tomato and salad.

41 Wason Street, Milton, instagram.com/beurrenoisettemilton

Hyper Hyper Coffee and Punch the Ploughman, Nowra

The coffee is old school Italian at Hyper Hyper Coffee. Owners Rebecca Low and Philip Pulford roast fair trade (mostly organic) beans with cast iron equipment from the ’50s, then extract espresso shots on the coolest machines you’ve ever seen (’60s era La Faema, imported and repaired in-house) to create a full-bodied brew you genuinely cannot find anywhere else in NSW. While you’re there, try a warm Portuguese tart from local neighbours Helen and Jo Camacho, or fuel up with a house-baked sausage roll at adjoining cafe Punch the Ploughman (owned by Rebecca’s sister, Juanita Low and partner Gary Fishwick, of the similarly excellent Fishwicks at Culburra Beach), which has plenty of rustic charm and outdoor seating.

85 North Street, Nowra, hyperhypercoffee.com.au and instagram.com/punchtheploughman

Blak Cede Gunyah, Nowra

A beautifully designed cafe where native ingredients from a community garden are used to make elevated Aussie brunch fare (including a kids’ menu). There’s a damn good omelette made with warrigal greens, wattleseed tomatoes and smoked feta; pie-of-the-day in flavours such as coconut lime crocodile or braised buru (kangaroo); and the unmissable scones, served with house-made strawberry gum jam and whipped cream. But the best bit is that Blak Cede is an Aboriginal women-led social and cultural enterprise, empowering Koori women with culturally safe employment and education.

39A Kinghorne Street, Nowra, blakcede.com.au

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Fatty Dumpling, Nowra

As you enter Nowra, the Princes Highway becomes a smorgasbord of sad pies and fast-food outlets. It’s one chain after another, and nothing to indicate that, at a fairy-lit concrete lot behind a pawn shop, there’s a food truck serving some of the best dumplings you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. This is Fatty Dumpling, where owner-cook Weiqing “Elvina” Yang serves food from her hometown in China: silky handmade dumplings, beef soup noodles, and a Chinese-style “burger” with slow-braised spiced pork.

99 Plunkett Street, Nowra, fattydumpling.com.au

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Bar Yuki, Milton

When travelling to Milton, you must always book at least two nights – you’ll need one to eat dinner at The Milton Hotel (trying the beer made from adjoining craft brewery Dangerous Ales), and the other for a night out at Bar Yuki, just across the road. It’s the best kind of wine bar – relaxed vibe, fun drinks, and a great menu of Japanese-ish dishes. Head over with the family for a sundowner (banana cream and miso caramel sandos for the kids, a glass of chilled red for you), or get a group of mates together to tackle the cocktail menu, sharing plates of chicken karaage and ebi katsu korokke (prawn croquettes).

4/23 Wason Street, Milton, bar-yuki.com

Mr Nobody’s Gelato, Callala Bay

Here’s the plan: a Sunday afternoon on the white sandy shores of Wowly Creek, followed by a post-swim scoop of homemade ice-cream at Mr Nobody’s Gelato. It’s a simple set-up at the back of a suburban home and the ice-cream is exceptional – creamy, full of flavour and made on-site, in dairy and non-dairy varieties such as pistachio, tiramisu and mango. But there’s a catch: it’s only available during school holidays, on Sundays, or in limited flavours at Frankie’s Coffee Van at Culburra Beach.

63 Emmett Street, Callala Bay, facebook.com/mrnobodysgelato

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Terra & Mare Pizzeria, Culburra

Part of what makes Culburra Beach such a great destination is the strength of its casual food scene. There’s Fishwicks for brekkie, Frankie’s Coffee Van for coffee, Loco Lane for afternoon drinks and Terra & Mare Pizzeria for dinner. The latter is owned and run by Brad Bishop, the former head chef at Berry restaurant Il Locale. Bishop draws on his training as a baker to make all of his dough from scratch, using it to create pizza with an airy, chewy crust with toppings including braised lamb, rosemary and potato, and local prawns with fermented chilli and basil oil.

153 Prince Edward Avenue, Culburra Beach, instagram.com/terra_mare_pizzeria

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Milk Haus, Woodstock

Milk Haus is a five-minute drive from Milton, in a converted 19th century cheese factory with a working kitchen garden, a small flock of chickens and a fire pit prepped for cool afternoons with a glass of Australian-made Gentle Folk wine. Dreamy. Co-owners Nat Taylor (head chef) and Kitty Sidwill (front-of-house) serve up thoughtful, beautifully plated cafe fare, from pistachio cardamon waffles with whipped rosewater mascarpone at breakfast, to poached chicken salad with goat’s cheese, apple and fennel for lunch.

170 Woodstock Road, Woodstock, milkhaus.com.au

Kraken Sourdough, Huskisson

Kraken Sourdough is a little hidden, in an industrial warehouse outside of Huskisson’s tourist area. But don’t let that deter you – its pastry cabinet rivals some of the best regional bakeries. Order the strawberry jam doughnut, the cheesy honey mustard croissant, or a seasonal fruit danish for a takeaway snack to eat by the beach, or nab a table out front to try their brekkie menu, which features sourdough waffles and tartines with fresh burrata from Vanella Cheese. Meanwhile, back in Husky central, Bud’s Tavern should be a priority for anyone into 1980s pub vibes, schnitzels and spicy margs.

10 Duranbah Drive, Huskisson, instagram.com/krakensourdough

Three hatted Shoalhaven restaurants to try

Although they’re not quite as budget-friendly as the places above, Good Food also recommends the following restaurants for a longer lunch or special occasion.

South on Albany, Berry

For the past 12 years, owners Sonia Greig and John Evans have showcased Shoalhaven produce over a three-course seasonal set menu at their small restaurant, just off Berry’s main drag. The dining room is unfussy but comfortable, soundtracked by ’70s funk music, and there’s a nourishing familiarity to each dish, including slow-cooked lamb wrapped in brik pastry, and pan-roasted snapper, its skin a deep golden crust.

Bangalay Dining, Shoalhaven Heads

The restaurant at Bangalay Luxury Villas offers a compelling expression of contemporary Australian cuisine in dishes such as paper-thin slices of wild venison curled among saltbush leaves, pine nuts and pickled muntries. Meals are served with young enthusiasm, flowing smoothly across concrete floors, from open kitchen to candlelit wood tables decorated with fresh-picked wattle. There are saltbush-salted margaritas to start, glasses of mostly Australian wines to follow, and heavy reds to complement the deep tenderness of dairy cow short-rib in artichoke and pepperberry sauce.

The Milton Hotel, Milton

The fish fingers are your first clue this isn’t standard pub food. The Milton’s version is more fine-dining than fry-up – creamy tuna encased within a perfect golden crumb, decorated with three dollops of miso bonito mayonnaise and delicate blades of kelp. Enjoy it on the terrace with the house rosé, or a schooner from adjoining brewery Dangerous Ales. Let the kids loose on the playground, take in the farmland views, and within moments a friendly man in shorts will appear with ridiculously good flatbread – perfect hydration, freckled with char, and a vessel for herbaceous pools of smoked mussel butter.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.