Posted by The gateway to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Tropical North Queensland (TNQ), Cairns is both a convenient place to base yourself, but also a starting point to explore this magical region where two world heritage listed wonders, the GBR and the Daintree Rainforest, meet each other.
The touristy heart of the city revolves around the Esplanade, the expansive lagoon and marina, but dispersed throughout the city centre there’s a growing collection of bars, cafes, restaurants and breweries that are well worth venturing to.
Many visitors spend most of their daylight hours out on a reef trip or exploring nearby natural wonders, but if you’re spending time in Cairns during the day, start with a locally roasted coffee at one of the delightful cafes on Grafton St and take an early morning wander through Rusty’s Markets. For the ultimate TNQ lunch experience, perch yourself on one of the trawlers that make up Prawn Star in the marina and feast on a bucket of fresh prawns.
Lately, Cairns has started to develop a more interesting evening vibe, and although it’s growing slowly, you can definitely feel it. The opening of Hemmingway’s Brewery has been the catalyst for a small craft brewery scene forming, whilst the hipsters at Three Wolves and Wolf Lane have shown that Cairns can offer nightlife with both style and substance.
But don’t let Cairns be your only taste of TNQ, take a reef trip of course, enjoy a lazy lunch in Palm Cove or do go chasing waterfalls, as there’s plenty of them to find. And if you’re heading further north, check out our guide to Port Douglas.
This Guide to Cairns was updated in July 2025.
Just Coffee..
Blackbird Laneway | Shop 13, Oceana Walk Arcade, 62 Grafton St
Tucked away in an unassuming arcade in the heart of town, this rustic coffee outlet brews some of the best coffee in Cairns. Blackbird Laneway
The Chamber Room | Village Lane, 20 Lake St
This is Cairns most serious coffee shop and as such, coffee and a few snacks is really all they do. The industrial style décor and shiny espresso machine shows how seriously they take their coffee here, and the results in the cup are further proof. They also do cold drip coffee too. The Chamber Room
Tattooed Sailor Coffee Roasters | 176 Newell St, Bungalow
Cairns own local coffee roastery, located in the industrial backwaters (but only ten minutes from downtown Cairns), it’s worth the trip for one of their specialty brews and a tasty toastie if you’re feeling a little peckish. Tattooed Sailor Coffee Roasters
Annee’s Caphê Sua Da | Rusty’s Markets Entry, 57-89 Grafton St
Standing prominently at the Grafton St entrance to Rusty’s Markets, Annee’s has the locals lining up for a fix of their cool Vietnamese iced coffee, which comes in traditional or a sweeter house special blend. The best refreshment to beat the TNQ heat. Annee’s Caphê Sua Da
Breakfast & Brunch…
Envy Espresso | 111-115 Grafton St
Judging by the hordes of coffee hunters lingering out the front, Envy has taken the mantle as Cairns’ hottest café, which is unsurprising considering the owner and head barista bring experience from Melbourne and a few other global cities. It’s a smart but comfortable space, with plenty of alfresco sidewalk dining space, and the contemporary cafe fare is just as good as the excellent coffee. Envy Espresso
Caffiend | 72 Grafton St
Caffiend is one of the highlights of a growing strip of cafes on Grafton St. A bright and modern space with rustic touches and local artwork on the walls, they serve yummy classic café fare and some of the best coffee in town – using local beans from Tattooed Sailor Coffee Roasters. Caffiend
Guyala | 2 Smith St, Cairns North
Breakfast on Guyala’s sun-dappled terrace is the perfect resting point on an early morning walk along the Esplanade. There’s clearly a deep passion for hospitality and attentive service running through the veins here, with the founder of Guyala also owning several other fabulous Cairns cafes and coffee spots, including Caffiend. The breakfast menu is rather intriguing but so damn delicious, with Native Australian and Asian influences and perfectly executed twists to just about every dish – even the poached eggs come with a seaweed flavour added. The service is as cheery as the food, and the coffee is suitably excellent. Guyala
