Attaboy Pizza brings New York-style slices and Detroit deep-dish pies to Byron Bay

The team behind Eltham Pub, Ciao, Mate!, You Beauty and Loyal Bellingen Golf Club has never been particularly interested in chasing the main street spotlight, and its newest venue, Attaboy Pizza, follows that same off-the-beaten-track philosophy. The venue has taken up residence between an IGA and a laundrette at Byron Bay Fair, which might not be the first place that comes to mind when scouting locations for a new hospitality concept. But then again, that’s exactly what makes it work.

“We prefer venues that are all off the beaten track, so to speak. Our business model is about finding opportunities in smaller areas,” says Matt Rabbidge, co-founder of Mosey On Inn.

And this particular pocket of Byron, long home to warehouses and workshops, was quietly crying out for a solid nighttime food option.

But rewind about nine months and the spark for Attaboy didn’t come from a real estate opportunity. It came from a chef.

Rob Pearson, who had been working as head chef across the Mosey On Inn venues (and whom Matt describes as a bit of a “unicorn chef”), approached the group with an idea. Rob had been developing an American-inspired pizza dough, something entirely different from the Napoli-style sourdough base used at Ciao, Mate!, and he believed it deserved a venue of its own.

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The pitch was simple – a New York-style slice shop, with a dough that fermented slowly and delivered big flavour. They were in immediately.

The result is Attaboy Pizza – a refreshingly stripped-back concept that places focus exactly where it should be. Forget elaborate fit-outs or design theatrics. Inside, it’s all bright whites and bold blue floors, with a scattering of plastic stools and simple metal tables that feel more primary school cafeteria than polished restaurant. A few black-and-white photographs are taped to the walls. The kitchen sits open and humming at the back.

It’s casual, unfussy and very Byron in its own understated way, because the real star here is the pizza.

Attaboy’s dough ferments slowly over three days, a long proof that delivers depth of flavour, a satisfying chew and impressive digestibility. As the venue’s website puts it, “slow rise for fast pies”. The kitchen uses all-Australian flour and high-quality ingredients, keeping the approach simple but precise.

You can order the pizzas two ways. There’s the classic 13-inch New York-style round, and for those craving something thicker, a Detroit-style deep dish. By day, slices are served over the counter, making it an easy lunch stop for the industrial estate’s growing crowd.

The classic Original New York Cheese keeps things simple with red sauce, oregano and a trio of cheeses – mozzarella, pecorino and parmesan. Then there are more playful combinations, like the BBQ Chicken with spiced free-range chicken, red onion, peppers, mozzarella and a drizzle of Attaboy’s house barbecue sauce.

But the pizza drawing the most attention is the Byron Hawaiian. It layers smoked Bangalow ham with mozzarella, red onion, jalapenos, ricotta and a pineapple saffron drizzle that manages to turn one of pizza’s most controversial toppings into something genuinely compelling.

As for the pineapple debate, Matt takes a relaxed view.

“I think that’s the beauty of having a really good chef make pizza,” he says. “We are making unpretentious, non-traditional pizza here. While I wholeheartedly agree with the Italians that there’s no place for pineapple on a traditional Napoli-style pizza, here, in this setting, I think it works.”

Attaboy Pizza opens Tuesday to Saturday, with pizza by the slice from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, followed by whole pizzas from 3:00–8:00 pm. While the concept leans heavily toward takeaway, there are a handful of seats for those keen to linger over a slice or two.

And if the early weeks are anything to go by, this quiet industrial corner of Byron might just become the town’s newest pizza pilgrimage.