ochre restaurant

on a recent trip to cairns we visited ohcre. situated right on the waterfront one can't help but enjoy the atmosphere. service was fast & efficient & we were seated straight away.foodwas generally good. our first course was the coconut prawns, crispy & delicious. my main was the vegetarian pasta. light,fluffy pasta in a rich probably a little too salty sauce.

we had such a great night the first time we returned the next night. the location was great, right on the boardwalk. thefoodwas 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.

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 ourfoodin 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 thefoodhere.

loved this place. excellentfoodwhich was inventive and well prepared. there was a great value option available for lunch. would highly recommend. lovely setting on the waterside too.

great variety offoodand great at meeting my difficult dietary requirements. maybe a bit pricey but a good place for an sexy dinner. staff seem lovely and wine list bliss.

deliciousfoodand exceptional service from staff.

favorite light lunch meal was the crocodile spring rolls, and quongdong brûlée was devine.

we went to ochre as a group of 12 for a birthday celebration the setting was great and the wait service was very friendly and attentive . unfortunately thefoodlet it down badly. the entrees were good and tasty but overpriced for the very small portion that you receive . the main meals that we had were very disappointing, my wife's pasta dish was dry and rubbery with over cooked clams and prawns . my main was terrible the seafood was all very overcooked and the laksa sauce was almost tasteless obviously who ever made this sauce has no idea what laksa should taste like and with tough rice noodles the dish was not nice at all. the calamari dish was stone cold .my son inlaw had the $44 steak which was about 1/2 the size of a tennis ball and was gone in 2 bites neadless to say he was still very hungry when he had finished. for the quite expensive prices thefoodwas very disappointing and i would not go back again.
dave

my family and i had a beautiful dinner at ochre recently. all of thefoodwas 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.

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.foodand 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 thefoodcame quickly and i was soon overwhelmed by my mesmerizing dish of salt water croc and prawns! the wattle seed pavlova was unique and superb!

what a nice place to eat,foodwas awesome and environment great for dating. thumb up guys. i would love to comeback here if im in cairns again.

booked this restaurant and absolutely loved it. thefoodwas very unigue using australian sourced ingredients, and staff were friendly and helpful. definitely worth the price and woukd highly recommend the chocolate desert plate .

on a holiday from sydney with my partner and came to ochre as it was highly recommended. the waitress was helpful and very knowledgeable regarding wine pairings. ochre had great service, incrediblefoodusing australian produce and fantastic atmosphere! highly recommend!

ochre restaurant is pretty average. i've been here many times with work and thefoodis ok, but pretty average service.

it's mostly good if your a tourist that would like to try kangaroo, emu, crocodile etc!

they do a lot of large groups squished into a very small area. often is very hot inside as there a/c is not up to it.

we had a very pleasant experience at this restaurant! not only is the foundation of the establishment very unique, thefoodwas excellent! between my party we got the bugs, kangaroo and fish of the day (which was a snapper) and everything was superb. each dish was very well paired and cooked to near perfection. particularly the kangaroo, which can be quite tricky. only thing preventing it from a 5 was the service, as they have many backpackers coming in and out there were two servers on their first days who couldn't answer simple questions about the dishes or use the credit card machine. perhaps better training is needed, but they were very friendly so it didn't bother us.

definitely recommend for a true aussie experience!