Review Raw Prawn Seafood Restaurant - Cairns

My husband & I went here tonight. Mainly because our chosen restaurant was closed tonight and we walked past it yesterday and liked the look of it. We had the soft shell crab - lovely. The seared scallops on mushrooms - lovely. The oysters - lovely. And main we shared The Seafood Fusion - DIVINE. We also tried the Raw Prawn house Brut - totally fine. We were quickly seated front row of the esplanade and looked after by Vinnie the whole time. A great experience. Highly recommended and can’t wait to come back to Cairns.

I took my friend here as it was her first time trying out seafood and it did not disappoint her! ❤️ and for someone like myself that is a fan of seafood, I can say that it is one of the best in Cairns area - especially the Soft Shell Crab, they are just 5⭐️. The reason why I gave only 4⭐️ as I did not enjoy the Moreton Bay Bugs. It’s on the saltier side. I like it when I can taste the meat itself, however I can taste a lot of salt. Make sure to order the “Hand Cut Kipler Potatoes” as a side dish. We couldn’t get over it! It’s only $5. We have been craving it since we left Cairns. The staff are super friendly and welcoming. Ambiance is very lively and makes you feel like you are on holidays ❤️

No regrets coming here for my lunch before jetting. I had the lunch special and ordered fresh oysters and the seafood sensation. Everything was super fresh and delightful. The customer service was also warm and attentive. Will be back for my next visit!

Absolutely wonderful. Awesome food for decent price. Had one of the nicest steaks in a long time. My wife had the prawns and bugs and was equally happy. Highly recommend

Our Cairns holiday trip started with rain 🌧 and the first dinner is here at The Raw Prawn which I've seen on Google reviews before coming here. Service was good, very friendly and attentive. Seafood was nice. We had crayfish from tank priced by weight for $138 and oredered few other things. Oyster tastes good and fresh. Chocolate fondant was delicious aka lava cake and it was oozing out like we expected. However, soft shell crab was underwhelming and didn't taste much especially the cabbage underneath. Creme bulee was a little disappointing because the caramelization wasn't cracked like I wanted to and it was a bit sticky to eat. Overall, we're happy here.

Great spot on the esplanade. Fresh seafood that was perfectly cooked. It gets quite busy on the weekend, so a booking is recommended. A bit pricier than most places, but worth it.

Really tasty seafood. My partner said the oyster was amazing. We also tried the soft shelled crab and the fusion platter. The crab was fried lightly and so tender. And the cream sauce on the fusion platter was amazing.

Had the Moreton Bay Bugs and the Seafood spaghetti. Everything was amazing including the service which was very efficient. Would highly recommend eating here and we would definitely go again!

Absolutely LOVED the food... had the seafood bugs/prawns/fish & calamari from the grill and the garnish and seafood was just cooked to perfection and the combination of flavours was perfect. Was so good I couldn't bear to go anywhere else but there again the next day to try something else which was also fab! Service was great - 3 different staff members greeted me the next day realising i had come back which was really nice. Definitely recommend!

By far .... the best seafood I have eaten .... killer menu...generous portions... we came here 3 days in a row for dinner and the staff were just amazing ... well done ... we will be back :)

Servvice great, food fresh and tasty. Fantastic deal 2 courses include a glass of wine or beer or soft drink for $25.50 - well worth it. Lov Lyn way to spend a Sunday lunch.....

Beautiful venue, yummy food and an awesome service. Tim served us and looked after us thru the evening. Highly recommend this place!! ��

Amazing restaurant. Delicious food, very friendly staff. Awesome with children. Cannot recommend this gorgeous restaurant enough. Our family thank you all.

We had dinner at the Raw Prawn on Sunday evening. The place was very busy when we arrived. The service was impeccable and the food was divine. We were in Cairns for 5 nights and this restaurant was by far the best for service. Kudos to the staff. Great job.

It is the worst experience we have had for these 6years in Australia. The seafood is nice but the eye fillet is really bad. We ask for medium but it turns out like medium well and well done! It is so tough that we cant swallow. Unfortunately the manager is even worse than the fillet. When the manager comes over he insists that is a problem of lighting. He says the steak looks so red and is perfect medium. We tells him we have tried it and found it really tough. He keeps saying this is perfect medium and is what we have asked for. This is ridiculous! We have never had such a terrible experience like this. We have steak quite often in bars and restaurants and I am a chef as well. Stop trying to fool us! It is alright if the steak is not good enough but the attitude of the god damn manager totally sucks!

