Banks Cafe, Port Macquarie – SMH Good Food app listing

For breakfast by the water, nowhere will get you closer to the edge than Banks Cafe. This converted beach house has cocooning white interiors and a sunny timber deck, while picnic tables and striped umbrellas are set along the banks of the Hastings River.

It’s prime pelican territory, so keep an eye on your blue swimmer crab scrambled eggs and butter-poached prawn croissants. Open all day, the menu features beer-battered fish and chips for lunch, and pan-seared barramundi with fennel beurre blanc in the evening. Book ahead if you can – the queues can also bank up.