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Cairns food and dining: New openings and old favourites for the winter high season
From revamped waterfront spots to long-standing local institutions, here’s where to eat now in the tropical city.
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Winter has arrived in Cairns, and with it comes the annual influx of visitors ready to trade southern frost for tropical warmth. For locals, the season also means a packed calendar of dining options, and a handful of recent changes worth knowing about.
What’s new on the waterfront
The Cairns Esplanade remains the city’s dining spine, but a few fresh faces have joined the lineup. At the northern end, the team behind the long-running Coco’s Kitchen + Bar has opened a casual sibling, Coco’s on the Lane, tucked off Grafton Street. It serves small plates and natural wines in a courtyard setting, a shift from the polished main venue’s white-tablecloth style.
Further south, a refurbished Surf Club at Holloways Beach reopened in late June after a $1.2 million makeover. The club’s new menu leans heavily into local seafood, with grilled reef fish and Moreton Bay bug rolls taking centre stage. The bar has also doubled its tap list to 12 beers, including Cairns-brewed drops from Hemingway’s Brewery.
Long-standing favourites worth the wait
Not everything has changed. Dundee’s Restaurant on the Esplanade, which has served Australian native ingredients for more than 30 years, still draws crowds for its crocodile spring rolls and kangaroo fillet. Booking ahead is essential, the 200-seat venue regularly sells out on Friday and Saturday nights during winter.
For something quicker, the night markets on Abbott Street remain a reliable choice for cheap eats. Stalls selling pad thai, satay sticks and fresh sugar-cane juice line the pedestrian thoroughfare. A recent hygiene blitz by Cairns Regional Council in May saw two stalls temporarily closed for breaches, but the market overall continues to operate daily from 5 pm.
Up in the Atherton Tablelands, about an hour’s drive west, the annual Tablelands Harvest Festival runs from July 10 to August 2. The programme includes farm tours, cheese tastings and a Sunday produce market at the Yungaburra Village Green. Entry is free, though some individual events require tickets.
For booking advice, most Esplanade restaurants accept reservations via OpenTable or direct phone calls. Walk-ins are possible at quieter times, typically Tuesday to Thursday, but wait times can exceed 45 minutes on peak evenings. Plan accordingly, and bring an appetite for the region’s abundant tropical produce.