fatbellykat

We have been recognised by publications such as:
 

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008
Score 14.5/20

Foodies keen to escape Byron Bay’s bustle head away for this little gem...There’s an easy warmth to the room with its lime splice colours, casual wicker chairs and well-spaced tables. This same refreshing simplicity and style are reflected in the engaging service and the highly individual cooking of Katerina Williams which springs from her Greek heritage. Beautiful produce from the family vineyards and orchards finds its way into many of her soul-satisfying dishes. In a finely tuned balancing act, roasted garlic aioli and creamy goat’s fetta add punch to the earthy sweetness of crunchy beetroot croquettes. From the family plot come sharp little olives in a rustic dish of organic chicken kofta with rich tomato sauce and sparkling tzatziki; ditto the sugar-sweet prune plums and delicate red wine syrup that anchor an ethereal Greek honey and mastic bavarois. The wild sage tea that follows is a breath of Greek mountain air.

The Courier Mail / Good Life (Brisbane)
March 4, 2008

Brunswick Heads: Run for the Border – by Natasha Mirosch

Fatbellykat’s modest exterior belies the delights to be savoured inside. A family affair, Katerina Williams (who no longer has the fat belly she had when they bought the place, having since given birth) has worked with Stephanie Alexander and heads up the kitchen. Husband Damian, former food and beverage manager for Terence Conran’s Le Pont de la Tour in London, takes the floor. The food is unpretentious, with clean, meticulously matched flavours divided by mezze and more substantial banquet dishes pointing to Katerina’s Greek culinary heritage – like the crisply delicious, deep-fried aubergine and haloumi croquettes...or home-made spicy lamb sausages with potato skordalia and sour cherry reduction. Almost everything is made in-house, even the red wine vinegar Kat uses. Popular with locals and out-of-towners, you’ll need to book to get in..

Australian Gourmet Traveller
March 2008

Bay Watch – by Pat Nourse

Brunswick sits on the river just back from the sea, and has a bit more going on in terms of restaurants and cafes, with the likes of fatbellykat, a Greek accented mod-boho diner, competing with the likes of the beer garden and the charm of the deco and wonderful Hotel Brunswick.

Vogue Entertining and Travel Australia
February/March 2008

Greener Pastures
And let’s not forget dear old Brunswick Heads which for all its down-home board-shorts-and-t-shirts charm, boasts some great eateries such as fatbellykat, where chef Katerina Williams cooks ambrosial mod-Greek food to share.

Selector – Life.Food.Wine | Summer 2007

Byron Bounty – by Belinda Jeffrey

I’ve no doubt I shall get some stick from regulars for mentioning this restaurant, as they would rather keep it a secret – however to leave it out wouldn’t be fair to the warmly hospitable and talented owners, Damian and Katerina Wiliams. It’s a serendipitous find, tucked as it is in a neat motel on the Old Pacific Highway in Brunswick Heads.
As always, the mouth-watering aroma of garlic, herbs and olive oil greets us, and in no time we’re settled in with a glass of wine...and nibbling on tea-smoked tomatoes, olives, house-made bread, superb marinated fetta and curls of tender pickled octopus (that Kat makes from her Greek mother’s recipe). For once we forego their fabulous oysters, and settle on sweet-polenta crusted Brunswick prawns with a subtle citrus mayonnaise, and sand whiting with sensational cashew and dill paste and pickled beetroot stalks. Hmm...this is seriously good food. Despite our vow not to have dessert, Damian twists our arm...to try Kat’s latest creation – a brilliant pairing of a light-as-air Greek honey and mastic bavarois offset by sweet/tart plums...and as we wind our way back through the hills we feel nurtured in body and soul.

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007
Score 14/20

Combine a talented chef who learnt to cook at her Greek mother’s side, a stint with Stephanie Alexander, a husband who is a thoroughly courteous and professional restaurateur, and a sleepy seaside village and what do you get? This disarmingly relaxed, incongruously perched in a motel, serving terrific modern Greek food. Indeed with its doors flung open to the salty breeze and the clean lines broken only by a few paintings, soft lighting and a sun-washed lime feature wall, this neat-as-a-pin room could almost be by the Aegean. The simple aesthetic is echoed in the food. Speck-wrapped artichoke with a rich olive-and-fetta stuffing is at once gloriously sharp, mellow and salty; delicate pan-fried baby whiting fillets are offset by gently vinegary pickled beetroot stems and dill-scented cashew paste. Satisfyingly crunchy smoked salmon and trout croquettes have their creaminess lifted by a jolt of piquant celeriac mayonnaise. Leave room for the glorious kataifi crema, a mastic-and-cinnamon mastic slice.