We enjoyed mussels,prawns and seafood pasta at lunchtime. Well cooked, beautifully flavoured food, very friendly staff with very reasonable prices. Highly recommend!

Food was delicious every time, from 6 day we eat 4 days at them. The staff knew every time which wines to recommend us to each food �. Congratulations!!!!!

I lived in Cairns for a year and left in 2015. The raw prawn was a popular restaurant back then, always have the great memory of having the mud crab. Took my parents back yesterday, we are not disappointed. Great food, great service, attentive and friendly staff, highly recommend�

I had reef and beef could of have more sauce but nice the mrs had grilled seafood platter top stuff, bugs,barramundi, prawns ,calamari, a good feed

Fantastic meal, food outstanding waiter made our night finishing off a perfect few days with my sister and mum.

The Raw Prawn has been my favourite restaurant in Cairns and Tomoe the manager was absolutely amazing as well as her staff being extremely friendly, helpful and accommodating! Would HIGHLY reccomend this restaurant to everyone in Cairns! Wish I was staying longer so I could go back again. Thank you for a 5☆ meal!

No booking no problem take a seat at the bar and if you get Matty as your waiter even better. His suggestions and excellent customer service was exceptional Give that guy a pay rise he obviously loves his job

Do you know that people can get seriously sick or even die from eating food if you don't prepare it with care!? Me and my husband were disgusted after getting served Singaporean style chilli crab with green slimmy mud still on crab shell. When this was brought to your managers attention, she proceeded to tell us the kitchen cook these crabs as is when it gets delivered and that "the meat on the inside is still good." I am speechless.<br/><br/>Me and my husband came from Melbourne to Cairns for a holiday and wanted to try some fresh local seafood. We decided on The Raw Prawn as they have mud crab on its menu and specialise in seafood. Half way through the meal I was horrified to find greenish mud on the leg of the crab. Futher inspection, I found mud on the underside of the body of the crab as well as on other legs/claws. This is so GROSS! I felt like I just ate parasites and wanted to throw up. What was more horrifying was the attitude of the restaurant. Very rude and unapologetic. You tell me you cook it as it is delivered. So wait, you don't clean mud crab that lives in mud all day!!? Does that you you don't wash any of your ingredients? Then you say "the meat on the inside is still good". WHAT!? So you just cooked the mud crab with sweet and chilli sauce plus a bit of MUD and expect me to carefully extract the meat without touching the sauce? Finally you admit it wasn't well cleaned (more like not cleaned at all) and demanded us to still pay because we ate some already. What a joke, you think I would still eaten it if I had known it has mud all over!?<br/><br/>People be warned, this place treats people and food with disregard and a serious health concern for the people who dine there!<br/>

If you are a seafood lover, please do come here for dinner & a great bayside view. Unfortunately not very good customer service that’s why only 2 stars. We ordered Bug & Prawn combination & pipi pastas ( Pastas is average). I will recommend order seafood only.

Extremely disappointed! <br/>I chose The Raw Prawn for my last dinner at Cairns with a expectation that I will be serve the better quality seafood that the stuffs we had in Melbourne, and what we were served was 1 plate of DISGUSTING FRESH SEAFOOD and a DEATH CRAB from the kitchen with love 😊. I tried to let the man know that the seafood quality “is not too fresh”, and what I receive was unhappy face and a professional answer: “all of the squid you can found in Australia are all frozen, but the prawns and bugs I can warranty that they are all delivered every morning. I warranty they are ALL fresh”, I am not sure if he tried to fight with a customer or kindly let me know that we are too dumb so we could not know what fresh seafood taste like?!<br/>I think he is the manager of the restaurant or maybe he is a normal waiter but with his behaviour, I do not think this is a standar customer service, maybe because I am Asian or my English is not good enough for him to understand what I tried to let him know. As I am working at a chef in a restaurant and also a manager at another cafe in Melbourne, I could not accept that DISRESPECT BEHAVIOUR, UNACCEPTABLE!<br/>Two of my friends had diarrhea right after the tried to finish the crab. I not too sure what Cairns Council did:). <br/><br/>What a huge shame Cairns!<br/>Such a worst experience in Australia!

