Port Douglas Restaurants
 

Well, I will be staying in Palm Cove, but would like to possibly dine in Port Douglas (particularly, at the Silky Oaks Restaurant?!?) - I've heard good things...Anyway, I'm wondering if this is a feasible option anf if any of you know how far/what the driving time is from Palm Cove to Silky Oaks, or any other good restaurants in Port Douglas....<BR><BR>If this is a feasible drive, is there any other restaurant that you would recommend making the trek to in Port Douglas for a special occasion?<BR><BR>Thanks for any help you can offer! :)

My husband and I dined at Silky Oaks and although it was very expensive, it was also a wonderful meal and a wonderful setting. In my opinion, it was by far nicer than any restaurant in Port Douglas. The portions are not large so I would recommend trying each of the courses. <BR><BR>One restaurant I see mentioned a great deal is the Salsa in Port Douglas. Based on all the "good press", we tried this restaurant and I was extremely disappointed. The staff was snobish and inefficient. As far as I was concerned, it was "much to do about nothing". <BR><BR>If it were my special occasion, I would do Silky Oaks and I wouldn't skip dessert!

I agree with Bethany concerning The Salsa. The staff was indeed snobbish & inefficient. Not only that but the food was mediocre. Port Douglas is loaded with good dining facilities & The Salsa is not one of them. I don't know about Silky Oaks but the best dining we had while in Port Douglas was at Going Bananas on Davidson Street. The drive from Palm Cove to Port Douglas is maybe 30 minutes on a curvy but good road. It's an easy drive - just take your time.

Salsa definitely doesn't have the best service, but I was in a laid back mood and didn't care. (Plus I didn't know what constituted "good service" in Oz. It was better than service in Paris, so I was happy!). <BR><BR>I'd recommend lunch instead of dinner (which was what I had). I had an empanada of some kind, and it was pretty tasty. Plus the big fruity drink was perfect for the vacation mood!<BR><BR>The folks I met on my David Armbrust tour raved about the Silky Oaks dining. Sounds like it's a must do. Enjoy!

The Silky Oaks dinning room has a spectacular setting in the rain forest overlooking the Mossman River. We saw a platypus in the water the first night we were dining there. The food was excellent and three days was not enough time to get to all the things that interested us on the menu. The service was very friendly and efficient so I think it was one of the best places in North Queensland. We were staying there so I wasn't paying much attention to the prices. <BR><BR>I would characterize the drive up to Silky Oaks from Port Douglas as fairly demanding partly because we drove up in the rain. The road is narrow and twists along the shore. The view of the ocean is impressive but the driver won't be looking at it much. Then you drive through a cane field to find the Silky Oaks Lodge. I think it was over an hour from Port Douglas. It would not be very quick drive.<BR><BR>I recommend the restaurant at the Sebel Reef Resort on the Esplanade in Palm Cove.That is easy to find and close to Port Douglas. It is open air right across from the beach. The food and service are excelllent. In fact the manager at Silky Oaks told us that he goes down there for dinner.

O.K., so - now i'm slightly confused...on the "taxi or rent a car from palm cove to port douglas" thread, someone mentioned that it was only a 15 minute drive from port douglas to silky oaks, yet on this thread, carl mentioned that it was an hour drive to silky from port douglas. does anyone have a definitive answer about this?!?! and of course, is it a feasible idea to rent a car for the day and drive up to sily oaks from palm cove for dinner (and back?!?!) thanks for all your help! :)<BR><BR>p.s. thanks as well to those with posts about the salsa bar & grill. i've heard mixed reviews as well (although as a former white house intern/clinton admin...) i thought it would be fun to follow in bill's footsteps! hehe! and finally, i have heard that going banana's was quite good from another source. what kind of food do they serve?!? what is the atmosphere like?! thanks to all of you! i can't wait to get back so i can help assist some of you in your travels! :)

Hi Hungry (Hey, I'm hungry too!)<BR><BR>It's definitely not an hour...in GOOD weather. We did the drive in 20-30 minutes from Port Douglas to Silky Oaks. However, I can see in bad weather it would take a bit longer.<BR><BR>Hope that helps.

message for Hungry. Going Bananas on Davidson Street serves steaks, seafood, etc. A good menu selection. I had an excellent rack of lamb. The service is very attentive. The prices aren't cheap, however for the quality it's great. The place doesn't look like much from the outside but inside it is what my wife called very romantic with bubbling fountain, beads from above, & subtle lighting - a very earthily sexual atmosphere.

