Sydney neighbourhood guide: How to spend the perfect Saturday in Curl Curl

Sydney’s northern beaches have a lot to boast about.

There’s Manly with its thumping bars, glossy Palm Beach with its expansive mansions and Avalon with its boutiques and busy cafe scene.

Then there’s Curl Curl – “Curly” to the locals – which doesn’t try to be anything but itself. The pace is slow here, people take it easy and there’s free parking(!) right by the uncrowded beach.

This breezy ‘burb isn’t showy, but it pays to hunt out the gold, it’s certainly there. Here’s how to spend a perfect Saturday in the area:

8am: Early takeaway coffee at Gusto on the Beach

Gusto Coffee at South Curl Curl Lifesaving Club. Photo: Supplied

In a perfect world, the sun will be shining and there will be no line for a takeaway flat white from this colourful cafe inside the South Curl Curl Surf Life Saving Club.

It’s a haunt for all the cute local dogs, too.

52/54 Carrington Pde, South Curl Curl

8.30am: Laps at South Curl Curl Rockpool

Swimmers cool off at South Curl Curl Rockpool. Photo: James Brickwood

Curl Curl actually has two rock pools, one at either end of the beach.

Dust off any cobwebs from Friday night with a few leisurely laps of the 50-metre pool.

If you have little ones with you, the adjacent knee-deep wading pool is ideal for splashing about.

Carrington Parade, South Curl Curl

10am: Breakfast at Cooh Organic Cafe

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This wholefood-focused, organic cafe opened in a quiet backstreet of North Curl Curl in 2012 and grew so popular it was able to open a huge outpost in Alexandria recently.

Juicers whir constantly, while ultra-green vegetable bowls with pesto and poached eggs, buckwheat-zucchini fritters and gluten-free Bircher run out the door at a speedy pace.

17/64-68 Pitt Rd, North Curl Curl, (02) 9939 8565 

11am: A short back and sides at Jack’s Barbershop

Welshman Jack Lloyd is a bit of a local legend among Curl Curl’s gents.

A tidy up will only cost you $20, and the friendly banter is free.

148A Pitt Rd, North Curl Curl 

12pm: Time to hit the beach

The beach at Curl Curl. Photo: Michele Mossop

Most Sydneysiders will know the familiar pain of trying to find a parking spot, any parking spot, close to the beach, let alone a free one.

Curl Curl has plenty of room. Conditions are calmest for swimming up the north end.

Stretch out your towel and crack open a good book.

Carrington Parade

1pm: Tacos for lunch at Mu Cha Cha Mexican Kitchen

The simplicity of Mu Cha Cha’s website really does this vibrant hole-in-the-wall taco shop a disservice.

It’s BYO and conveniently there’s a bottle shop next door. Take a seat at a table covered in Mexican wax cloth and order a pot of fresh guacamole and ships, and soft Baja fish tacos with lime crema.

Fiery salsas are all made in-house in limited quantities, so they’re always fresh.

3/142 Pitt Rd, North Curl Curl 

3pm: Walk across the headland to Dee Why Beach

Dee Why Beach. Photo: Supplied

Begin at North Curl Curl beach.

The walk over the headland to Dee Why Beach is only about 1.6 kilometres each way, but lookouts punctuate the trail with views all the way to Manly and beyond.

Once you get to Dee Why beach, jump in the water to cool off and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the sand.

6pm: Burgers at JB & Sons

No, this burger bar isn’t in technically in Curl Curl, but it’s too good to be missed.

Play a round of pool, order a house margarita with jalapeno and lime and dig into the Papi with a beef patty, double cheese, smoked bacon, pickle, iceberg, tomato and a trio of sauces.

It’s only a 10-minute walk back to Curly from here.

154-158 Pacific Pde, Dee Why, (02) 9981 7978