When arriving in Tropical North Queensland, there is a scent in the air that is hard to bottle. An intoxicating atmosphere that lies somewhere between sea spray and scorched wattle, while the sweetness of frangipanis lingering. You get it as soon as you set foot in the wild landscape.
It’s the smell of the tropics – a region in it’s most elemental form. Wild, generous and undeniably alive.
Tropical North Queensland has long been a lure for divers, hikers and honeymooners alike, but the quiet culinary renaissance it has been undergoing is something that can’t be missed. Beyond the usual beachfront cafes and resort breakfasts, a wave of Chefs, growers and Indigenous food advocates are reshaping the region’s gastronomic identity, bringing the unabashed wilderness and vibrancy to the plate.
It starts by the seas. At The Backyard by Shangri-La, perched on the Cairns Marina, the connection to the water is immediate. Boast bob meters away while diners sip crisp white wine under fragrant frangipanis. The menu, fittingly, leans toward the ocean with a menu that fuses Australian produce with the bold flavours of South East Asia.
Sourcing ingredients a stone’s throw away from the hotel, indulge in dishes like the Etty Bay Barramundi with its delicate flavour of fresh herbs, apple salad, chilli and zesty dressing or the most luxurious take on a seafood platter, you get a true sense of what the region has to offer.
Head north to Port Douglas and land at Lagoon House Restaurant inside Crystalbrook Riley. Where you will discover an elevated, design-forward experience. An open-plan dining room flows elegantly into the surrounding gardens, creating a coastal retreat with a serious pantry.
The menu champions local flavours viewed through a pan-Asian lens. Think seafood marinated in chilli and lime, tropical fruit pairings and herbaceous notes that speak to the tropics. It’s the type of venue where you will sit down for a meal of pork ribs in a Davidson plum sauce and find yourself sipping their signature cocktails, long into the night.
The inland of Tropical North Queensland is where things get truly interesting. Up the winding Gillies Range Road, the Atherton Tablelands have long been known as the food bowl of the North. A place rich in volcanic soil and highland air where strawberries grow sweet and coffee beans ripen in misty pockets. Local producers are becoming destinations in their own rights.
Take Shaylee Strawberries for example. A family-run farm just outside of Atherton, offers more than a roadside punnet. With an onsite café dishing up fare that rivals the most popular of inner city cafes, you can dine on classics as a char-grilled rib fillet sandwich or smashed avo piled high on toasted sourdough, as well as indulging in freshly made gelato and sorbet.
It’s simple, seasonal and refreshingly honest, a nod to the kind of farmgate experience that food tourism is hungry for.
Find your way to Yungaburra and head straight to The Gillies Café. Quietly championing local produce through an ever-evolving menu. Delve into all day breakfast plates or stop in on a Friday night for a cocktail (or three) when the tapas menu takes over. Think sous-vide flank doused in fresh chimicurri and potatoes, tuna tataki with a Japanese slaw or their signature whisky barbecue pulled pork tacos with avocado, pickle slaw and buttermilk ranch drizzle.
Tropical North Queensland is the type of place where you can really taste the terroir, not in the pretentious sense, but in a way that’s grounded, real and deeply satisfying.
More than just the individual venues, the unifying thread across the region is the focus on provenance. This is food with a sense of place. Finger limes sourced from Indigenous growers, lemon myrtle from backyard gardens and seafood with a supply chain that begins at the jetty just down the road.
You’ll find Chefs embracing lesser-known native ingredients – not as a novelty or tourist hook – because they simply taste better here. In the climate that birthed them.
As diners nationwide lean into sustainability and traceability, Tropical North Queensland’s local-first, climate-led cuisine is gaining much deserved traction. Delicious, but disarmingly beautiful.
Think outside of the reef trips and rainforest walks. It’s a region where you can (sustainably) eat your way through some of Australia’s most unique ecosystems – oceans, highlands and jungle without ever leaving your seat.
Whether you are sipping a cocktail made from locally produced rum or cracking into freshly caught crustaceans on a palm-line deck, this place invites you to slow down, savour and stay a little longer.
The new taste of the North isn’t a trend, it’s a long-standing way of life that has been the bonus on a holiday, it’s time to make it the main focus. Make the journey from city jungle to lush rainforest more delicious than ever before.
Your gastronomic road map:
The Backyard by Shangri-La – Cairns Marina dining done right
Lagoon House Restaurant – Tropical fine dining with a modern lens
Shaylee Strawberries – Farm-fresh fun with a serious sweet tooth
The Gillies Café – Yungaburra’s hidden brunch gem
