Dining in Cairns
Whatever your food preference, Cairns has you covered.
As well as all the usual cuisines you'd expect in a city (along with some unusual fusions), we have 'destination dining' that suits our rich and famous visitors. It's a great feature of Cairns that works nicely for locals too!
There is haute cuisine, budget, vegetarian and vegan, seafood, burgers, Japanese, Thai, French, Italian, Indian… we have it all.
Many restaurants have alfresco dining, which is a great way to experience the tropical climate. Enjoy the funky café culture along Grafton St in the city, the picturesque locations of the dining precinct on the Esplanade, the Pier or the Cairns Northern Beaches, or any of the other amazing locations around the city and suburbs. Sit back and enjoy.
Rusty’s Market is market is the place to go for your local fresh produce where you can find an amazing mix of colours, scents and flavours. There are also stalls selling delicious treats for a snack or meal on the move.
You can also find local produce to sample at various markets in Gordonvale, Palm Cove, Holloways Beach, Tanks Arts Centre. You will find something for everyone!
Coffee and cafes
The Cairns region is one of the few places in Australia you can enjoy a coffee knowing the beans have been grown, ground, roasted and brewed within two hours of where you are sitting.
Most likely, the milk in your flat white (if you're that way inclined) will also be from cows on the nearby Atherton Tablelands.
A good deal of Australia's coffee beans are grown in Mareeba and the Atherton Tablelands (an hour's scenic drive from Cairns) by growers such as Skybury, Jaques, NQ Gold Coffee, and Tichum Creek Coffee Farm. Growers in these areas produce most of Australia's homegrown coffee so you can really enjoy some local provenance!
There are also excellent local coffee roasters to test in Cairns, including Tattooed Sailor, White Whale, Ransom, Sipping Duck, and Coffee Works.
With more than 180 cafes in the Cairns 4870 postcode, we have plenty of options to get your caffiene fix whether you're a casual sipper or a connoisseur.
Have a look at Tripadvisor’s latest top 10 cafes in Cairns
Tourism Tropical North Queensland has also weighed into the top 10 cafes in Cairns conversation.
Seafood
Cairns is a key commercial fishing port in Australia, which means we have some truly spectacular seafood restaurants and wholesalers in the area. You can buy local seafood that is not long off the boat from many sources. We also get a steady supply of mudcrabs from the Gulf!
Our seafood 'food miles' are low and sustainable fisheries are a high priority. Fishing in the Great Barrier Reef is highly regulated to protect the environment. Cairns is the fourth largest home port for the Commonwealth Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery and a home port for the Commonwealth Northern Prawn fishery.