Venture south of the border to experience new hinterland restaurant Friday Hut Dining
An historic old school in the depths of the Byron Bay hinterland has come back to life in the form of Friday Hut Dining, a leafy daytime restaurant that is aiming to bring back the magic of a Sunday lunch experience. If (like us) you’re all for the concept of ‘destination dining’, then you’ll want this on your radar.
The Possum Creek Public School on Friday Hut Road first became operational back in 1911 – while it was a gallery and cafe later in life, the storied space has remained vacant for the past two years. Renowned local chefs Joe Griffin and Matthew Donohoe have now taken the reins with a restaurant licence for the formerly unused premises, respectfully transforming and restoring it into a dreamy 30-seat restaurant, which will offer intimate Sunday lunches every week, starting Sunday December 30. Bookings are essential for the Sunday lunches – there are three sittings, with each capped at 15 diners. There’s an early-bird sitting at 11:00 am with a two-course chefs menu, which will cross over with the 12:00 pm sitting, before the 1:30 pm sitting rolls out for the late lunchers. The latter two time slots feature a menu of four courses, dotted with canapes and petite fours either side.
While Joe and Matt’s seasonal tasting menus will be appealing to the well-travelled diner, the dishes are considered and designed to suit all tastes, and will be heavily influenced by what is fresh and best from the local markets and trawlers that week. Plus, the kitchen’s fluidity allows the chefs to tailor menus for dietary requirements as well. Friends, this is a true dining experience – being bookings only, it’s a very personalised approach, and it means you’re one of 15 diners (per sitting) that gets to enjoy the venue and savour the moment in one of the most picturesque hinterland locations around. The early sitting (two courses) is $60 per head, while the later four-course sittings are $90 per head. You can (and should) also opt for wine pairing at an additional cost per person, which will see quality drops from small producers pouring with each course.
Sunday lunch experiences at Friday Hut Dining start on Sunday December 30, and will continue on every Sunday from then on. For more information and bookings, head to the Friday Hut Dining website or Instagram.
Note: the first lunch on December 30 is already booked out – but they have just released an extra lunch on Saturday December 29 to accomodate those keen to experience it before the new year.
Image credit: Friday Hut Dining.
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