Hello--<BR>A girl I met at my hotel and I went over to Going Bananas one night. She had heard it was wonderful; I heard it wasn't that great from someone at the hotel's reception desk. We decided to go anyway because Bananas was supposed to have a fun atmosphere--ie we heard the owner was a trip, walking around in a caftan entertaining everyone. <BR><BR>Anyway, long story short, we ended up not staying for dinner. Probably the first thing we noticed after we sat down is that some furniture covers were tattered and not looking particularly fresh (If that's what the front of the house looks like, then what about the back of the house-the kitchen??) It took forever to put our drink order in. The entree (AKA appetizer)that we chose was really bad and besides all that, both of us were turned off by the guy in the caftan. He greeted us by cutting off a chunk of a gummy snake candy and putting it in our mouths w/his fingers. I never thought about myself as being particular prissy but I just didn't like having a stranger's fingers in my mouth. And since we didn't like the first thing we ordered, we paid the bill and headed into town to have dinner somewhere else (as it turned out, at Lime--which was tasty)...<BR><BR>I don't know if Going Bananas was just having a bad night, but my friend and I both felt leaving was the best option. The restaurant was dead, not the fun-loving place that we had heard it was. <BR><BR>I'm not one to walk out of a restaurant but this time was the exception. Incidently, I enjoyed my other meals in Pt Douglas, just not my experience at Going Bananas.<BR><BR>Debbie<BR><BR>PS I ate at Salsa for dinner 2x--once by myself and the service was 'eh'. The 2nd time I went, I was with 3 others and the service was better though not exceptional. The food was good both times.

Palm Cove to silly oaks is pretty far-about an hour. I'd hesistate because at night the non lighted narrow winding roads from palm cove to PD could be treacherous if your not comfortable with that other side of the road thing.

Debbie, your dinner experience made me laugh out loud. Who the hell wants a stranger's fingers in her mouth? Not me, I assure you!<BR><BR>I enjoyed Lime as well. We did appetizers...which were very good. But they probably tasted so good because of the view...i.e. the two darling boys I met that day and had as my dinner companions. Chicken never tasted so good!!

Mina--<BR>I forgot to mention the Going Bananas guy also came around to our table w/a liquored-up strawberry which he insisted on shoving in our mouths! (My friend Catarina clamped her lips closed like a 3yr old getting medicine! I went along w/it figuring the booze would kill any nasty germs he had. HeHe)<BR><BR>Glad they were having a slow night when I went--Crazy Caftanman didn't have too many opportunities to stick his hands in other people's mouths...<BR><BR>Deb

Mina--<BR>I forgot to mention the Going Bananas guy also came around to our table w/a liquored-up strawberry which he insisted on shoving in our mouths! (My friend Catarina clamped her lips closed like a 3yr old getting medicine! I went along w/it figuring the booze would kill any nasty germs he had. HeHe)<BR><BR>Glad they were having a slow night when I went--Crazy Caftanman didn't have too many opportunities to stick his hands in other people's mouths...<BR><BR>Deb<BR>

Not sure why my message posted twice. Sorry, folks!

Well, it sounds like a place you have to be in the mood for! But I like crazy, silly places. Bill said he liked it, and he usually gives good advice (from what I've seen). I'll have to make a note to try it when I go back, but to make sure to check if this guys fingers haven't gone anywhere they shouldn't!