reviews

G'day Claire

Sorry for not responding sooner - we left last Thursday and have just arrived home from our honeymoon.

Please accept a huge thanks from both us and our guests for everything from Ochre on our wedding day - couldn't have been happier with the setting and the food was nothing short of superb (and there was plenty of it!).

We would really appreciate it if you could pass on a special thanks to your food/bev wait staff on the night for being so attentive to us and our guests. We were really impressed with how pleasant and friendly they were, and we really did appreciate the fact that they tirelessly trudged across the beach to bring us our drinks and canapes! We also had a heap of people say how great they were - so thanks very much.

We'll head to the bank tomorrow or Thursday to transfer the invoice amount to your account. Please let us know if you ever need someone to sing your praises,  and we'll see if we get a few good photos of the venue to email through to you.

Thanks again for helping us have a magic day.

Pete & Barbs

Hi Claire,

Lyall and I would like to sincerely thank you, Craig and all the staff at Ochre for helping to make our wedding very special. The food was fantastic and the wait staff were very helpful, friendly and professional. It was a wonderful night and we will be recommending Ochre to anyone that asks us. Lyall and I will have to come down to Ochre for a meal very soon.

Hey Craig,

I just wanted to say a big thanks to you and all of your staff for a fantastic time on saturday. The food was beautiful and everyone was so helpful and lovely. A special thank you to Anne Maree.. she was absolutely fantastic!

Cheers,

Lisa Jackson

Hi Claire

Thank you for the invoice and thank you for the excellent service and food at the wedding at Sanctuary Palm Cove on 20 September 2008.  We had the best time at our wedding and in no small part because of the quality of the food and service.

Kind regards, Nieva

Dear chef's and floor staff at Ochre

I too would like to express my sincere gratitude for being able to experience the fine food you serve in such a relaxed and efficient restaurant. It is a very rare occasion that I enjoy a meal this much. Sure we have some great restaurants in Melbourne, but they all seem to be missing the 'wow' factor that your restaurant has. Also, I think it's wonderful that your restaurant has been going for so many years now.

I'm really looking forward to my next visit to Cairns and to your fine restaurant.

Thank you once again,

Kirstie Robertson
Advancement Associate for Events and Special Projects Trinity College The University of Melbourne

Dear Chef(s) and staff

Just wanted to thank you for a great night, last Thurs 16th Oct. Wonderful food and wine selection, an impressive floor staff who made our night with their service. Keep up the great work - we are supposedly from the food capital of Australia but you knocked spots off some of the local haunts down here. Shame we had to leave the day you were launching the new menu !

See you next time.

regards

David Bennett
Senior Consultant - Accounting & Finance THE BROOKLYN GROUP Pty Ltd

Fodor's Review:

Local seafood and native ingredients have top billing at this elegant spot that specializes in bush dining. Try the Australian antipasto platter of emu pâté, crocodile wontons, and smoked salmon for starters, followed by kangaroo sirloin with quandong-chili glaze. Some dishes have a Pacific Rim flavor, like the tea-smoked duck with mango or the twice-cooked pork. Red Ochre's signature dessert, wattle seed Pavlova with Davidson plum sorbet, makes a fine finish; or you can linger and sip a glass of Australian wine while nestled into a violet velvet booth.

High Life 1998 British Airways Magazine

Kangaroo meat is delicious, nutritious thank goodness we’ve gone back to our past to find and tastier future.

Gourmet Traveler 2006 Australian Restaurant

One of the longest-established restaurants in the region, Ochre is the darling of the tourist world, specializing in the local, tropical and native cuisine which seems to be of particular interest to overseas visitors.

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 2006  

Ochre put a modern spin on dishes fashioned from emu, kangaroo and crocodile. This makes it a hit with the thousands of tourists that wing their way into North Queensland each year hoping for a taste of the outback.

Frommer's Review

You could accuse this restaurant of using weird and wonderful Aussie ingredients as a gimmick to pull in crowds, but the diners who have flocked here for the past decade or so know good food when they taste it. Daily specials are big on fresh local seafood, and the regular menu -- which changes often -- lets you devour the Aussie coat of arms in several different ways. Try salt-and-native-pepper crocodile and prawns with Vietnamese pickles and lemon aspen sambal, char grilled kangaroo sirloin with a quandong chilli glaze, sweet potato fritter, and bok choy. It's slick enough for a big night out but still informal enough for a casual meal.