If there was a 6 star rating, I would've given it to The Raw Prawn. This is probably Cairns best seafood restaurant. Offering you all the various sea food delicacies available, even the ambience is welcoming and comfortable.<br/>Slightly on the pricey side, the raw prawn has both outdoor and indoor seating.<br/>We ordered the crab and a prawn with bugs main course. We also ordered prawn dumplings for starters along with some beautiful cocktails.<br/>The dumplings were good and delicious. The crab was well made and fresh. The bugs were also yummy.

Food, tasted as expected however the Morton Bay bugs were the smallest I’ve ever eaten. I feel I didn’t get value for money here. Service and staff were amazing!!!!

Average food and service. Went for the lunch special, wasn’t very impressed with the food or customer service. Staff appear very disinterested. Food is average and we are so glad we didn’t go at dinner and pay up to $40 for a meal.

Our last day at Cairns and arriving Esplanade again to explore the shorebirds. We were in a taxi and asked the driver to bring us to some good seafood place in town. This is the one nearby when we get off. Quite an interesting name and they did offer variety of seafood. The set menu was a bargain! Two or three courses lunch is just about $30 with a glass of wine or beer! The best value meal so far we got from this trip, and right here at the CBD of Cairns. The food are absolutely delicious. The raw oysters were fresh and all other seafoods were cooked right. Can't ask for more!

Friendly staff and super fast service even though really busy. Mixed seafood grill was small and just ok tasting. My partners coral trout was the big let down. Over cooked and did not really taste like coral trout 🧐. A pretty expensive meal that made us wish we had of tried elsewhere with bigger serves and better value. Only small and easy improvements would be needed to make this place really great.

While we loved our waitress that's about the only good thing I have to say.<br/><br/>We had the barramundi fish and subsequently became violently ill. We left our information with the restaurant the next day with them saying a manager would be in touch with us, this never happened. <br/><br/>For a place that boasts a raw seafood experience to not even be able to serve cooked seafood that doesn't make you sick... I don't have much confidence in them. Nor do I appreciate the complete lack of concern on their part to even reach out, they just completely ignored us.<br/><br/>If you make a mistake fine, but at least try to make it right.

Fly from Melbourne to have holiday with my family. Had lunch here, ordered two lunch special which are rib eye fillet. And one mix grilled platter and one salad. Food were good, not so surprising.

Friendly staff, good food and relaxed atmosphere. Definitely recommend the Red Emperor and Beef cheeks. Caters for all types of customer needs.

Extremely arrangont male staff member who responded curtly to a simple question. ' do you have any specials' with<br/>' we so dinner not specials'<br/>High handed and arraigned manner - 4.30 pm on 13 June.<br/>We had lunch on 12 June which was nice and had a humble friendly waiter<br/>Won't be coming there again!

One of the best seafood feasts I have had. Everything was cooked perfectly and the service was excellent. Would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys good seafood.

This place was packed- normally a good sign that the food is good, but wait, when it's packed with tourists, it doesn't mean anything! We ordered grilled seafood which was just under $50 and a side chips($8). We probably waited 30 mins before the food came out and it was not worth the wait at all. The prawns were dry and chewy, bugs were ok, chips were floury. With the price we paid, we were expecting more, not average! I have to say that the waiters work extremely hard and their service was good. At the end of the meal feeling ripped off, I went and payed by a card, the host asked me if I wanted to tip them in a different (card) transaction. What?!?

Great customer service, very friendly and kind. Served us immediately, didn't have to wait long for anything. <br/><br/>three course lunch special was delicious. <br/><br/>I would definitely recommend this place.

