Review Candy - Cairns

WON'T BE BACK. won't order food here again. NEGATIVES: I was almost going to dismiss the slow service due to it being a public holiday however there were a number of things I was also unimpressed with. - it took 40 minutes to receive our food - when we arrived the person who helped us find a table commented , complaining about having to wipe another table. - there were people who arrived after us and were served before us - these people ordered the same things as us - staff were constantly bustling past and knocking into the table - no water, despite asking, and seeing that other tables had water. - The avocado in my wrap tasted off and I feel a bit unwell now - the burger was extremely greasy and was dripping grease everywhere POSITIVES -the place seemed pretty clean -the cappuccinos were very nice👍 -decent ventilation and nice decor -food was presented decently.

Loved this cafe in the morning! The offer on the menu and it all sounds so tasty! The juice is one to try.. you won’t be disappointed! The service is also top-notch, the two ladies were super friendly as we didn't even need to wait long for the food, what I had was soooo tasty! Highly recommend this for you Cairns breakfast...

The taste is ok, but the mushroom with poached egg looks like a puddle of vomit which does not look appetizing at all. The mocha is ok. The espresso tastes very good but the chocolate powder isn’t very high quality.

Great little insta worthy cafe! Friendly fast service and the meals were delicious, eggs bene was huge so come with an appetite!

Great Cafe. Friendly staff, and delicious food at reasonable prices. The Toby's estate coffee is done really well, and they do a great almond milk flat white. There is plenty of indoor seating and some outdoor seating also. There is ample street parking, but no dedicated parking. Would recommend for a good coffee or great brunch.

How could we resist? Breakfast at our favourite cafe. Pulled pork, two different ways. Benedict and quesadillas. Delish!

Candys was amazing! The food portion serving size was very generous ! Friendly staff, quick service and the food came out quickly ! One of the best brunch places in Cairns. I would definately recommend! I got the big candy breakfast, had a variety of items. Big portion sizes ! Very good and tasty coffee too!

Coffee was unreal my partner had the nacho bowl and I had the calamari both meals were great plenty of flavour and portion sizing was perfect and we are both big eaters. The Service was quick the indoor seating was nice overall great experience. This place was worthy of a 5 star review but only had one flaw and that was a singular staff member she didn't like her job nor was she polite and just honestly lacked people skills. The rest of the staff fantastic and the lady in which we believe is the manager very lovely.

My first visit to Candy since it changed hands a while back. Friendly and generally efficient staff, overall good service, however both the overall menu and the quality of food was quite disappointing. You need to look at the quality of your ingredients. The muffins as base for several of your breakfast dishes are reminiscent of the diameter and thickness of a 20 cent piece and are similar if not lower quality then what you would get at Woolworths. The pulled pork was so sweet and the texture was closer to goop then pulled pork - for me it was inedible. The fact a waitress cleared away a plate from the table that was basically untouched and that did not spark an enquiry into how the customer enjoyed the meal (which was left uneaten) is telling that either your waitress is so used to meals coming back uneaten that it went unnoticed, or that they are not paying attention to whats happening around them. I don't like to be negative - the staff were friendly and helpful in general, but the value and quality was near non existent.

Breakfast on Sunday morning was so delicious. Bacon Benedict was the best I've ever had, perfect eggs & hollandaise! Also highly recommend their coffee, my hazelnut latte was sooo good!

What happened to Candy? The menu, service and coffee have all slipped. The old menu used to be fresh, creative and delicious with great service from Dan and his team. The new menu is far from it. �

great staff, great food, prices are great ... and great atmosphere! recommend you try it for yourself ...

Awesome food great people the staff where all super friendly would defiantly recommend candy to everyone

Loved the coffee (actually made really well with lactose free milk), food (ordered open brekkie bagel and fruit toast which was yummy as hell) and the service (they made sure we happy, sastified customers). It was the best Birthday breakkie and Candy will be a definite recommendation to my Canberra friends who plan on visiting Cairns � (a shame they don't have a shop in Canberra, I'll be there all the time �)

Had breakfast there this morning and was very happy to see gluten-free options on the menu. After requesting a couple of changes to my meal, the guy serving us offered up alternatives to substitute without being asked which was wonderful! Great food and great service ☺

Great service, amazing coffee and crispy bacon!!! The cafe was cool and inviting and the staff were very efficient and polite!!

Absolutely loved my meal great service and sooo good with my kids!!! Definitely will be a regular place for us!!

I couldn't recommend a better place for functions. The staff are relaxed and were happy to go with the flow, the food platters were amazing and the location was perfect!

We had a wonderful breakfast at Candy Cafe. Full marks to the chef. Will definitely be recommending to our friends.

Great service, great coffee, great food! Modern well appointed cafe. This is a must visit while in Cairns!

