Coffs is a working harbour and the local food is straightforward seafood, banana-coast cafes and a small but real Italian and Chinese contingent left from waves of post-war migration to the canefields.
The Coffs Harbour Fishermen's Co-op sells fresh fish and prawns off the boats at the marina from mid-afternoon — buy a bag of cooked prawns and a lemon and eat them on the harbour wall. Sitting down, the cluster of cafes along The Jetty strip (Harbour Drive, between the highway and the marina) is the best concentration: Fiasco for Italian, Latitude 30 for a marina-view bistro, and the various surf-club bistros at Park Beach for cheap dinners with a view.
For breakfast and coffee, the cafes around the Jetty Village complex on Harbour Drive are reliable; Cafe Aqua at the marina is the picturesque option.