We had such a great night the first time we returned the next night. The location was great, right on the Boardwalk. The food was delicious we tried the Australian Antipasto, the Salt and Native Pepperleaf Crocodile, the Morganbury beef strip loin, and the lamb rump with chickpea tabbouleh and they were all delicious. But what made us return was the amazing list of cocktails and locally sourced spirits. The standout drink was the Old Fashioned using local Mt Uncle whiskey and torched orange that has been barrelled for 3 months. It was outstanding. I highly recommend Ochre and would love the opportunity to return to Cairns for dinner.
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3.9 stars for the male server who was absolutely amazing and 0.1 star for the scallops and pork belly.
Australian Platter - boring, mild flavours, no foodgasm here.
Scallops and pork belly - scallops were tiny, sauce was great, pork belly was like fatty heaven.
Mackerel Sugar Cane sticks - the older, meaner cousin of Sugar Cane Prawns. Again, no fireworks in my mouth, just boring old flavours. Sugar cane was flavourless which is a shame because they should still have a tinge of a sweetness to them no matter how you cook it.
Salt n pepper quail - Good flavour but overly salty.
Tempura bugs - Mushy, seemed frozen or pre-cooked before fried.
Salt n pepper crocodile n prawns - Crocodile over-cooked making it too tough and chewy. Prawns were okay. Flavour was acceptable.
We didn’t end up finishing our food in the end because of how disappointed we were, given the great Google Reviews. Our waiter noticed this and asked us if everything was okay; I said “yes, we’re just too full”, I didn’t want to disappoint him because he seemed so passionate about his job. All in all, please do visit if you have ALOT of extra money lying around.
Food was wonderful! The white chocolate and cumin mash was fantastic. Steaks were cooked to perfect. The menu was filled with top quality Australian flavours and produce. The only thing that could be improved on is the service. Staff were friendly but did not match the standard of the food here.
Loved this place. Excellent food which was inventive and well prepared. There was a great value option available for lunch. Would highly recommend. Lovely setting on the waterside too.
Ochre is 1 of a few rare restaurants that features Australian bushfood and native ingredients on their menu so I was definitely keen for a visit. I decided to go for salt & pepper leaf crocodile & prawns and wattleseed pavlova. The crocodile & prawns were great but the batter was sooo salty, although the pickles and lemon aspen sambal were able to tone it down a little bit. When I mentioned how salty it was the waitress explained that due to the nature of the native ingredients, it tasted indeed more powerful. The pavlova came out looking like a swiss roll but tasted like a pav! The wattleseed cream has a nutty taste to it and I'm glad the Davidson plum was there to give it a different contrast and texture, otherwise the whole thing would have been very sweet. All in all it was a great experience, my waitress Karly was super friendly and approachable. There are plenty of other things on the menu that I would definitely come back and try next time.
Delicious food and exceptional service from staff.
Favorite light lunch meal was the crocodile spring rolls, and quongdong brûlée was Devine.
Came to try this place as it was heavily advertised. We had the 3 course tasting menu.
Had the Tempura Gulf bugs and Salt & Native Pepper Leaf Crocodile & Prawns for entrée. They were both delightful. For mains Morganbury pork fillet and sirloin..... had asked for the sirloin to be medium done. It was overcooked, once i notified the staff they brought around another ( it was different in presentation aswell) again it was overcooked and tough to cut through, i couldn't eat it and my partner was happy to eat a 2nd main. And then for dessert we had Mango Delice and quandong brûlée. Again both fantastic desserts.
Besides the little main hiccup on the main the rest of the meal was great, staff pleasant and attentive.
My family and I had a beautiful dinner at Ochre recently. All of the food was delicious with unique and interesting flavours, and the service was attentive without being overbearing. The pork belly was one of the best entrees I've ever had! I would definitely recommend for a lovely, out of the ordinary meal.
In Cairns for the TNQ Innovation awards, really inspiring; but wanted a good dinner to finish a very full-on day. I had seen Ochre on Ch7 so decided to give it a go.
Didn't get off to a great start: some confusion over shaking or stirring Martinis. The staff handled it well and the barman hand delivered a really good one, stirred. Then on to a main - roast duck with green-tea soba noodles, kimchee and Davidson plum stock sauce. A surprising, but absolutely great, combination of flavours along with perfectly-cooked duck breast.
All the staff were friendly, helpful and attentive.
My only problem was that my wife was back in Brisbane. This is going to cost me a good night out when I get home!
Very highly recommended.
When in Australia we like to sample Australian food, and the premier restaurant to do this in Cairns is Ochre. This is now our fourth visit to Cairns and the last three times our culinary highlight has been dinner here! Red Ochre as it used to be called, had a great rustic venue in the centre of town with outside seating we loved. Real Oz-iana. Food and service was always sensational, and the menu includes local game such as wallaby, bay bugs, kangaroo and my favourite.. crocodile! Use of local breads (damper), herbs and plants (wattle) just added to the outback mystic of the fare on offer. This time the location had changed and the name shortened. Venue is now a bit formulaic in a long line of similarly styled restaurants and getting us seated was a bit problematic, best to arrive after six when dinner service starts. However the food came quickly and I was soon overwhelmed by my mesmerizing dish of salt water croc and prawns! The wattle seed pavlova was unique and superb!
I love to dine in here so much!
Food is always fresh, decent portion and cook and seasoned perfectly.
Drink selection and cocktail is great.
Waiters and bartender is professional and friendly.
My favorite is beef tenderloin and mango madness. Beef was cooked perfectly and cheesecake was not too sweet which is great.
I hope seafood platter back on the menu in the future!
This place was amazing. The view out over the water is awesome.
All the staff were lovely, the food was delicious! We took the advice of another reviewer and splurged on entrees which was amazing.
We had the damper, the carpaccio, the gnocchi and the pork belly. Everything was cooked perfectly.
Make sure you visit this place and make sure you save room for dessert! The chocolate trio was to die for.
Excellent location and views at waterfront. Food was delicious and came at good value (3 courses $75). Service was a little lacking during our particular occasion. We were served a different kind of fish for the sashimi plate than what was described on the menu and wait times between meals were very long (almost an hour between entree and mains).
As soon as I found out about this place I just knew I had to check it out. The food was absolutely delicious, using Australian native/bush tucker ingredients to create a truly authentic Australian eating experience! The staff were so wonderful and inviting. I definitely will be going back again.
Amazing Restaurant in Cairns. The best restaurant in the city. Delicious food, very friendly staff, went there on the 31st of Dec. Restaurant was very busy, even though, waitress's looked after us, quick with drinks and food. Not overpriced - fantastic prices for great food and drinks. Would 100% recommend to everyone. Don't miss out while you visiting Cairns. Beautiful views also all around wharf.
Very interesting menu choices, using native ingredients to spice up the plates. Overall good quality of food, with ups (kangaroo was tender, perfectly cooked and delicious) and downs (the oysters, a daily special, were evidently not fresh) and a great final note with the dessert.
Can't say much on the views, as it was raining hard!
Caught fresh fish on a charter and dropped them off at the restaurant on my return. Spoke with the chef about how they would be prepared and was overwhelmed by the result. Three separate dishes (sashimi, tempura, grilled) impeccably presented and ridiculously good eating. Was $45/head and having eaten it I would happily have supplied the fish and paid $100/head. One of the best fish feeds I've ever enjoyed.
Located on the waters edge the restaurant is in a great position. The range of food was interesting with lots of local influenced dishes. I sampled a range of the smaller dishes to get a taste of everything and overall is was a very nice lunch.
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