Attention Asian tourists, do not waste your money and time! <br/>Staff are uneducated and rude and just a poor excuse of a human being not to mention racist!<br/><br/>Openly talk about Asian customer like we all cannot understand English, just to show the class of this restaurant. Food was overpriced and crap! Ruined my perfect cairns holiday with this terrible experience,Just no class and a shit place with even shittier ppl! What a joke👎

Great atmosphere / Great Seafood / Quality <br/><br/>Detailed notes:<br/>- // Food portions across the board were on the small size, especially when you're charging 42.9 for a Bug & Prawn Combination that comes with 4 prawns and 2 bugs. <br/>- // The clams in the Spaghetti Vongole bore very small meat, there was a lot of shells just the meat was very tiny, couldn't taste the sauce (just chilli)<br/>- // Fish dishes were a tad over cooked and tough however the salds that accompanied them were delicious and well dressed!<br/><br/>For a short visit to Cairns - overall, the restaurant delivered the goods and captured the tropical produce perfectly 👌 <br/><br/>PRICE / $400 (rounded) for 8 dishes shared with 7 people

This pulsating restaurant is hard to miss on a busy street bustling with different cuisines at each step and were we glad to find a table after approximately five minutes of waiting by the bar on a day such as Christmas eve. The service is swift, polite and charming. The menu has an extensive tempting options in seafood, one can see array of choices from surrounding table (couldn't help myself). Pacific fusion and hop, skip, swim and jump (first timer with Emu and Crocodile-quite an experience) were our main winners from the night and their one serve can be safely shared between two adults. The ambiance is lively with an indulgent menu (food and wine). Given an opportunity, I would go back again to try a new dish, revel in lighter moment. I highly recommend this restaurant to fellow foodies looking for a delectable experience.

I went to this fine restaurant for dinner and was utterly dissatisfied. Meat had to be sent back because it was not cooked to order and was very underdone for all plates. I repeated confirmed my sides, yet they were still brought out incorrectly twice. Water is scarce. Staff seems to be very kind and willing to help make the experience better, and even split bills, but even with all their kindness, the food was not to par. For the price, I would have expected better.

Came here for a meal and decided on the set 2 course menu! Calamari was the best I had had in a long time. thoroughly enjoyed the meal and atmosphere. Could be slightly overpriced but good value on the set menu 😊

Free garlic bread- best ever! Lobster was ok, but not worth the $130. Waiter advised they are frequently asked for lobster mornay but it is not made- it would be a hit as the lobster alone was plain and boring with minute garlic taste in sauce. Kids menu wasn't the best but fantastic idea to have white paper as a table cover for kids to write/draw on! DH loved his surf and turf. Pina colada' a hit. Will go again but be aware fussy kids might be better off sharing an adult meal.

We had dinner at The Raw Prawn tonight. As we were waiting to be seated we heard complaints from two customers. Ordered oysters, seafood chowder and mixed grill seafood. Totally disappointed. Chowder is a puréed seafood and potato soup, no pieces of seafood so the mention of premium seafood in the menu is wrong. The mixed grill had 5 prawns. Chewy tough calamari, bugs that were mushy and the fish was muddy tasting. Seafood didn't taste fresh, sizing is very small. I am so disappointed. There are lots of seafood restaurants in cairns and we picked this one based on overall reviews! What a waste. Oh and pretty expensive too given what you get!

Excellent food, wonderful staff and management. Fresh ingredients and tasty combination platters. The mussels with chilli tomato sauce were my favourite. We often go fishing and eat seafood and this was 👌👌. Overheard an interesting complaint from the table next door saying that they were ripped off and the mud crab had hardly any meat in it- this was after they'd finished the entire meal. It seemed like it was a bit of a bogus and low blow to try and get a discount which is unfortunately common for that particular people group.<br/>Thanks for a great evening and delicious meal. Highly recommended.

Went here twice in the 5 days I spent I cairns. Service was great on a Saturday night too in spite it being really busy. Over the two visits we had the tempura oysters and soft shell crabs which had heaps of flavour with the pita bread for entree. Loved the dips. For main we had the mixed grill of prawns and bugs, red emperor, barramundi and the pacific fusion. All were packed with great flavour and the bugs and prawns were very fresh. Would highly recommend this place - great cocktails too and service is great. Got a 15% discount once for being seated before 6.30pm too!

Was expecting much better. The staff are nice and the restaurant is fresh and vibrant however it's not what I was expecting. Seeing a mixed seafood grill on the menu I thought I'd found a treat, instead, for the price of almost $50 you get 6 prawns and 1 bug, a dry side salad and a melon thing that is gone in one bite. I was less than impressive at this main being more of entree. This item, while small, could have been forgiven should it have been great tasting however sadly the prawns we're tough and the bug was very dry. If you are looking for a great meal out in Cairns, I would suggest you keep looking.

