Ernies Kitchen

I discovered this place during my most recent visit to Coffs Harbour... The food is absolutely amazing, really well presented as well as great tasting! Priced are also quite reasonable, and the vegetarian options are delicious.
Even better, the atmosphere and great friendly staff make the dining experience one worth repeating. Ernie and his partner Matthew are hilarious, so kind! And you can tell their entire kitchen staff have a lot of fun together. I'll definitely be back :)

It’s rare to find a cafe/restaurant that is very welcoming, great atmosphere and servers great food with perfect service presentation!

I come to this place regularly now as I finally found a restaurant in the Coffs Coast area that know how to cook food properly and always gets it right! I’m a steak man and I found this restaurant is the only place that nails it on temperature with steaks, if you ask for medium rare you will get a tender medium rare steak every time. Something that largely a hit and miss with other local restaurants in the area, especially with a local steakhouse.

I almost forgot about the delicious cheesecake they serve, what a flavour to finish with after lunch, I must say it’s definitely a native lemon myrtle taste and not overpowering in sweetness, it’s just right when it comes to cheesecake.

We were going to a different lunch location and ended up at Ernie’s. Glad we did. We loved the food here. The service was excellent and great coffees.

Sweetest staff ever! I loved having breakfast here. We had a pot of chai, a lychee and watermelon drink, butterscotch pancakes and a BLT. It was soooo delicious. Definitely recommend the pancakes if you love sweets! The staff was so patient and engaging, we really had a great experience.

10/10 service! Absolutely LOVED it here. Not only was the food AMAZING (especially the avocado smash) but also the employees were wonderful. If I’m ever in Coffs Harbour again I will 100% be coming back!

This is a nice place to grab breakfast. It’s close to a lot of the attractions. Their menu is not mediocre at all. They are rather creative in their offerings that include lobster Benny and crab omelette for breakfast, among other things. Ernie is a bubbly guy and watching him train one of his new staff members was actually kinda fun. He actually reminds me of one of my good friends. They have good attention to details including how they position your plate on the table and which side the plate is facing. Coffee is not bad at all either. Highly recommended. I personally think their bacon is too salty.

Busy place, so make sure you book in advance. It looks unassuming from outside but the food and coffee are great. I was very happy with my classic eggs Benny (with bacon) and you can really taste the crab on the generous crab Benny. I'd probably do the breakfast bubbles package next time I dine here. It's good value

Fantastic service, delicious food (best real chai latte I’ve had in aaaages) and right across the road you can access the gorgeous beach. Perfect place for a stopover.

This was our first time visiting this cafe. The staff were so happy and lovely it lifted our entire experience. The food was delicious and I have attached photos of the amazing meals we had. Definitely would come back again

Driving around Coffs for ages trying to find somewhere nice to stop for lunch.
Happened upon Ernies after getting lost.

Great Food, Great Service happy to have found this establishment.

Highly recommend based on quality of food, quality environment and very reasonable prices to go with quality service.

Finally found a place that serves fresh local fish cooked properly.

Thanks, it's getting harder to find these gems.

We had such an amazing breakfast here. The pancakes were one of the best I have ever had, the Eggs Benedict were great and so was the Iced Mocha. And the staff was super nice and made us feel very welcome. We'll be back for sure!

Lovely little cafe with very friendly staff. We ordered a classic eggs Benedict and a crab omelette (pictures attached) both were divine and worth the money. Smoothies and Coffee were also superb.
Overall great little cafe, will be back to try their lunch menu!

I brought my family here with us as they hadn’t been to Ernies before.
Breakfast was beautiful, i loved the eggs benny. Owners are nice & welcoming. I look forward to coming back again.

Faultless. Amazing service and food. We arrived mid morning and were warmly greeted and thoughtfully seated. The restaurant was clean and inviting. The kitchen was open — something I particularly appreciate after my time working in restaurants when I was younger.

I loved the eggs benedict (7 variations thereof),with my favorite extras, and my son enjoyed the, "to die for", bush spiced fried chicken. FYI, the chicken may be my go to for lunch next time I go. The bacon jam on top of the chicken really topped off the meal (pardon pun).

Coffee was to my liking - fast delivery and not bitter.

Whoever structured the dining experience has done very well. I look forward to dining again soon. Thank you for giving my son and I the opportunity to have a lovely meal in a beautiful, relaxing space.

Starting with the coffe, one of the best coffees we found in Coffs Habour, even bought a bag of beans. Food was amazing, everything cooked perfectly and the flavours were spot on. Staff were really friendly. Definitely coming back the next time I'm in Coffs.

Friendly staff, lots of options for vegans and vegetarians on the menu and clean, modern setting. The Smashed Avo was delicious but the Buttermilk and Ricotta Pancakes were the yummiest pancakes we've ever had. Definitely worth a visit if you're looking for a decent and yummy feed.

I went there for breakfast and a drink and all the workers were so nice and friendly! I had their ricotta and buttermilk pancakes which was delicious. I wanted to try their lemon myrtle cheesecake, but it had sold out already, they were so apologetic and tried recommending other desserts and although I eventually said now I really appreciated the effort they put into making sure had a good experience. As a bonus, on my hot chocolate they wrote the word “smile” which I thought was so sweet and cute.

Amazing food and fantastic service. I would give 6 stars if I could! I ordered fish of the day (Mahi Mahi) and substituted the fries with roasted veggies (which they kindly did without charging me extra). Fine-dinning quality and presentation at normal cafe prices with generous portions. This place will for sure be my go-to place for future road trip up North! Thank you Ernies Kitchen!

Spontaneously went to Ernie’s Kitchen for dinner last night after trying somewhere else but couldn’t get a table. SO glad we couldn’t go to the other place as Ernie’s was such a treat. They were fairly busy but were able to seat my family and I.

One of the best things is that the food is cooked fresh right in the open for everyone to see by some fantastic chefs. You always know you’re somewhere great when they have the confidence to do this!

The starters my husband and brother ordered were the calamari and the crocodile spring rolls, both very impressed with their choices- see photos.

My brother and I then ordered the steak in a red wine jus which was utter perfection. Cannot recommend this dish more highly. Again pic attached, makes my mouth water just thinking of it. I was a bit gutted as my one year old liked it too so kept asking for more of mine 😂 (don’t worry I tried to avoid bits that had the red wine on!)

The rest of the group had risotto and all seemed equally happy with their selections, my dad and husband both commented the prawns they had were the best they’ve eaten in Australia.

I think this place could easily be dismissed as it looks like a cafe from the outside so you may bypass it for dinner thinking they wouldn’t do evening food- trust me, they do and it’s not to be missed!

It comes with a slightly higher price tag than the average restaurant, but everything is cooked fresh and to perfection. Obviously being cooked fresh means there’s a bit of a wait for your food but it’s worth it.

Well informed staff and good variations on the menu while not being too overwhelmed with too much to choose!

If you can only visit one place in Coffs Harbour, you owe it to yourself to visit Ernies Kitchen.

You will be welcomed by the cheerist, friendliest staff, your mood turning to cheer as if by magic.

Once seated, you can choose between, a well brewed coffee in your style, an eclectic range of locally grown teas (you'll never find eucalyptus tea anywhere else!), or fresh juices and sodas.

Whether you're having sweet or savoury, meat, veg, grain or dairy, when your food arrives, you'll note no shortage of delightful details that complete your experience of a culinary trinity, like no other.

I hope one day to return and be as delighted as I've been!