Candy Cafe | 70 Grafton St
A lively café with eccentric decor featuring murals, chandeliers, a concrete floor and fake grass encroaching up the walls, this an easy place for a pleasant meal in the heart of Cairns. Good coffee and a broad café menu means there’s something to please everyone, from all the breakfast classics through to lunch where burgers, wraps and salads take centre stage. Candy Cafe
Perotta’s at the Gallery | 38 Abbott St
One of the stalwarts of Cairns dining, Perotta’s is open from breakfast through to dinner, offering quite extensive menus for each meal period. The menu veers from classic cafe fare at breakfast into more of an Italian leaning offering for lunch and dinner, with pizza and pasta featuring alongside a broader range of salads. The open air deck dining area is languid and relaxing. Perotta’s at the Gallery
Lunch & Dinner…
Little Sister | 101 Esplanade
Great dining spots on the Esplanade are somewhat rare, so the arrival of Little Sister heralds great excitement. The interior décor is slick but not over the top, plus there’s ample alfresco dining on the large terrace. The broad menu covers plenty of ground, offering a delectable selection of Modern Asian fare, with the snacks and small plates featuring lighter tropical flavours and the mains getting more substantial with curries and dishes cooked over the BBQ. Every dish is a winner, so a few visits are warranted to work through the menu here. Little Sister
Salt House | Marina Point, Pier Point Rd
With an enviable location overlooking the marina, the breezy indoor/outdoor setting oozes tropical style and is ideal for a relaxed drink or a more substantial meal. The restaurant menu is broad and takes you on a spin around the world, with Asian and Mediterranean influences, a focus on seafood and also the Argentinian Josper grill which is used well. Whilst not the best food in town, it doesn’t disappoint and this is one of Cairns’ best dining settings. Salt House
Nu Nu | 1 Veivers Rd, Palm Cove
One of the region’s most highly regarding restaurants, the beauty of Nu Nu begins with its absolute beachside location and open-air, breezy design. With a strong focus on using tropical flavours and produce, the thoroughly modern and inventive menu is a delight to experience. The place to dine when you want a dash of tropical elegance, Nu Nu is well worth the twenty minute journey north to Palm Cove. Nu Nu
CC’s Bar & Grill | Ground Floor, 163 Abbott St
At the Crystalbrook Bailey, CC’s is a cut above typical hotel dining in Cairns. With classic steakhouse charm, leather banquettes, and a glass-walled wine cellar, it offers a warm, cocooning atmosphere. Prime cuts—many from the nearby Atherton Tablelands—are showcased in a meat cabinet, while a broad wine list spans Australian and European vineyards. Non-carnivores are well catered for too, with fresh fish of the day and excellent sides. CC’s Bar & Grill
Miss Chief Bar & Eatery | Level One, 39-49 Lake St
Ascend the steep stairs and slip into this little slice of the orient right in the heart of Cairns. Inside is richly decorated with oversized dining booths, but outside is the choice spot on the wide balcony which feels like a lush garden overlooking the wide streets of central Cairns. The food is designed to share and spans numerous Asian cuisines, it’s fun, very satisfying and great value, not to mention easy to drink with. Run by two friendly sisters, the service is laidback yet efficient. Miss Chief Bar & Eatery
Wawawa Izakaya | 92 Lake St
An intimate, simple Izakaya that takes you by surprise, serving up quite delicious traditional Japanese fare, with some dishes offering a little twist or two. Their sashimi is particularly fresh and generous, whilst the main dishes are a cut above your regular Japanese restaurant fare. Off the tourist strip, it’s a little bustling, local gem, with super warm and welcoming service. Wawawa Izakaya
Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant | Corner Gatton & Lake St’s
A little out of the city centre, Bayleaf is more of a locals gem than a tourist drawcard. The décor is comfortable rather than flashy, with a lovely garden patio for alfresco dining. The authentic Balinese fare is quite delicious and very good value, whilst the service is efficient yet very warm and inviting. Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant
Ganbaranba Noodle Collosseum | 12-20 Spence St
A pokey, understated noodle bar, Ganbaranba is a firm favourite of Cairns foodies, evidenced by it’s bustling vibe at meal times. Whilst there are a handful of sides and starters (hello Gyoza), the authentic ramen is the go-to dish here, slurp it down and move on so the next hungry diner can take your place. It’s not licensed, so drop into Coral Sea Brewery’s Tap Room (just across the road) for a beer after your meal. Ganbaranba Noodle Collosseum
Prawn Star | Pier Point Road
Prawn Star is one of those unique TNQ experiences that’s just made for seafood lovers – a collection of refurbished trawlers docked permanently in the marina with their decks converted into dining spaces. They sell a selection of ready-to-eat seafoods like cooked prawns, sashimi, bugs and oysters, sticking to the principle of keeping it simple but doing it well. The platter sizes are quite large, so it’s best to hit Prawn Star up with a friend or two. Sitting in the sunshine with a bucket of prawns and a cold beer really is the best of Cairns life! Prawn Star
Drinks…
Three Wolves | 32 Abbott St
Cairns first bar with an authentic urban-city vibe, Three Wolves is both spacious yet intimate, with a understated yet moody décor, the drinks list runs from slick cocktails to craft beers, plus a small but perfectly formed snack menu. Run by three young bar guns, you can tell this is a venue that’s well thought out, with flawless service too. Just across the narrow laneway sits sister venue, Wolf Lane Distillery. Three Wolves
Wolf Lane Distillery | 28-30 Abbott St
From the Three Wolves bar team (which is just across the laneway), Wolf Lane is open for cellar door tastings until 6pm, but stays open late into the evening as a fully fledged bar from Thursday to Saturday. Start with their gin flight, tasting their three staple blends – Tropical, Navy Strength and Davidson Plum – which are all made with local TNQ ingredients. If you’re still thirsty after a tasting, move onto one of their gin based cocktails, though other spirits and a brief choice of wines are also on hand. Set in an old stables building with soaring ceilings, despite it being a working distillery, it’s still an intimate and warm space. Wolf Lane Distillery
Flamingos Tiki Bar | 43 Esplanade
Another snappy bar from the Three Wolves and Wolf Lane crew, Flamingos is the cosyest of the trio, and when you slip through the unassuming entry doors you do get the feeling of being in a speakeasy. Decorated with Hula Girl wallpaper and tiki masks, the decor is subdued enough that it doesn’t feel too contrived. The colourful cocktail menu highlights rum based drinks with an extensive rum selection from both home and abroad. There’s Jamaican Red Stripe beer or Australian craft brews for non rum drinkers. Daily happy hour runs from 4pm to 6pm. Flamingos Tiki Bar
The Conservatory Bar | 12-14 Lake St
This is anything but your slick inner-city wine bar, but it’s just as appealing in its own TNQ way. The decor could seem out of place in the tropics, with an old English club aesthetic and deep Chesterfield lounges to sink into. Using Coravin pours allows the well-informed team here to open some interesting wines and take you on a journey to wine regions around the world, or indulge in a vertical wine flight. The wine list runs to 25+ pages, around half of that is Australian, with European wines also well represented, plus a handful from other parts of the world. Craft beer and cocktail fans are also well catered for. Meat and cheese platters are available to fortify you for more vino. The Conservatory Bar
The Pier Bar | The Pier Shopping Centre, 1 Pier Point Rd
With a subdued nautical look, this large bar has an expansive deck with pleasant water views. It’s perfectly relaxed but just upbeat enough and is a pleasant alternative to the generally same same bars situated along the Esplanade. The Pier Bar
Craft Breweries…
Coral Sea Brewing Co. Tap Room | Bank Lane