Every time we come up to Cairns we all ways go to raw prawn for lunch special the food is fresh and clean at a good price and sitting outside with a cool breeze

Came to cairns for a holiday and was walking past the esplanade and saw this resturant packed with people the gf and i thought we give it a try so we did. The staff where very friendly and the food was amazing we and a seafood infused dish it is a must. I come from melbourne although we have wonderful bars and resturants nothing compares to the service that Tim gave was amazing<br/>

Words fail me at this place.

Dined here as the locals are raving about this place. We ordered Hop Skip Swim and Jump as well as the eye fillet. The portion was tiny. Only enjoyed the Kangaroo and Barramundi. The Emu steak was rubbery and the crocodile meat was not only hard to swallow but also smelled weird. Eye fillet was not bad but had better one.

Great menu. Awesome food. Good service. Good value for money. Kids are accomodated with some crayons to draw on the paper cover of the table.

Went there with another 3 people. All their meals were ok but my bugs were inedible at best. I paid over $40 for old, mushy bugs. I spoke to a waitress only to be told 'this is how they come' I couldn't stomach them and the flavour was off. I still had to pay for something I didn't even eat! The only reason I gave them a 2 was because everyone else had a decent meal. Poor service.

A wonderfully situated restaurant that allows you to soak up the electricity and ambiance that is Cairns CBD. The Raw Prawn caters for vegetarians with a couple of options- the rocket and tomato pasta was really good. The carnivores I was with really raved about the soft shell crab (although slightly spicier than she anticipated) and the seafood platter was grilled to perfection. The prawns were apparently not as fresh as one would have expected, but were still good. Cocktails were amazing and I could have happily dined on those alone (I recommend the Cosmo).

Some of us had a mixed seafood grill and it was the worse quality seafood you can possibly find and in my opinion pre-cooked because everything on the plate looked and tasted like it was boiled and tossed in a pan.<br/>Other dishes same story, very disappointed and waiste of money

Ordinary at best. We went last night and it was disappointing. We got hungry for Mud Crab and after searching the site this place seemed to be a good choice. WRONG!!! They had no crab!! Told me it was too expensive so they did not get any, then tried to sell me a small Lobster for $145! I asked the weight and they could not tell me? <br/><br/>So we settled on a grilled prawn and Bug mixed plate and a spaghetti Marinara. 6 prawns and 4 Bugs for $45... All were well over cooked and clearly boiled before grilled. Pasta was pre cooled way to much and had the consistency of caned spaghetti and the sauce was bland and marinara mix all tiny bits of prawn and bit and pieces. The waiters was really nice and attentive and the wine list OK but for a place that talked themselves up it was at best a basic Pub type meal.

Absolutely love this place, we stopped in Cairns for 5 days and we spent 4 of our meals here. The frickin mud crabs are lip-smackingly delicious! We tried all 3 styles, and would recommend the steamed and chilled one (which really made the fresh crustacean  flavour of the crabs prominent); or the Singaporean chilli and ginger (gave it a bit of a kick with the spices, but not too much to cover the delicate flesh). <br/>Both the pacific fusion and seafood curry, had such moreish sauces (coconut basil sauce  and red curry) that married all the seafood together, great twist on Asian style dishes - we ordered both these twice! If you love meat, definitely try the “hope, skip, swim and jump” (char grilled kangaroo, crocodile, barramundi and emu) each slice of meat cooked perfectly, meaty but delicately served. Worth the wait. Lastly, the soft-shell crabs are another must, crispy and crumbles in your mouth with the chill sauce…<br/><br/>The service here was also great, very welcoming and attentive since our first visit, and had gotten very friendly with the manager by our last meal there. <br/><br/>The view is awesome, the Esplanade is like the <br/>Missonbay of Auckland, but better, overseeing the reefs and beach, such a relaxing atmosphere. Must come here if you happen to be in Cairns!

Was walking down the esplanade and everything was higher priced and not so special, they had a two entree lunch special plus drink for 24.00 and the food was great! Great service and view!

We went for the lunch deal. Great service from all of the wait staff, food was delicious and great value. Would go again without a doubt.

