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Typically, restaurants on Barrier Reef islands are part of each island's main resort, so many resorts' rates include some or all meals. Some larger resorts have a range of restaurants, with formal dining rooms, outdoor barbecues, and seafood buffets; some have premium dining options for which you pay extra. Dress is generally "island casual." Some upscale restaurants—such as those on Hayman Island—require men to wear jackets for dinner and frown on flip-flop sandals. On the mainland you'll find plenty of casual, open-air restaurants, serving mainly Modern Australian–style meals that showcase seafood and regional produce. With a few notable exceptions, Cairns, Palm Cove, and Port Douglas are your best bets for upscale dining.
Sexy suede lounges, intimate banquettes, and unbroken views of the Coral Sea make lingering easy at this Palm Cove noshery with the region's best and freshest produce. Select from small plates or larger share portions, which include the likes of kimchi butter-poached reef fish, paperbark-smoked duck, and Sichuan eggplant.
In a city that loves a steak, this is probably the best of them. CC's Bar & Grill sources most of its beef from farms in the Atherton Tablelands. Those cuts—as well as others sourced from around Australia—are either wet- or dry-aged, and grilled to perfection. The atmosphere here is upmarket and classy, and the wine list wouldn't look out of place in a Sydney or Melbourne fine-diner.
This acclaimed restaurant, which is run by a British chef and his wife who named it after their first son, impresses with deftly executed dishes that showcase fresh seafood and small-batch ingredients, sourced locally. There's a six-course tasting menu at A$140 per person, A$210 with matched wines, and on the wine list you'll find plenty of good mid-price antipodean drops and a smattering of French ones.
With sail-shaped tables, chic Eames chairs, and marina views, Bommie has a sophisticated, upmarket ambience perfect for a special celebration. It's the ideal setting for fine Modern Australian cuisine, and the chef's daily tasting menus dazzle the tastebuds.