Delicious | April 2007

foodiefile : Chef’s Special - by Sarah Nicholson

After cooking with Stephanie Alexander, Kat opened fatbellykat in Brunswick Heads , NSW, with her husband Damian. Here she served up platters of modern Greek food:  “I wanted to re-create the way we ate in my childhood – no main meal, just lots of options in the middle of the table.”

The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006

And Also... A contemporary tavern serving authentic Greek (the chef’s family hails from Rhodes) with clean, fresh flavours. Choose local oysters with walnut and anchovy and parmesan crumbs, or with horseradish cream and salmon roe. Crab and prawn dolmades are “gin-soaked”, while the bean soup is a true robust fasolada. Kataifi is a deep bowl of ethereal shredded pastry, with toasted macadamias and almonds, cinnamon and mastic thickened custard.

The Courier Mail / Q Weekend
November 4-5, 2006

Table Talk – by Alison walsh

Another discovery, to which we’ll definitely be returning, is fatbellykat in the sleepy seaside town of Brunswick Heads, just north of Byron. Owned by Katerina and Damian Williams, it served terrific Greek-influenced food...

The Sydney Morning Herald / Good Weekend magazine
October 21, 2006

Far Out Fare – by Simon Thomsen

...head five minutes north to Brunswick with its relaxed feel and this modern Greek tavern. The eponymous Kat cooked with Stephanie Alexander and draws on her Greek heritage to make creamy fetta in olive oil with hot, grilled flatbread. There are lashings of mezze to share and vibrant dishes such as pan-fried whiting with a dill-scented cashew paste and pickled beetroot stems.

Vogue Entertaining and Travel Supplement / Coast Editor’s Choice – Tourism Australia
August 2006

Coasting Along – by Trudi Jenkins

Head south and there’s there’s lovely Brunswick Heads...and the laid back fatbellykat restaurant where Katerina Williams uses family recipes to create platters of Greek food.

Coast Living | Winter 2005

Interview: Katerina Williams – fatbellykat - Brunswick Heads

Mediterranean cuisine is innate for me as both my parents are Greek, my mother being a fanatic cook of traditional and modern Greek dishes. It’s what I know best. Her influence has been phenomenal. I often call her for recipes and advice.
My hometown is Adelaide, though I spent 7 years in Melbourne before moving out here. At 30 and at a crossroad in my life, I was introduced to the staff at Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder and I ended up working there for the next 2 ½ years. My knowledge for food was enriched there, thanks to Stephanie and the dedicated team of chefs I found myself amongst. My experiences there are paramount to the chef I am today.
During that period Damian and I got married and it was whilst honeymooning in the Maldives that we envisioned leaving our current Melbourne lives, heading for the sun and having a business and a baby. We just didn’t expect it to happen all at once, nor so soon.
We explored the Shire before deciding to live in Brunswick Heads. Neither of us had been here before. But we liked its stillness and the beach here is amazing. The day we moved we stumbled across the venue, which is now ‘fatbellykat’ quite accidentally. After months of discussions and planning we opened the doors of our business. I was 4 months pregnant.

Coast Living | Spring 2004

Blissful Brunswick – by Michelle Hartnett

A short walk away from the riverside, leads to Tweed Street, where you’ll find fatbellykat, under the Sails Motel. The predominantly Mediterranean inspired dishes – including eggplant risotto slice, spinach and fetta pie and mushrooms cooked in tomato, lemon and chilli – are served as ‘shared food’. So you can pass the platters around the table to sample a little, or a lot, of everything on the menu.
Chef, Katerina Williams and husband, Damian opened for business in December last year after moving to Brunswick from Melbourne. Their 14 week old son Isaiah, is brought to the restaurant late in the afternoon so he can be settled before service starts at 6pm. “It’s a bit of a juggling act,” Katerina laughs. “But he’s usually sound asleep by the time we’re ready to open.”
Katerina worked for Stephanie Alexander at the acclaimed Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder for more than 2 years and also learnt many of her culinary skills from her Mediterranean born mother. “Mum always served on platters, in the middle of the table,” Katerina explains. “Her influence inspired our shared food concept...”

If you have any additional questions or would like to speak to us personally please feel free to contact us.

Katerina & Damian Williams