If there's anything telling in how the airport in Ballina is called Ballina Byron Gateway Airport, it's that a lot of visitors aren't flying in to see Ballina. Byron's where it's at, right? Snap the lighthouse, buy a healing crystal, play Spot-a-Hemsworth. 

But as Byron Bay's popularity has reached critical mass, squeezing out locals and leaving restaurants scrambling for staff who can't afford to live nearby, Byron is no longer the epicentre for dining out in the Northern Rivers region.

You can still do well around town, of course, but if good eating and drinking are a non-negotiable part of your travel itinerary, then increasingly you'll need to go for a drive away from the poster destination.

That might take you to Brunswick Heads and teeny-tiny Fleet (which is currently doing a fine line in noodle soup as Roco Ramen before reopening as Fleet later this year); to Bangalow, where Matt Stone has just thrown open the doors of corner diner You Beauty; or to pocket-sized Pottsville, where Ben Devlin inventively grills local ingredients over coals at Pipit.

Head to Ballina and you'll find Lola Dining, which quietly opened in April last year and has become a destination of its own. While you might be tempted by just a quick trip, taking in a gawk at the Big Prawn before nabbing a spot out the front of the restaurant for a Ballina prawn bun – the flesh bound with mayo and tossed with celery and lettuce ($16 for two) – you really should stick around. 

Opened by Olivia Serrano and Rosa Diaferia, two Europeans who came to Sydney to cook before falling in love and moving up the coast, Lola is a model of how to make an independent regional restaurant work. 

The dimensions are tight, meaning the service stays warm and attentive for every one of the 20 or so diners. The kitchen is open, enabling the team to move easily between spaces, while the wine list – mostly local and low-intervention – takes up just one page.

The payoff for guests is a sense of focus. Order a Negroni ($18), the only cocktail on offer, to discover a pitch-perfect blend made with local gin and aged for 60 days in a barrel, for example. This extends to the food, too, which factors in Serrano's Spanish roots, Diaferia's Italian heritage, the couple's time working in contemporary restaurants (they met at Cho Cho San in Sydney) and the region's exemplary produce.

An entree of raw yellowfin tuna ($24) taps into Serrano's experience, the fish sliced and arranged on a base of ajo blanco – the Spanish almond, garlic and bread soup, here spun into a sauce – with deep-red slices of tropical dragonfruit slipped between. A tangle of finely shredded choko, donated by locals, brings crunch and freshness.

In 2022, when it's almost mandatory to have a crudo on your menu, seeing someone do it incorporating two fruits you rarely see in restaurants feels as refreshing as diving into the breakers at Lighthouse Beach on a winter afternoon. And knowing the garnishes change with the seasons makes the menu that much more appealing. 

Meanwhile, cappellacci stuffed with ricotta and Jerusalem artichoke ($30) – green-tinged pasta parcels dredged in parmesan, lemon zest and parsley and plated on a rich leek sauce – are more Diaferia's work, and a winning choice despite their heft. (It's also Diaferia who shapes and bakes the excellent brioche-style rolls for the prawn buns.)

Glance around the room and not only will you be struck by how the pendant lights cast a warm glow on the painted-brick walls, you'll also likely notice how the taramasalata crumpet ($16) graces almost every teal-coloured tabletop.

It's a one-two punch of eggs and bread in the form of a fermented semolina base spread with a dip made using whipped bread and mullet roe, capped with a blizzard of grated, cured egg yolk. I can't help but think, though, that if the crumpet were lighter and the taramasalata looser, a good idea might turn into a must-order. Right now, it's one of the menu's few misses.

Better is the chicken ($38). Boned, brined and slow-cooked before the skin goes under a blowtorch, the half-bird comes out piping hot atop braised lentils turned through a buttery, mustardy emulsion enriched with chicken jus and finished with cornichons. 

A pretty dessert that sees sticky licorice cake capped with mandarin sorbet and covered with a swirl of mascarpone ($15) shows the hits aren't all savoury, either.

Take a small space, add owners in the kitchen and on the floor, a regard for local ingredients and diners, and a stated aim to build a diverse team – and the result is a restaurant you know is going to thrive here. 

A new gateway to discovering Ballina? Lola might just be it.

Vibe: Spirited small-towner with a big heart

Go-to dish: Yellowfin tuna with ajo blanco ($24)

Drinks: Affordable, one-page wine list led by locals with a couple of Europeans in the mix. Plus, smooth batched Negronis

Cost: About $150 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine