Norfolk Island food

We travelled to Norfolk in October - Spring - of 2020. When we first started planning this trip to Norfolk we were under the impression the food was paddock to plate. This is from what we read and what friends had told us. This is not necessarily the case. We found in places we ate that a lot of the food was from New Zealand and frozen. Disappointing, yes, but the places we ate had wonderful food even if it wasn't 'paddock to plate'. So, what did we do! We took some 'shop bought' rice and pasta with us, as well as our Vegemite (of course) and some lollies. Next time we will also take some chips and biscuits. To buy food to cook is a little expensive and it is actually cheaper to eat out. We arrived on a Sunday and most shops were shut so we had little food to cook and we ate at the Bowling Club Bistro, in the middle of the town and it was absolutely great. We ate there a couple of times, and had afternoon drinks there a number of times. I loved the garlic prawns and asked for extra sauce - then I could dip the chips in.

Staff were helpful and the food YUM! We did get fresh fish straight from the ocean that day, and it beautiful. We ate a lot of fish. Jonnie had a lot of chicken.

The local Foodland in the Norfolk Mall has the biggest variety of food. When we arrived (Sunday) it was shut. 

The next day we went shopping and were quite surprised at the prices.

A lot cheaper to eat out. We had trouble finding fresh milk so bought long life milk. There was not a lot on the shelves when we arrived as the boat with the groceries and all other Island supplies had only just come in. I guess we were lucky that after a few days the shelves were full. We didn't buy water, and filled our drink bottles each evening with cooled boiled water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did check the limited fresh fruit and vegetables each time we went in the supermarket, mostly vegetables.

The Butcher, also in the Mall had better prices and fresh meat, fish and vegetables, which varied each time we were there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also sold fresh milk - but get there early.

 

 

 

We started each day by going to the Mall early to get some bread rolls or croissants to make a picnic lunch. We sometimes also got a sweet treat for afternoon tea. We got sliced ham from the butcher and some expensive tomatoes and cheese from the supermarket, and we had our Vegemite.

The supermarket also has pre-packed sandwiches at reasonable prices. There are so many beautiful places to go to have a picnic. We had a picnic lunch every day. 

We did miss fruit while on the island. We were able to get a bag of local mandarins at the art and craft market on Sunday. The Sunday Arts and Crafts Market also has some fruit and vegetables. 8.30am - 11am in the Bond Store / Information area. There is also a Saturday Farmers Market located in the Bond Store / Information area 7am - 9.30am. Peter did his fishing trip on the Saturday, so Jon and I enjoyed a lay in.

We were in Norfolk for 12 nights, and Peter did the fishing trip on day 6. We had fish every day after that.

We discovered many roadside market stalls, also cafes and other shops also sold fresh fruit and vegetables. Look for signs at the door or on the windows.

There is also a shop opposite the airport that was interesting with changing varieties of vegetables - I wish we had found this earlier in the trip. They also had a large range of local jams, pickles, relishes, sauces etc.

The Liquor Bond Store offers 20% discount on there already reasonable prices spirits for tourists - beer was a few dollars more than on the mainland.

We tried most of the cafes, and some of the restaurants. Some we wouldn't go back to, mainly because of the unfriendly (and downright rude) staff. Here are a few of our favourites that we kept going back to. The Golden Orb Cafe, open Wednesday to Sunday was relaxing with great food (and coffee). This was Peter's favourite coffee shop. It also doubles as a book shop. Its name comes from the number of Golden Orb Spiders and their webs on the path to the cafe.

 

Seriously Chocolate, for chocolate, coffee and lunch. Coffee was good, hot chocolate was better. It also had a lot of chocolate sweets. It was very busy in the mornings.

Cafe Tempo was also very good.

Sweeties, on the other hand, was like an old fashioned lolly shop with old fashioned lollies and old fashioned posters. Jonnie found this one. Ice creams were delicious. No coffee though for Peter.

Hilli Restaurant and Cafe, just around the corner from Cumberland Resort had the best Devonshire teas. Sadly it was only open on Saturday and Sunday for brunch and lunch, and it has cocktails. We went there twice and would love to try their dinner menu. Also in the grounds are the Cyclorama, Guava Gallery, and Queen Victoria Gardens.

Castaway Hotel was next door to our accommodation, and also walk-able. It has a boutique brewery, happy hour (with cocktails) and Pizza nights. We had happy hour there a few afternoon, but didn't eat - we had fish Peter caught! 
The Local was an interesting place, it does brunch and lunch with a limited menu. It did have good bar service and was on Peter's bar crawl adventure LOL. I wish I had photos to share with you - next time.

Two other places we would have liked to have tried were closed the whole 12 days we were there. Norfolk Island Liqueurs usually does tastings but was closed when we were there. Their liqueurs can be purchased at the Bond Store. Two Chimney Winery was on our list, and was also closed. We were wanting to book a food platter and wine tasting.

High tea can be had at many places on Norfolk, especially on the weekend. You will need to check with the information centre and book. 

There are also many food related tours offered: Breakfast Bushwalk to Captain Cook's Memorial; Taste of Norfolk, visit a beekeeper, beef and dairy farm; The Commandants Dinner, which includes reenactments; Progressive Dinner, with interesting stories and characters; Island Fish Feast with dancers and entertainment; Murder Mystery Dinner (was not running when we were there) but would be fun. We didn't do any of these as Jonnie would not have liked them and we were not going to leave him by himself at night - although I think he would have been fine.

Boomerang bags can be found in different shops around town, and the airport. These are bags that can be used instead of single use plastic bags when shopping. We have also seen these in some Queensland towns.

There are many, many other eating places that we didn't try, either because they were closed or we just didn't have time. Maybe next time. We did enjoy the places we went and only had one bad meal.

Remember most shops are shuts on Sunday and many afternoon, so do any shopping in the morning. We were told by a couple of locals that the locals shop early, and that's when the best fresh food goes, so get there early.