Okay wow! our little american flippy floppies were blown off by how great this place was. Initially…read morewe walked right by this Italian spot because we were looking to gobble up some of Forsters' famous Oysters and didn't really come up here for ethnic cuisine (no offence) After some heavy footwork we weren't impressed with anywhere else on the river. Bellas was pretty packed so we popped in and grabbed a table for three for some Friday night atmosphere. (1/3 being of Italian decent). We were famished and immediately ordered 1/2 dozen oysters, mussels and the octopus. DELICIOUS! no wonder these oysters are famous - they have a perfect bite of creamy texture and shucked perfectly - no sand. The order octopus was massive and again, great texture not chewy. For a main course we decided to split the margarita pizza and the spaghetti with spicy marinara. Although the pasta isn't freshly made, they do import the real stuff from Italy, which makes a difference. Pasta was el dente and the sauce was liquid satisfaction. The pizza was cooked with a light crust and cheesy topping. We were approached multiple times by the owner to check to see if everything was okay. The only reason i'm not giving 5 starts is the lack of vegetarian options and that they aren't fully license. So BYO!

Over the years ive been to Bellas at least 8 times, they always make great pizzas, but as a eat in…read morerestaurant its always a bit hit and miss, its like a lottery, sometimes its good and other times nit so good Anyway last night there were 3 of us, I had a supreme pizza , it was great, my wife had spagetti marinara, which had one prawn, one piece of calamari, 2 inedible pippies and lots of good pasta, and that was it. We had to ask for pepper and parmisan and had 2 pasta dishes. The weird thing was when we commented to the waitress about the lack of seafood in the marinara dish she told us that it was impossible to be like that and went in denial mode, the owner frank said hed find out what was going on . He slunked away and hid out the back until after we left. He didnt get back to us, the young staff all in all were good. Its great location but dont expect perfection! Enjoy and look at it as your chance to star in your own episode of Faulty Towers! With A real basil at your service

Welcome to Forster, oyster capital of the world! Or the North Coast. Both equally resplendent…read moretitles. Sitting out on the deck sipping a glass of something crisp (or bubbly. What? Don't judge me. Champagne is great) while tucking into giant platters of fresh oysters in legit insane flavours like (a) oysters with house-made chilli jam and (b) Scotch whisky-infused oysters, along with perennial flava flavs like Kilpatrick or Mornay or just nude with lemon, is pretty much my idea of Christmas. I would deadset do it every day if I didn't live four hours away. They crank the heaters up if it's cold. Try and get a seat on the water, there are tons of them, which makes getting the best seat in the house easy.

Food was average/underwelming. Expected better for the price…read more Cut my hand when it caught in the door. Staff response was lackluster.

Love local places to dine and enjoy the local fresh seafood. This place was nice and the service…read morewas great. A bit run down, but it's a seafood shack... so no complaints there's The food was ok. It appears that just foods in Australia is prepared bland and you have to add you salt and pepper yourself. Otherwise all was great I got the first and ships for two and shared it with mothers the fish pieces were huge and definitely was enough for one. There was amazing and the white fish was fried in a great batter but was so flaky inside and yummy. . I also got the hamburger. It was average, nothing special. They do add ketchup on their burgers here. My sister hit the send and fries and it was very tasty and well prepared. My brother in law got the seafood basket and that can feed 2-3 people easily. Again it was amazing fried fish, chips and onion rings. Sorry didn't take a lot of pics as we were just eating.

Really great prices for some locally caught seafood. $6 for a cheeseburger…read more Food was fast and hot. I chucked some lime pepper on my chips and my husband chose the chicken salt. The batter on the fish was great, nice balance. There was a nice looking line for take-away but I don't mind waiting for good food. Also got an order of Calamari rings ($1 per ring) and perfect for a little snack. Feel free to bring booze for your food, but they aren't fully licensed. Downside - $1 for sauces such as tarter and ketchup

Best pizza ever! Mexican pizza, wow! Service was a little…read moreslow, but hard to manage when you are not sure if it's going to be busy or quiet during school holidays, so understandable. Thanks guys great location, fantastic food.

Thank you so much for hosting our wedding reception! Our family and friends loved it. Food was…read moregreat, drinks were flowing and the staff were awesome! Only issue for us was the possible malfunctioning sound system. Really appreciate you guys finding a mic that worked properly. Maddie, you are a legend

This seafood oasis is a welcome respite from one of the boringest stretches of road this side of…read moreLeyland Brothers World. Jetting back from a friend's wedding in Port Macquarie, we saw the sign and popped in. The decor is the right kind of run down. The fish 'n' chips were top notch, the coffee was mug-sized and the SDSFC&G was doing a roaring trade. While you wait for food (there can be a bit of a wait due to lots of people coming and going), there's a cool little antique shop annexed to the cafe itself, which sells crafts, furniture and house-made jams. There is a range of fresh seafood available, as well as boozy options for the parents. What's not to love? All in all this place is a good experience. If you're a gay street tough the armoire is just gawjuz! and you must pick it up or perhaps you'd just like to pick up your favourite bouncer and what better way to impress than with a bottle of their awesome conserve made lovingly from figs. Failing that you and your best bud can go all Frank 'n' Mike and try and get the honey hole from a really good pick* Check out my profit! (hint: see pics) If you're sick of the usual fare on a roadtrip and you are passing by this way, DO stop in, you won't be dissappointed :) More staff during their busy peak would get them a 5. *Warning this review contains obscure Seinfeld and American Pickers references.

Imagine a place in the middle of nowhere that appears just as your car tells you that you must take…read morea break (my car is very good at nagging me to do stuff like "Don't run into that person!' or 'Put your seatbelt on Fatso') Then imagine that it is right beside the Pacific Highway and its not a McDonalds. And my car tells me I am at a place called 'Coolongolook' which I worry might be my car having its own practical joke at my expense... I can see him in the carpark at work, sniggering with that stunning Porsche Cayenne, he calls her 'Pepper'... 'He took me on a gravel road between Sawtell and Bellingen, so I told him he was in 'Coolongolook'! hahaha!!!' Then, what if it did a fresh and lively salad of local prawns with avocado, or grilled local pawns with garlic, made to order in no time flat!! Finally, what if one of the best reviewers on Yelp has put up one of his pearls and gives it the thumbs up together with an obscure American Pickers reference? Howdy Dan! Hows it hangin'? It was forty degrees and theres no aircon and we still loved it. D1's garlic prawns and chippies were great and she let me have some of her chips....when she was in the bathroom. Great spot and we chalked up another non McDonalds stop! They'll be out of business before the end of the year at this rate.

This is a great little seafood shop if you are looking for some fresh seafood in the tiny hamlets…read moreof Smiths Lake and Pacific Palms. Nice selection of seafood and condiments - try the Wallis Lake Oysters - a specialty of the area.

Casually driving by and saw the sign for Oysters and decided to stop. So glad that we did…read more Creamy Oysters! 12 for $16 The oysters were not fishy, you could easily eat a few in one going. I'd go again if I were in the area. Fishtails were breaded, I'm not big on fish and chips, but these were good. It looks like a quirky place on stilts in the water. You eat outside, under cover on this floating outdoor patio. The weather was actually perfect for it. It's nice that they even have a sink for guests to use, eating with your hands can do that. Downside: no restroom. But overall, it did satisfy our oyster craving. It's open 7 days, and is BYO. Lunch everyday 12-2:30pm & Hot Lunch Wed-Sunday Cater! Just email bigoysterseafood@bigpond.com

We drove by this place on the way to the tomato and strawberry farm, so we decided to drop in on…read morethe we back. Lucky we did drop by as their prawn,oyster and blue swimmer was the freshest & sweetest we have ever had. Price is a bit dear but it is worth. don't hesitate to pay more as you won't regret it.

The view is beautiful, location is a bit out of the town but not hard to reach. Waitress straight…read moreaway offers sparkling and we ordered a Rose bottle which was an ok price and very tasteful, from Qld. The food wasn't what I expected, the fish wasn't as fresh as I thought it would by being in the water and my wife tried the Scotch fillet medium which was more fat than meat and a bit chewy. The best was the oysters, we should have had tried all the options they have but we just ate the one with Parmesan. Nice decor, price is high, food is not amazing though. Staff were friendly at least.

Came here twice during our vacation our group thought this restaurant was so good. Yes, it is…read moreexpensive, but you get what you pay for as the food is delicious, staff is impeccable and the scenery of the wharf is lovely, especially at sunset. The King Prawns were to die for and my companions love the pork belly. Get the duck fat potatoes if they have them on the menu (I think this is more of a seasonal item). I didn't get it but I saw a couple get the fruits de mer for two and it was seriously impressive. Regrets that I didn't spring the extra money for it!

Despite this being primarily seafood restaurant i had lamb shoulder on the menu .. The meal was…read moresuperb and accompanied with a very good choice of red it was thoroughly enjoyable. The atmosphere is more café than restaurant .. but definitely worth while.

Had a beautiful seafood platter for two on Wednesday night. The cold king prawns and tasty Sydney…read moreRock Oysters came out first with a lovely salad. It was then good to have a short interval before the hot seafood was served. The seared trout was beautifully cooked as was the crumbed calamari, beer battered barramundi, tender squid and delicious green lipped mussels cooked in mildly spicy broth. The crispy hot chips were served in metal cage so did not go soggy and the thing I especially liked about them, even though we couldn't eat them all, was that they didn't dominate the platter like some we've had elsewhere. Also there were no enormous pieces of fruit taking up precious space. It was definitely a SEAFOOD platter. The only negative was hubby said the baby octopus was a bit over cooked (didn't worry me as I don't eat them haha). To top it off I managed to squeeze in the pandan pannacotta with passion fruit and salted peanut praline. So glad I did as it was probably the best desert I've had in ages. Hubby had the coconut and lime tart and loved it. The wait staff were very friendly and knowledgable - will definitely be going back next time in Port Macquarie.