Airlie Beach Restaurants

Probably the worst dining experience I've ever had and I've been to a lot of restaurants on my travels. The service was terrible and unfortunately the food was undecidedly great so that hardly made up for the bad service. I sometimes wonder whether the bad service which I have suffered from time to time is because i am a lone traveller and the waiting staff maybe think not to waste their time on a single diner, but this experience was unreal. As soon as I entered I was ushered into a corner and given a menu. I ordered a drink, a starter and a main. I had to wait wait over twenty minutes to get my drink and that was after having to ask twice! It was only a bottle of beer, it takes seconds to remove a bottle top and serve a bottle of beer from the fridge. Then after having waited forty minutes or so and having seen other larger tables who had arrived after I had ordered get their meals first, I finally get my main. When the waitress brings it over, I ask her whether or not they serve their starters before the main course? I got a blank look in return as to suggest that she did not appreciate the sarcasm of my remark. Half way through my main course, I eventually receive my starter! The waiting staff don't seem to see any thing wrong with this. Then to make things worse, having finished my meal (which was not great to be honest, very middle of the road steak), I then sit at the table with empty plates for about 30 minutes until I decide myself that I will go and ask for the bill. From asking I then waited 15 minutes before finally having to go up to the bar and insist on wanting to pay so that I could leave. Unbelievable. Unbelievably, I wasn't the most poorly treated guest that evening. There was another solo traveller who had already ordered and been waiting since before I arrived and he didn't get his meal until I had finished mine. Complete disorganisation, with plenty of waiting staff all just walking around not know what's going on.

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This Mexican restaurant located on Airlie Beach's Esplanade seems to be quite popular with the crowds. The first time we tried to eat here, right after our late arrival in Airlie Beach we were told there's a 40 minutes wait. We were quite famished aftere the drive from Townsville so we moved our business elsewhere. The second time we were sitted immediately but it took some time until we actually got to order. Service was a bit slow throughout the night but we blamed that on the late hour (It was nearly 9 o'clock at night :) ) and on the fact that we got sited right after a group of about 10 people. Cactus Jack's is a Tex-Mex chain and as such you know what you get: casual atmosphere, average food, big portions, reasonable prices. I had the Hillbilly Deluxe burger and my companions went for stakes. A word of advice if you order stakes in Australia: they tend to dial it down a notch; if your stake is ordered medium what you'll get is the medium to well done US equivalent. If you want to see some pink on the meat try ordering medium-rare.

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What I have say about the Deja Vu restaurant of Airlie Beach can be summarized in one word: wow! I did not expect to find food so delicious after leaving Sydney behind (talk about preconceptions ...) Boy was I wrong. Right after I settled myself into the mindset of eating mediocre food for 10 days while touring the East Coast, I ran into this little gem. Gourmet food in the true sense of the word. The restaurant is located at the Water's Edge Resort and for us in particular it was the easiest in town to find because we were staying at Water's Edge. It's beautifully set by the swimming pool of the hotel, up on a hill, the lights of town visible below us. The tables are nicely set. All in all, a very romantic atmosphere. The service was great throughout the night, courteous and attentive. But the best part was the food. For starters I had the French Affair which was very delicious and as main I went for the Vegetable & Legume Dahl. Husband got the kangaroo fillet which he said was the best that he ate during his trip in Australia. I was disappointed by only one thing the entire night and that is that I was too full to order desert - the portions are quite generous. Highly recommended.

I am a frequent visitor to Airlie Beach and The Whitsundays and I have visited pretty much all the restaurants in town and to be honest I was getting a bit bored with them all...until I discovered Easy Cafe! This charming little cafe is tucked away down an arcade and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people don't even know it's there which is a real shame because the food is awesome! We stumbled on it one Sunday morning and enjoyed an excellent breakfast in the pretty courtyard. I have to say that the coffee is the best I have tasted in Airlie and I ended up having a second cup.

We were so impressed with the food and the friendly service that we decided to go back that same night to try out their evening menu which is inspired by the fresh produce of the Tropics. The cafe is licensed so we were able to enjoy a couple of glasses of chilled wine with our delicious meal. I 100% recommend this lovely little cafe to visitors and locals alike. At night the restaurant was pretty quiet and I just hope that more people discover this little gem so that it's still there the next time I'm in Airlie.

Favorite Dish: It was pretty difficult to choose from the menu because everything sounded SO GOOD! I opted for the Chilli Dusted Butterfly Prawns with dipping sauce and they did not disappoint. My partner chose crispy kangaroo meatballs with bush spiced tomato chutney as his entree. For mains, in keeping with the Tropical Theme of the menu, I just had to have the Pan Fried Swordfish with chunky mango and avocado salad and toasted coconut salsa verde. AWESOME!

We loved the Rum Bar and Fish D'Vine so much, we went there both nights we were in Airlie Beach. The bartenders can mix up over 150 different rum drinks. And when you get hungry, just order the chili mud crabs. It's the best I have ever eaten. Messy but delicious.

We chose Mangrove Jacks for our Saturday night presentation dinner. We had heard that the food is excellant, quick service, close to everything being at the Airlie Beach Hotel in the centre of town, and great prices.

Well we were not dissapointed. In fact everyone thought it was an excellant venue!

So if you are after a great feed at a great price, quick service with a smile and a nice large open seating area....then Mangrove Jacks is a great choice!!

Btw, I had a flash back here.... Mangrove Jacks was where I discovered I was pregnant with my 4th, Jesse. I remembered coming here and ordering a big meal...only to have that 'known' queezy feeling when it arrived & I couldn't eat it....many years ago in 2006 ;o) .....What a thing to remember!! haha :o)

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Deja vu Restaurant located at the Waters Edge is fantastic!! ..Especially the popular 8 course Sunday lunch with entertainment included.

Book well in advance as the numbers fill up quick!

Awesome views, fabulous entertainment, food to die for and attentative service all add to a great time! What a wonderful way to end another fantastic downunder meet!!

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Good atmosphere and very nice frozen margaritas. The meals were very large. My tasting plate however was a bit cold. Mum's Barramundi was delicious.

The bill all out was A$54 they had some kind of deal with the frozen margaritas.

Happy hour 5 till 7pm daily with a good cocktail/mocktail list. Prices $5.50 - $10
Beer $4 - $6.50

Wednesdays - Margaritas & Coronas Cactus Hour Prices all Night

Favorite Dish: I would go for the barramundi.