5 star food, 5 star coffee & 5 star service, I had the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and it was absolutely awesome, my partner had the bacon and egg stack, the menu read poached eggs but Zoe asked for scrambled, this was no problem at all, her face was priceless when her meal arrived...quite a large breaky for a lady so I made sure to help her with her bacon. Can't wait to go back again!! Cheers guys.

Best breakfast and lunch in town! Candy does amazing food at great prices and has the best coffee I've had in cairns! Heaps of gluten free options and the taste and service is perfection!

Had breakfast here, quick service for ordering and item delivery. Would definitely go again (we had vanilla pancakes and bacon/eggs) 👍🏼

Tried out Candy for breakfast since new management, great food and coffee, friendly staff! Recommend it to anyone

Great coffee fabulous food very friendly staff with great service

Excellent coffee (Melbourne grade) and great breakfast, especially the bacon - cooked perfectly. Quick service too. Would definitely recommend.

It was our first day in Cairns and we Bumped into this cafe when it was scorching hot outside..Nice food, friendly staff.. coffee was nice too..

Absolutely best coffee in Cairns by far. Food was delicious too, and lots to choose from their menu. Great atmosphere and lovely staff. Can't wait to go back.

Love love love Candy! Always amazing food and some of the best coffee in town. Happily accommodated by dietary needs at no extra cost. Breakfast bagel and the pancakes are my go to brunch choices

Nice little cafe in Cairns. The service was friendly and prompt. The coffees were great (cappuccino and soy flat white). Ordered the big breakfast and their special for the day (French toast with caramelised bananas, blueberries and vanilla ice cream) and both dishes hit the spot. Will be back!

Best cafe in the far north for me! Service is super!! Foods fantastic! Nice cosey little spot to chill and relax.

Happy with the coffee so far but writing this for something to do as we're still waiting for our food after what is shortly becoming an hour.<br/><br/>May return but not likely.

Excellent atmosphere, very hipster, lovely staff, fast service, delicious food, the fresh squeezed juices are amazing - the little peter rabbit is my favourite, very refreshing! Apple pie pancakes are perfect if you have a sweet tooth! Bacon, avo quesadilla's are divine!

Good breakfast. Had the eggs Benedict with pork belly and a kransky sausage. Everything was spot on, good flavours on the pork belly and eggs cooked perfectly. Freshly squeezed OJ with ice and good service. Great breakfast

Awesome place..... The big breakfast was huge and delicious... The banana bread was amazing as well probably the best I have ever had the staff are well presented and polite.. Well done guys..

The food was good, however, the service and the overall experience lets this place down. Service was extremely slow, the food was nothing special and I would have loved to have been provided with a knife that could cut through the crusty bread served with my poached eggs. Overall a disappointing experience, wouldn't return.

Very Decent brekkie here.. They have a good variety on the menu as well. We were there as doors opened as we had to wait to board our ferry but the staff were great and the food really hit the spot for some hungry travellers. Cheers! 🐠

I picked up a takeaway coffee from here before and was by no means disappointed. The long mac was near spot on. Perhaps the female European barista knew how to work the machine. I returned 2 days later to test the waters on the food. My fiancé ordered the Garden of Eden salad with salmon and I had ordered the Vietnamese beef salad. There wasn't any Vietnamese going on with my salad whatsoever. Vietnamese salads would generally consist of basic herbs, spices or liquid condiments i.e. lime juice, coriander, mint or chilli. None of which where evident. The beef was literally 2 layers of poorly grilled steak fillet separated by a crispy layer of some form. Then covered with lightly seasoned coleslaw. <br/>As for the Garden of Eden salad, this was reasonably refreshing and tasty. As light as it was, it was still a sustainable size. <br/>I firmly believe that if you don't specifically cater for a particular cuisine then you really need to nail the methods of those international meals that you do intend on serving, especially in a high populated tourist destination where there may be so many seasoned travellers and critics that are coming and going. What's even more disappointing is that the staff are fantastic here as is the potential to further the business. Work on it guys. Thankfully the coffee compensated for the food experience.

Very average experience, I think Candy has a lot to learn about pricing and portions.<br/><br/>I paid $17 for the privilege of ordering the open souvlaki which was effectively some dried-out, chewy lamb on a bed of lettuce with very little else. Even a wedge of lemon for some flavor would have been appreciated, but it was absent. As was the seasoning.<br/><br/>My partner ordered the eggs Benedict with a side of avocado. This side serve cost $4 and equated to 1 tablespoon of mushed avocado. Completely ridiculous when you can buy 3 whole avocados for just over $4 at the market across the road.<br/><br/>The interior was interesting but that was about it. Do yourself a favor and go to Paleo Cafe next door.

Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Cairns for a week-long getaway. One of my brother’s stipulations upon his visiting Australia (and myself) was that he had to see the Great Barrier Reef. Since this adventure had also been on my list for a long time, I obliged and off to Cairns we went. During our stay, we went snorkeling on the Reef, white water rafting on the Tully, and took a cable car ride to explore the rain forest. It was great to spend time with my brother after so many months apart and to share in these experiences with him. If interest is shown, I would be more than happy to write a post on our adventures in Cairns. But I’ll leave that up to you, the readers. Let me know in the comments whether you’d like me to regale you with my stories and photos. For now, let me introduce you to one of the best breakfast spots my brother and I found during our vacation: Candy Café. We were so impressed the first time, we returned twice! Located in the heart of downtown Cairns, Candy has all the locals – and quite a few visitors – abuzz with their fantastical décor, delicious food, and excellent service. As you enter the venue, you walk past a quaint coffee bar, open to the public for takeaway coffees and teas. Honestly, the interior design is what sold me on the first day. I felt as if I had stepped into a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. The walls and roof are painted black aside from the left wall, which dons beautiful murals of classic children’s story characters. Velvet-cushioned seating is divided by fake shrubbery lit with faint blue fairy lights and chandeliers dangle from the ceiling. The whole experience felt like a cross between a magical forest and a castle ballroom. It was spectacularly unique. The service was attentive and friendly. Everyone did their best to make sure each patron was happy, well-watered, and fed. A few of the staff have great memories as well; they remembered my brother and <br/>

Breakfast Bruschetta. Poached eggs with spinach feta pumpkin on sour dough

Deliseeuuusss!. Absolutely amazing breakfast. Great service. Great atmosphere. Loved the cutlery plates and glassware as well!

Beautiful food, great service. One of the best places to eat in Cairns. Vegetarian options available. My partner loved the caramelized French toast with pear reduction so much we went back a second time. I had the breakfast bruschetta. Excellent food, friendly servers!

Not just bacon and eggs. Great cafe for breakfast with different menu options other then the usual. Have been multiple times and every meal has been delicious and a very generous portion.

Such promise. Cute decor, table service rather than ordering at the counter, friendly staff and excellent coffee! The food is also beautifully presented. My shredded duck had so much promise but failed in its execution, it was so dry - perhaps a properly poached rather than soft boiled egg would have helped, and the duck would have gone well with some sort of sauce. My friend really liked his Irish breakfast though so I'd definitely try another dish here!

CAIRNS BEST. The only place to get real coffee in cairns

Been here once before, enjoyed experience 1st time. Unique atmosphere and decor. Arrived for Sunday brunch with most tables filled. Waitstaff were kind enough to find us a table of two and were helpful with recommendations. We ordered French toast and poached eggs. French toast was presented well but too sweet to finish with toast covered in cinnamon sugar. Poached eggs were stock standard cafe meal. Reasonably priced. Not my first choice of cafe but would return occasionally.

Great breakfast and coffee, terrific coffee, try the duck for breakfast, definitely coming back.

A good breaky and what we wanted. We walked and read all the menus along this strip and ended up at this one, because the menu read the same as others and it had a table free out front.<br/>Server was attentive at first, but then got sidetracked and took a bit to order as it had a rush of people, but food came out fairly quick tho.<br/>Food was very nice, (a bit of an overload with the mushies on one of the dishes), presentation was top notch, funky decor. Worth dining @

Our coffees took 20 minutes and someone who sat down after us received theirs within 5 mins. Can't complain about the service, because there is none! Seems they don't really care about the customers much. I got the magic beans, which are housemade baked beans which were quite nice. My friend just got a bunch of sides with poached eggs on toast and they forgot the bacon. All that aside, they were quite busy as it was a public holiday, but also charged a 1.5% surcharge. I probably won't come here again, it wasn't that great.

Salivating at the thought of their breakfast. I can't describe how delicious this place is. The reviews were right and led me here. My friend and I had two of the vegetarian dishes off of the breakfast menu and we loved it. Full of flavour and unique ingredients. I'd love to try everything else on the menu if I ever return to Cairns. Service was great too.

Gone downhill. Used to love candy as finally cairns had established a quirky place that would suit the likes of Melbourne. However on revisiting I was appalled by the service. After sitting there for half an hour, I had to call over a waitress and ask her to serve us to which she rolled her eyes and proceeded in not understanding the soy option on their own menu, which a friend of mine wished to order. We only ordered two smoothies and a juice and we received them after the two ladies to the right of us had sat down, ordered and finished their meal! Unorganised and unprofessional!

Breakfast!. This is the BEST place to go in Cairns. Hip, Funky not to mention great service and really inventive food! Recommend to anyone..slow cooked pulled pork...should be enough reason to check it out!

Fantastic breakfast. Just had the little piggy breakfast at Candy Bar. Fantastic. Pulled pork belly on homemade corn bread and poached egg. Great coffee too. Do yourself a favour.

