Despite its seemingly remote location a thousand miles north of Brisbane, Cairns has one of the best restaurant scenes in Queensland. The gateway to the Great Barrier Reef draws on its multicultural communities, focusing heavily on indigenous bush tucker ingredients and embracing its proximity to Asia with delightful fusion cuisine.

Waterfront restaurants serve kangaroo steaks and crocodile satay, while old fishing trawlers in the marina offer prawn and crayfish sharing platters with a side of cold beer. The best Cairns restaurants aren’t afraid to indulge in international styles, and you can enjoy rooftop vistas while dining on Middle Eastern cuisine or gorging on Mexican tacos, or you can opt for budget Southeast Asian eats at the Cairns Night Markets. 

With so many great places to eat, you might need help figuring out where to begin. That’s why we’ve compiled our list of the absolute best restaurants in Cairns for you. Stick to these fun and unique Cairns restaurant recommendations, and there’s no doubt you’ll have an amazing time exploring this gorgeous Australian city!

The 13 Best Restaurants in Cairns

1. Ochre Restaurant

With a beautiful waterfront overlooking the marina, Ochre Restaurant sets the standard for bush tucker cuisine. Long overlooked by fine dining restaurants and chefs, Ochre Restaurant is now one of the top restaurants in Cairns, steadfastly introducing tourists and locals alike to indigenous Australian ingredients like wattleseed, lemon myrtle, finger limes, and quandongs. 

Ochre Restaurant introduces these millennia-old Aboriginal ingredients through familiar dishes like slow-cooked lamb, pork belly, and Aussie-style burgers. The adventurous eaters out there can dig into native species and meats, too, trying excellent dishes like the salt and pepper crocodile and prawns, kangaroo satay, and barramundi spring rolls. 

You can even pick and choose from the tapas and tasting menus to build the most authentic Aussie dinner in Cairns.

2. Tha Fish

For seafood lovers, Tha Fish is one of the best Cairns restaurants. Enjoy the salty sea breeze as you dine by the marina, and embrace a fresh menu nurtured over two decades by Sheldon and Carolyn Weane, who exclusively opt for locally sourced seafood in their kitchen.

Start with a serving of oysters or salt and pepper squid, then move on to the crispy barramundi or black lip mussels. Your choice of coral trout or saddle tail snapper can be chargrilled, baked, or roasted, and if you’re struggling to make that choice, you can always order the seafood platter for one or two. 

3. Salt House

Salt House offers one of the best dining locations in Cairns, with an unbeatable position right on the tip of the marina. Enjoy sweeping views of the Coral Sea from Marina Point as the chefs heat up their one-of-a-kind Argentinian wood-fired grill.

Nibble on an entree of beef carpaccio or yellowfin tuna sashimi, and sip on mezcal negronis and espresso martinis as you await the main course. Local reef fish, tomahawk steaks, and Angus Scotch filets are all cooked over hot coals and served with a topper of scallops, prawns, broccolini, or rustic chips. 

4. Prawn Star

A beloved seafood institution, you’ll find the Prawn Star’s fishing trawlers bobbing around among the catamarans and yachts of Cairns Marina. One of the most unique Cairns restaurants, the Prawn Star sells local seafood straight from the Eskies, but it’s their prawn-sharing platters that you really need to try. 

Take a seat aboard their fishing trawler restaurant, and you’ll be presented with a simple menu of salmon sashimi, tiger prawns, oysters, Moreton Bay bugs, and crayfish. We recommend ordering the sharing platters, which increase in size and cost depending on the number of people in your party. 

5. Oak & Vine

Offering Aussie-Asian fusion food, you’ll love the way Oak & Vine’s chefs cook barramundi in a coconut sauce, serve lamb rump in red Thai curry, and serve prawn linguine with a spicy dose of chilis. Tuesdays are taco nights when frozen margaritas and fish tacos are served in a more casual atmosphere. 

This is one of the top restaurants in Cairns, and you’ll find this excellent eatery atop the Oaks Cairns Hotel, where you’ll have sweeping vistas of the Esplanade from the rooftop. If you’re wondering where to eat in Cairns for breakfast, Oak & Vine serves up a “Big Brekkie,” smashed avo, and eggs benedict in the mornings, when you can beat the crowds and enjoy a breakfast with a view. 

6. Corea Corea

For Korean food, the best Cairns restaurant is the aptly named Corea Corea. Hidden away in Orchid Plaza in the center of the city, this little restaurant is busy at lunch and even busier in the evenings. 

