The Beet Vegan Restaurant Byron Bay

We were recommended The Beet by some international/Bryon friends who raved about it and it lived up to its reputation.
The staff were delightful from the time we arrived which added to the ambience and were patient in explaining all the dishes.
The menu is very innovative with complex, complimentary flavours and much creativity.
We had been told we must try the Pulled Pork dish (jackfruit was the stand-in for pork) which triggered a big dilemma for us, being committed vegans for most of our lives. We felt so conflicted in uttering the words that had never come out of our mouths. This may sound trivial but it was a big deal for us and our animals as friends sensibilities. Our local friends who had accompanied us could also relate to this disquiet about a vegan restaurant using meat descriptions.
We did order the dish, and it was delicious. But we are mystified about the need to call it by a meat name.
Apart from this, The Beet has all the right ingredients for a wonderful dining experience.

I have waited a very long time for a completely vegan eatery in Byron and finally my prayers have been answered! Super lovely staff and one of the best meals I've had in ages. Heaps of different dishes ranging from hearty to super light and they have a great selection of yummy drinks too. My non-vegan parents adored it also!

This place is easier to find, since it's in the collection of restaurants/stores to the side of Woolworths.

I ordered the spicy seitan, which was two skewers of spiced seitan with a salad. The salad was good, and the seitan tasted nice, but was way too chewy - what some people would call 'tough.'

I had a sparkling lemon myrtle drink with it which was sweetened with xylitol, which was different. It wasn't very sweet, but it was nice.

I was sitting outside, and someone at a nearby table lit up a cigarette (a visitor to the country, i think). The smoke annoyed me, and i had to draw the staff's attention to it before they asked the smoker to put the cigarette out.

Despite my tough seitan and the smoke, the staff were friendly, and i wouldn't condemn the place by these misses.

Definitely worth a visit - especially if they improve the seitan and are more vigilant about smokers.

Updated from previous review on 2017-01-16

We stopped in at my partner's home town of Byron Bay on our way back to Sydney, and knowing that there was a pure vegan dinner option available was a real bonus this trip. And what amazing food! Definitely comparable with some of the fine plant based dining available in Sydney and Melbourne, this restaurant really ticks all the boxes! Together, our party of three shared the open burrito, pulled jackfruit crespelle, and Philly "cheese steak" (hail seitan!), and can highly recommend absolutely all of them. Beautifully presented food in a marvellous setting and accompanied by friendly, outgoing, and knowledgeable staff. Can't wait for our next visit!

As a Plant Based Whole Foods eater, I have struggled to find any options for getting a good meal in Byron Bay where there isn't some sort of animal product used in the dishes.
Beet advertises itself as Vegan, and I checked on several 'suspicious' sauces and ingredients in my meal, and the waitress was very clear in explaining there are NO animal prducts used in their kitchen.
My wife and I both enjoyed our meals and a shared desert immensely, and the price of a night out to dinner was not unusually high or mentionably low.
The service was excellent, and seating comfortable. The interior of the restaurant could use a little colour on the walls, but there is a nice looking set of plant covered beams overhead. Why not take advantage of the incredible colours in a beet and use it on a wall or two?
We could not finish our generously portioned meals, so the waitress graciously had our leftovers packed in nice containers so we could take them home.
We will go back to Beet, probably again and again, as there are a number of entree's and Mains dishes we'd like to try.
I will keep my fingers crossed that Beet survives for years to come, unlike many of the restaurants that try to survive in Byron.

The quality of the food was very good and even my omnivore husband loved every bit of our meal. Staff could not be more friendly, we felt very welcome. I found the burger price a bit too expensive, but the taste was excellent.