Finally found avo on toast!. Holidaying in Cairns for a few days and not a fan of the 'standard' breakfast offerings at most cafes. Used Urbanspoon to find this place, and what a gem! Quirky decor and funky latte glasses. Interesting and varied menu - won't get your standard white bread with fried bacon and eggs here. <br/>There seemed to be big shortage of avocado on toast at most cafes in Cairns, but found it here! <br/>Well worth checking it out.

Great coffee, great service and some really cool brunch options aside from the usual Bacon and Egg special, including southern fried chicken and pulled pork options! Yum!

Amazing cafe! Great food, delicious smoothies, very friendly staff and awesome decor. A piece of quirky magic in Cairns. We came here every day of our 3 day stay for our Candy fix. Highly recommend the bagel (made on premises) and mango smoothie. Will definitely be back next time I'm in Cairns. Thank you

Great atmosphere-friendly staff. Candy cafe is our favourite cafe in Cairns, food is great, staff friendly and always welcoming, cool toilet a touch of class, attention to detail, chocolate brownies to die for, you have to check this place out,! Janardhan

Coffee was amazing, as was the orange juice i had after my breakfast. <br/>Cransky sausage was the bomb.. delightful mix of different flavours on the plate. <br/>Decor was lovely, not over the top or contrived.. very relaxing atmosphere. <br/>Would recommend a visit, even if only for the coffee!!

Something different. Inventive food, cute retro decor, friendly staff, decent coffee (they even use Bonsoy soymilk!). It's nice to find a menu that dares to be different, and the portions are perfect sizes, not ridiculously large. Like a little slice of Melbourne in Cairns.

One of the best places for coffee and breakfast in Cairns. Friendly an accommodating staff. Definitely worth a visit!

Candy is Cool ... and Delicious. As much as anywhere I guess, restaurants and cafes in Cairns come and go at a rapid pace.<br/><br/>Candy has been on the Grafton Street Cafe strip since December 2011, and if they keep doing what they are doing there is nor reason why they won't be around for a long time to come!<br/><br/>The menu is both quirky and innovative, the staff are efficient and friendly - a rarity in Cairns - but most importantly the food tastes awesome.<br/><br/>My latest breakfast order exemplifies their creativeness - called "Duck Duck Goose" on their menu it consisted of shredded dug leg confit on top of zucchini fritters, topped with a poached egg (perfectly cooked) and a dollop of a sweet beetroot jam! Pure Awesomeness.

Delicious! We went there for lunch and enjoyed every bite. Service and atmosphere was also excellent. Would highly recommend!

Had amazing breakfast this weekend gone with my parents who were visiting from Brisbane. This is definately our favorite breakfast spot in cairns and we usually end up at candy at least one morning a week. The coffee is reliably fantastic and the eggs amazing (two vital components to a post big night out breakfast!) The cafe itself is so wonderfully decorated and I love the cute lighting touches in the bathroom ceiling! <br/><br/>new additions to menu have been done recently so we will never get bored with lots of options. Butchers breakfast a new favourite. They also do amazing fresh juices and smoothies (Jane goes bananas is ace!)<br/><br/>Hope to see everyone there soon! :)

Food is good but I cannot say the same for the service. After ordering two cappachinos on three separate occasions we ended up with one after a 45min wait. When we informed the waiter we received no apology, and were hurried out the door for the next customers. <br/>It wasn't such a big deal in the end though, as their coffee is average. There are far better barista's within walking distance of this venu.

Came here after noticing this funky cafe whilst walking past. Once inside it is like a retro oasis. We struggled choosing breakfast as everything looked so good! We ended up having 'this little piggy' a delicious combination on pulled pork on cornbread (sounds wrong, but so good!) and 'mincing about' - old school savoury mince with a poached egg. Coffee was great and service prompt and friendly. Will definitely be back!

Had best mushrooms I've ever had in cairns yesterday... On brioche toast Coffee was decent(since Caffiend was closed). Will be interesting to see how the night time bar plans work - Cairns desperately needs a more grown up option.

I like cafes that have some kind of theme going or some definitive character to them. Candy Cafe is one such place. The first thing that strikes you is the decor – chandeliers, plastic hedges and a huge mural of fairytale stories on the long wall. Kitsch, but in a way that works. Looking at the breakfast/brunch menu, I was drawn to ‘the Usual’, which includes poached eggs. fried mushrooms, roasted tomatos, bacon and… black pudding! Order decided. I also had a ‘Citrus Sunshine’ juice of orange, pineapple and lime, which delivered on its name, both in terms of citrus deliciousness and sunshine in helping me to wake up! Brunch came out in good time, and when I cut into the eggs they were perfectly poached, the yolk running onto the muffin a