Was looking for fresh local seafood for my wife and a steak for me. Got a table quickly and had great service the entrees (fresh prawns & pork belly) were delicious and the service great. The char grilled prawn main also great. However the medium rare eye fillet came out looking more like a charcoal briquette in size and texture. Flagged down a waitress and it was taken away in a flash..... Never to return. Left half an hour after my wife had finished her prawns in search of a quick dinner for me. Oh, I was after some discussion the recipient of a very magnanimous gesture on behalf of management who decided that whilst I should have to pay for the meal that never arrived they would on this occasion take it off the bill.

Great dining experience on the esplanade. Nothing to fault. friendly down to earth staff, great 2 course meal deal for lunch. food was very tasty, would definitely recommend. will be back again:)

Seafood and espresso martinis - what more could we want. We arrived just as the lunch service was about to commence and were able to order coffee and an espresso martini whilst the kitchen prep was completed. Both excellent and fabulous service. The table we chose was at the front facing the water so a very pleasant outlook.<br/><br/>My bestie ordered the seafood chowder which was full of flavour and just the right size. I had the grilled prawn and MB bug dish which was absolutely delicious and quite generous.<br/><br/>Would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Cairns

Excellent meal to top off an excellent holiday. We used Urbanspoon to choose a nice restaurant on the Esplanade to finish off our family holiday and we were not disappointed. <br/>staff were friendly, attentive and efficient. <br/>Food was excellent - the kids had the Spaghetti Vognele, hubby had tempura barramundi and I had the Pacific Fusion. All were full of fresh seafood and in particular the Fusion was sublime.

One of the best in Cairns!. I absolutely recommend this place.<br/>Went there twice during my stay in Cairns and both food and service was fantastic. <br/>Next time I'm in Cairns, I'll go back to this place for sure.

Pacific Fusion!. Pacific Fusion (mix of seafood cooked in coconut milk, served with rice) is just awesome! Friendly service!

Beautiful restaurant, beautiful food!!. Food was FANTASTIC!! We went on Easter Sunday for dinner, and didn't have a reservation (booking) but were able to get a table within 20 minutes. Portion sizes were perfect. I had the Spaghetti Vongole (white clam sauce), which is a favourite dish of mine from back home (found on most Italian menus in USA), and my partner had a seafood combo dish that had a coconut milk/curry flavoured sauce. His meal was to die for, excellent flavours. A bit pricey but this was one of our "expensive" dinners during our holiday.

Loved it. Had the prawns on Sunday and asked for some chili sauce. Backed up again on the Monday for the same dish. Great service and great food- 5 stars- Thanks Dan

Absolute crap. If u want the worst service the smallest meal & the poorest qualty this place is it they should change there name to raw deal worst restaurant in cairns scraps from the gutter would be better than this place trust me any good review is lye worst meal ever over priced dive avoid avoid avoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Food actually wasn't too bad, problem was the service. Had to repeatedly ask for water refills etc. once seated were practically forgotten. One of us ordered a surf n turf. Said dish arrived with no surf. Ok, enquired, apparently the surf was "nearly ready" wtf? Ok, hook into steak that was ordered blue, was medium +, told waiter, he went to kitchen then came back and told us that the steak was how we ordered it, the problem was the light. Who the hell argues with a customer about sonething like that!?!? Anyway, foods ok but totally overpriced, tourist rip off.....

Lunch - twice. Went for lunch and had the 2 course special, exceptional value and great food. Service was also very good with attentive and friendly staff. We had the calamari and it was the best we have had. We went back two days later and the food and staff were just as good.

Good value. Tasty, reasonably priced food, and lovely staff.

Went here for lunch with my family on Father's Day and we loved it. Fantastic staff, the food was lovely and we got a great deal with their $24.90 2 course lunch and drink deal. Lovely atmosphere, thanks for making our Father's Day a good one!

Best restaurant I have been to in a very long time. We went back the second night just because of the awesome and yummy food and great customer service. Our waitresses on both nights were amazing and very welcoming. Food was just simply the besttttt... Wish we were livingin Cairns so I could go there every week. Loooooved it

Disappointed. Have been here on previous trips to Cairns & was looking forward to the seafood platter. The bugs and prawns were, dry, the "barramundi" had small bones & the baby octopus was a few squares of white with no recognisable baby tentacles. Service was prompt and attentive, but with so many other dining options, I am unlikely to go back, and cannot recommend.

