|
Home | About Christine Salins | Food | Restaurants | Wine | Travel | Photo Gallery | Books | Events | Destinations | Links |
|
|
Reef House Restaurant
99 Williams Esplanade, Palm Cove, Queensland.
Out There magazine - Issue 18
|
|
|
What can be said about a place where you can dine on a deck 12 months of the year, looking out over a palm-lined esplanade and white sandy beach? Bliss, really. At the Sebel Reef House & Spa in Palm Cove, a half hour drive north of Cairns, the restaurant is on a covered wooden deck that is open to the sea breeze save for some plastic blinds that can be dropped when the breeze becomes a gale or there’s a tropical downpour. Yet it’s a formal space, with white tablecloths and the romantic glow of candles on the tables. Chef Philip Mitchell does simple, creative food with Mediterranean and Asian influences, and not surprisingly, makes good use of the local seafood.
The calamari entrée is lightly battered, succulent and comes with aioli, garlic mayonnaise, while a simple and delicious pasta dish sees pappardelle (long ribbon pasta) studded with fish and prawns in a cream and garlic sauce. A highlight is the duck salad, in which slices of duck breast are tossed with hazelnuts, salad greens, mustard fruit and a maple and raspberry vincotto dressing, an irresistible combination. The wine list could be more comprehensive, but dessert hits the right spot with a refreshing Tahitian lime sorbet. The restaurant is about to undergo renovations with the installation of plantation-style glass doors – even in paradise, you sometimes have to keep the elements out.
© Christine Salins
|
|