You’ll probably find this tap room by mistake, perhaps lured down the dark alleyway it sits in by a hint of light and the faint hum of laughter. Upon finding it you might also think it’s a mistake; it’s tiny, with a thrown-together beach bar look, and the actual brewery peeking through a curtain next to the bar. But all this is what makes it so welcoming and fun, which is why the four owners and their local hospitality mates are happy to while away a night here. With around six beers on tap, the most pleasant way to taste your way through them all are the 200ml taster glasses for $4 each… just don’t have too many, or do! Coral Sea Brewing Co. Tap Room
Hemmingway’s Brewery | Wharf St
The much larger sister venue to the original Port Douglas brewery, located absolute waterside in the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, this cavernous heritage style warehouse can fit a lot of drinkers in. The house brews are pretty good, the food is top notch and the service is better than most Cairns restaurants and bars. Hemmingway’s Brewery
Macalister Brewing Company | 6 Danbulan St, Smithfield
A laidback locals haunt, set in an industrial warehouse fitted out simply but with pleasant views across cane fields (though these have been interrupted by a new road bypass), they offer a decent selection of brews made on site, plus they host food trucks out in the carpark to satisfy those with a hunger for more than beer. Macalister Brewing Company
Where to Stay…
Cairns has an endless array of hotels to choose from, some have seen better days, but the arrival of the three rather swish Crystalbrook properties has meant many of the grand old dames of the Cairns hotel scene have given themselves a spruce up. Hotels along the Esplanade are the most sought after, due to their water views and easy access to the reef terminal and nightlife.
Crystalbrook Riley | 131-141 Esplanade
The best of the Crystalbrook collection, this large modern hotel has a prime position on the Esplanade, only a few blocks from the heart of town but in a quieter and more relaxing location. There’s a large pool at the heart of the complex and a good restaurant, plus their deluxe cocktail bar, Rocco, on the 12th floor. Rooms are contemporary with muted, minimalist decor, and whilst most have breezy balconies, the rockstar suites in the round tower at the front of the complex don’t offer balconies (though their front row views of Cairns Harbour make up for this). Crystalbrook Riley
Pullman Reef Hotel Casino | 35-41 Wharf St
If you can forget this hotel is perched atop the somewhat tacky casino, you’ll be suitably impressed by it’s tranquil outlook (especially if you have a water view suite) and classic styling of this grand dame of Cairns hotels. Whilst the suites are in need of just a little TLC, they are still quite lovely, with plantation shutters framing floor to ceiling windows, breezy balconies and deep bathtubs to soak in. They’re also certainly more spacious than your average hotel room. Pullman Reef Hotel Casino
Shangri-la The Marina | Pier Point Rd
The Shangri-la sits atop the sprawling Pier shopping and dining complex, a building that’s firmly rooted in the 1980’s, but the hotel has had a few refurbishments in its lifetime, with the latest around ten years ago. The rooms are spacious and subtly decorated with a beachy theme, and some have spectacular bath tubs, but they do lack a few amenities that you’d expect in a five-star hotel. All rooms have balconies, though you really want to secure a sea view room to make the most of your balcony. Shangri-la The Marina
Mantra Esplanade | 53-57 Esplanade
An older but well looked after apartment hotel in a prime position on the Esplanade, directly opposite the Cairns Lagoon. Rooms are spacious and bright with balconies, and the Esplanade facing rooms have impressive views. The value for money here is good, though the pool is on the smaller side and doesn’t get a great deal of sunlight. Mantra Esplanade
Must Do…
Rusty’s Markets | 57-89 Grafton St
Open Friday to Sunday, this lively marketplace in the heart of the city has a large selection of fresh produce stands, manned by easy-going local vendors – it’s the ideal place to taste all the fragrant tropical produce that Far North Queensland is famous for. There are also a bunch of takeaway food outlets, many of them offering tasty Asian inspired fare, plus an eclectic array of knick-knack stalls. Rusty’s Markets
Featured Photo: ‘Perfect Pineapples’, Rusty’s Markets
Travis. 