Tasty nice seafood go here for a cheap but good lunch.

Great food, especially the entrée of salt and pepper calamari - delicious. Prices were reasonable, they had a 2 courses for $35 special. Perfect.

Good restaurant but overpriced. Had a few of the seafood dishes (but none of the many non-seafood dishes), which were all good and came with a great location and excellent service. However, at the prices they charge (even with an early bird discount) you sort of expect excellent seafood, instead of the merely good food that they provide - something slightly off about it, as though they didn't use the best ingredients or didn't quite cook it right. Had a great time though and would go back.

This is the wrost place I have never been to in my life.the food is ok, but u can walk in with happy mood in a holiday and walk out with anger. The service was terrible, and the waitresse are very rude and don't know how to handle customer enquiries. We have a movie at nine, and was sitting there for an hour for the food, When we ask them when we can get our meal otherwise we have to go for the movie at nine, they gave us a bill to pay, and we said that's not what we meant, we still want the food, we just want to know when can we get them, they start saying "I am not ur slave" I understand there was a miscommunication there, but think about it, ur customers have been waiting for more than an hour, and they r question something, and will u be rude and say to them "I am not ur slave"? If u need respect from the customers, at least give them some respect. We r not paying for service like that.

Shocking service and a lazy chef don't waste your time or money. 0/10

Prawns cooked to perfection. The seafood was excellent (dinner time & lunch). The coconut sauce was bitter. Linguine delish. MBugs fantastic. Service was average - or perhaps she was new so had no idea.

Mix grilled seafood was fresh and delightful, really enjoyed it. Staffs are so friendly and helpful.

We had a very positive experience at this restaurant! Service was friendly, food came quickly and was absolutely delicious.

WORST RESTAURANT ON THE ESPLANADE. Five of us last night decided to go to the Raw Prawn - that was our first mistake. The wine for $34 was nice (this is my only compliment). The mixed seafood char grill for $44 had 3 prawns - bland, 2 small bugs - bland, 3 octopus-rubbery. I could not eat this so they asked me to order again - thought I would be safe with the rib on the bone - fooled again - meat tough - salad contained lettuce only (bit of carrot) with no salad dressing, sauce or jus - very little of and too sweet + fries (actually they were best part of dish). Not one of my friends were happy with there meal but we reluctantly paid bill - they offered us a free port afterwards - as if this would suffice. My advice to the Raw Prawn ( NEW CHEF or send him/ her back to chef school for the full term) but if you do not wish to go broke - I would suggest that you call in Gordon Ramsay. We then left and dropped into RSL -what the? Nearly $18 for 2 glasses of wine ( would expect this at Versace) in a crumby little venue. I myself have just moved to cairns and love the place - I certainly do not mind paying good money for a good meal and service -so come on locals you do not have to put up with this or another suggestion - stand up and go next door to Barnacle Bills !!!

Don't Bother. The posted menu says lunch until 4:00- on both English and Asian menus. At 3:30 while we are perusing the menu the arrogant waitress( plump with an American accent if the boss cares to know) says I will ask if we are still serving....Only 1 man seated in the restaurant . With a hurumph we are grudgingly seated and water glasses thumped onto the table. Heard swearing to the guy working/standing at the bar - so we stood up and left. Must be terrible to have to wait on people in an empty restaurant....Went to the lovely Turkish down the road and had good food and pleasant service. When we walked past an hour later still the 1 same customer. The street is packed with restaurants don't bother disturbing the staff here.

Great food , service and atmosphere. We enjoyed a 2 course lunch with a glass of wine for $24.50 and it was very enjoyable.

After admiring the raw prawn from afar I thought it would be the perfect meal to end what has been an amazing trip and culinary odyssey of the far north... Unfortunately this wasn't it. I ordered the prawn and avocado salad for lunch, turns out this isn't even a salad just 3 prawns, 2 cups of lettuce and a spoonful of avocado mush. I the had "3 of a kind" as my main and this was also a total disappointment (though at least the garnish of the main had more to it than my entree salad). All and all I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone, you can get more for your money and way better prawns the street.

Cajun king salmon was ok, if a tad salty and the salad dressing overpowering. Folks at Raw Prawn, there is no need to overpower the taste of the food. King salmon was a bit 'muddy' tasting. Some fries and more fish wouldn't have gone astray. My partner had crocodile with mash and a fruity sauce. Nice flavours. Nice enough atmosphere, with patchy service.