Corea Corea tries to remain authentic to its humble Korean roots, and you’ll find dishes here that would never make it onto a fusion menu in other Asian restaurants. The pork is spicy, the bibimbap hearty, and the hot pots are enormous. 

7. Ganbaranba 

If you’re craving your dose of ramen, then Ganbaranba is sure to be one of the most tempting restaurants in Cairns. Unassuming, casual, and excellent value, Ganbaranba might just be the most authentic Japanese restaurant in Far North Queensland. 

Walk through the nondescript doors and watch the tiny restaurant fill up with ramen lovers. The menu is simple, but you can customize your choice of tonkotsu or torigara with the usual meats, eggs, cabbage, and spicy sauces. 

The gyoza is just as impressive, and we always recommend ordering a side of at least five pork or vegetable dumplings with your ramen!

8. Waterbar & Grill Steakhouse

For meat-eaters craving a big side of beef, one of the best Cairns restaurants is the Waterbar & Grill Steakhouse. Shamelessly claiming to serve the best steak in Cairns, you’ll have to visit this waterfront bar and grill in person to see if their boasts are warranted. 

But they have won multiple awards, and with a unique menu drawing on Portuguese and Mozambique spices, you’ll love the sumptuous steaks that are served with style. The “Espetada,” for example, is served from a hanging skewer that’s dripping with a red wine chili sauce. The ribs are doused in a Lekker sauce, and the steaks are cooked to your preference, with an optional sauce like peppercorn or peri-peri on the side. 

Culinary inspiration might come from across the world, but all of the beef is sourced locally from the Atherton Tablelands.

9. Tamarind Restaurant

The kitchen at Tamarind Restaurant – which you’ll find within the luxurious Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns – serves what it likes to call “Australian Freestyle” cuisine. Dress up for this fine dining experience, and gorge on two and three-course evening menus that change with the seasons.

The freestyle concept draws inspiration from across the world, with chefs at liberty to indulge and experiment in a variety of fusion styles as they like. The classic Tamarind menu includes the likes of Penang duck curry, for example, kimchi risotto, and Tablelands pork belly served with chicharron crackling and a plum sauce. 

10. Dundees on the Waterfront

Dundees on the Waterfront not only draws on locally sourced produce but also makes creative use of traditional Australian ingredients like kangaroo and crocodile. We recommend trying the Australian sampler plate from the bush tucker menu, which includes barramundi, prawns, crocodile chipolatas, and kangaroo satays. 

The seafood menu, which includes yabbies, bugs, and mud crabs, is divine, while the steaks, ribs, and salads need little introduction. This is one of the most interesting restaurants in Cairns and with an extensive menu featuring everything from calamari to vegan pasta (not to mention its spectacular waterfront location!), no dietary requirements can stop you from booking a table here.

11. Rocco by Crystalbrook

We love a great rooftop restaurant, especially when that restaurant offers 270-degree views of Cairns. Located on level 12 of the Crystalbrook Riley, enjoy beautiful sunsets over the Coral Sea as you start the evening with champagne and cocktails.

Rocco by Crystalbrook draws inspiration from Middle Eastern cuisine but prepares its dishes using locally sourced ingredients. Start with hummus, labneh, and smoked beetroot dips, then enjoy prawn skewers doused in cucumber yogurt or Daintree barramundi cooked in Ras el Hanout spices.

12. Cairns Night Markets

Ask any local where to eat in Cairns and you’ll likely be directed toward Cairns Night Markets. Open from 4:30 pm every evening, this local institution on the Esplanade is home to budget eats and souvenir stands alike. 

You can get yourself a didgeridoo, boomerang, or souvenir T-shirt to take home, but the highlight of Cairns Night Markets is always the food court. Founded in 1991, the aim was to recreate the night markets found in Asian cities like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur, and today, you can find excellent food stands and eateries serving up everything from rendang to chow mein. 

13. Zephyr Restaurant

Escape the mainland with a trip to Fitzroy Island, where you can enjoy fine dining on the Great Barrier Reef. Just a 45-minute catamaran ride away from Cairns, the Zephyr Restaurant offers breakfast and dinner by the beach.

One of the top restaurants in Cairns, the breakfast menu includes smoked salmon croissants and toasted banana bread. Start dinner with an entree of glazed tofu bites or seared lamb backstrap, enjoy chicken coconut curry or Sicilian gnocchi for a main, then finish with the chocolate mud cake or coffee tart for dessert. 

There you have it! The best restaurants in Cairns. What’s your favorite place to eat in Cairns?

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