Best Restaurants in Cairns | Local Dining Guide

Cairns' food scene combines the extraordinary produce of tropical North Queensland (the Atherton Tablelands fruit and vegetables, the reef and estuary seafood, the far north Queensland beef and tropical fruits) with a restaurant scene shaped by the city's role as one of Australia's most important international tourist gateways. The result is a food landscape that offers both excellent casual tourist dining and a genuine local restaurant culture that caters to the city's diverse permanent population.

Cairns Night Markets and the Esplanade Food Culture — the Cairns Night Markets (the covered night market on Abbott Street, running nightly) and the Cairns Esplanade dining precinct (the restaurants and cafes along the Esplanade waterfront) provide the most accessible and enjoyable Cairns food experiences for visitors: the Night Markets food court (extraordinary variety of Asian, tropical, and international street food options, excellent value, spectacular tropical atmosphere) and the Esplanade restaurants (including the acclaimed Ochre Restaurant, which has been showcasing native Australian ingredients and tropical North Queensland produce since 1995) together provide the best introduction to Cairns food culture.

The Reef Fleet Terminal and Freshwater Precinct — the Reef Fleet Terminal (the departure point for the Great Barrier Reef day trips, adjacent to the Marlin Marina) and the Freshwater suburb (6km north of the CBD, in the residential hills above Cairns) offer contrasting but excellent food experiences: the Reef Fleet Terminal cafes provide good pre-departure breakfast and post-reef lunch options, while the Freshwater dining scene (the Rusty's Markets are nearby, and several excellent cafes and restaurants have established in the residential suburb) provides a more locally-oriented food experience away from the tourist precinct.

Rusty's Markets and Atherton Tablelands Produce — the Rusty's Markets (the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning fresh produce market in the Cairns CBD, Grafton Street) are the essential Cairns food experience for produce lovers: the extraordinary tropical fruit display (fresh rambutans, mangosteens, longans, jackfruit, and durians alongside the familiar Queensland mangoes and bananas), the Atherton Tablelands fresh vegetables and avocados, and the tropical cut flowers make Rusty's one of the most colourful and extraordinary produce markets in Australia.

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