Impressed. Food was great, had the prawn and avocado salad and it was delicious! great atmosphere

Inconsistent...... Up and down, depending on time of day and chef, I can only guess. Ate here once and we thought it was great value and well cooked...the next time, hmmmm, not so much.<br/>Tried it again and yes again delish...But a few weeks ago...the only polite thing to say was I was surprised that we didn't get ill. The "Cajun" fish was NOT "Cajun"....having just got back from Louisiana and spending time down in real Cajun Country, this poor over salted buttery mess was just a sad and pathetic way to use a lovely peice of fish.......<br/>So the pattern is good,bad, good, bad....should we just go back one more time to see???

Picked here because of urbanspoon reviews. Quite happy overall - excellent service, good food & nice atmosphere. Only grumble would be the beetroot salad with frittata was fried, not what I had expected but loved the rest of the salad. We enjoyed scollaps, aussie bushmeat sampler (croc, emu & roo) and seafood chowder for entree. Then had moretan bay bugs, king prawns, pacific fusion (Thai curry, a tiny bit of heat/spice) & beetroot salad. First three mains came with some rice & first two with a bit of salad too. Get there before 6:30pm to get 15% off food items on bill (except mud crab & lobster). Otherwise they had a $30 dinner deal too. Great range of seafood with a small range of non-seafood items.

Superb! Great outlook and atmosphere. Staff friendly and very attentive. My only gripe - prawns a bit grainy (not firm) frozen too long. I will try to get back here next time I'm in Cairns.

Prawns the size of fingernails. Avoid this place!! It was a rip off and the staff couldn't care less. Their idea of cajun is salt plus more salt and pepper. There are many lovely amzing places to eat in Cairns, dont waste your time here.

So good!. Great food, good wine, service excellent, and so reasonably priced for a lazy lunch in the sunshine.

Awesome!. Had the char-grilled bug and prawn and it was spectacular. Great wine & great service too. Highly recommend it!

The service is incredible and the food is very good value. :)

Exquisite. Dined here a couple of years ago whilst on holidays. They were awesome. <br/><br/>Had dinner there today. Two dishes for $35. Had prawn salad entree and steak dinner. Both dishes very flavorsome. Steak made to perfection and chips to die for :) Service was also excellent. Very attentive and helpful but not bullish.<br/><br/>They were so good they even got a tip out of me. This experience will be hard to beat.

The lunch specials at the Raw Prawn is great value. $22.50 for 2 meals and a wine/beer. Meals were both cooked perfectly an had some good flavors. Both were well presented and they offer great attentive service. The location in cairns is also picturesque and they do offer early bird discounts for evening meals if seated by 6:30pm (like most places in cairns) so an early dinner maybe in order!

The prawn (yes 1 prawn) in the other dish was a hard little bullet, over fried and not pleasant to eat. The rest of the dish was average, not great, not bad. Bland…..Boring…..Blah

In the end, we were both disappointed with The Raw Prawn and could not understand why Sean and Kate loved it so much. It could be because we were unfortunate and ordered the wrong dishes or it could be because they have bad taste in foods – but I know the latter is not necessarily the case for they’ve recommended decent restaurants to me before. Sean did make a distinction between going there for lunch, and not dinner, because it’s cheaper at lunch and therefore, better value for money. However, it doesn’t mean that one should expect any less at dinner. Raw Prawn? Raw deal, more like it!

Our first stop in the Land Down Under was Cairns and our first experience with "authentic" Aussie "nosh" was at The Raw Prawn. Located on the esplanade (not far from where we saw the giant bat colony), The Raw Prawn offers both indoor and outdoor seating. Also, while it's name clearly indicates that they are geared more toward the seafood end of things, they also have a good variety of game meats ("bush tucker"). If you are seated before a certain time (around 6pm), you are offered a 15% discount on your supper. We just missed the cutoff, but we decided to give the place a try anyhow. Having a hard time deciding, I opted for a combination plate that consisted of kangaroo, crocodile, and beef. This "taste of Australia" was, well, quite tasty. The kangaroo wasn't nearly as "gamey" as I expected it to be, having more of a tender beef consistency and flavor. The