Courier-Mail Goodlife Restaurant Guide 05

In May 2004 it benefited from a facelift, giving it a more contemporary feel. It's a landmark, and a favourite of locals, foodies and tourists alike. Pioneering the native cuisine scene back in the '90s, Ochre made its name making emu, crocodile and kangaroo taste delicious.

Cairns dining.com

Neoteric Australian cuisine is the focus of Red Ochre Grill's sensational menu, incorporating Australian bush foods in innovative, exciting dishes. Menu changes seasonally, as different fresh produce become available. A must try!

Tripadvisor.com May 10, 2008

Very good at lunch - love the house salad, decent fries, prawn meat on sugar cane sticks, platters for two. Friendly but not overwhelming service. Air conditioning, banquette, perfect for a business or relaxed meal.

Polyglot APA Guide

Best 10 Australian Dining Experience’s.

Mietta's Review

This is destination restaurant for local and international visitors to Cairns. With very well respected chef Craig Squire in the kitchen, cooking with indigenous ingredients including kangaroo and emu, the menu is intelligent and beautifully flavored. A thoughtful wine list offers diners a guide to eating in harmony with the chosen bottle. Bookings are suggested in this must visit destination in Cairns.

Lonely Planet Guides

Cairns best fine dining..desserts worth moving to Cairns for

World Traveller Publications..2008

This is one “very special” restaurant with amazing cuisine..When in Cairns’ one should have at least one meal here, but be advised, one is never enough

Food Review - Words by Janessa Ekert

Setting: Situated in the busy city centre Ochre Restaurant is a popular destination for both lunch and dinner. I’d heard a great deal about this particular restaurant, and if the food was even half as good as the reputation preceding it then I knew I was in for a treat. Ochre is renowned for producing the epitome of Australian cuisine. Owner and executive chef, Craig Squire has created this reputation by keeping his focus and ingredients local, whether it’s the local cheeses and meats, or the fresh seafood and Australian game.

Upon arriving, Jacqui and I were led inside by restaurant manager Amy. The open plan of the establishment allowed for a fresh breeze, however avoiding the winter chill. The decor was refreshing and warm.  I felt it exuded the sophistication of fine dining, coupled with the comfortable and friendly atmosphere only found at home.

Drinks: We each decided on a glass of Stella Bella Sauvignon Blanc ($9 or $40 per bottle). The wine had a beautiful flavour, completely avoiding that overly sweet aftertaste. We sat, enjoying the taste as we perused the extensive menu, which boasts a large variety of Australian game.

Entree: It took quite a while and various suggestions before we each decided on a seafood dish. Jacqui selected the bay bug tails and prawn mousseline, with watermelon rind and dessert lime salsa and crisp noodle ($24), while I, deciding to be more adventurous, chose the salt and native pepper crocodile and prawns, Vietnamese pickles and lemon aspen sambal (entree $22, main $33). The food was amazing. The herbs and spices chosen to accompany our selected dishes complemented each to perfection. Although there was an intricate combination of flavours, each was clearly distinguishable from the next.

Main: After the success of our entrée’s, Jacqui and I were eager to see what culinary delight our mains would turn out to be. As we sat, enjoying the ambiance of the evening, I was intoxicated by the rich flavours filling the air as we awaited our mains. I selected roast duck breast with confit leg, Asian green salad, coupled with a Davidson plum and sambal sauce ($32). Jacqui followed in my partners footsteps by choosing the ‘Terrarosa’ MSA beef tenderloin, with sweet miso eggplant, rosti potato and a star anise butter sauce with watercress ($35). We were also advised by our waiter Suriya to try the Ochre salad ($15). The salad was a meal on its own, generous in size and simply delectable. We almost forgot to start on our mains… almost. The duck was prepared two different ways, one part oven roasted while the other was slow cooked for hours. Both were mouth-watering. The beef was melt in your mouth quality, while the combination of additional flavours won’t be forgotten any time soon.

Dessert: I ended the night with the macadamia baklava ($15), while Jacqui tossed between an ultimate indulgence in the chocolate slut or the quandong pie ($15). She settled on the latter. While both our choices were delicious, neither of us could finish either, being extremely full from our previous meals.

The night was a huge success. Ochre has the perfect atmosphere for any type of get together, with a sectioned of area perfect for a private function. The décor is chic and elegant, offering both inside and alfresco dining, along with a fully licensed bar filled with the finest Australia has to offer. A compliment to the establishment was how friendly and informed the staff were. Jacqui and I were very well taken care of.

World traveller’s

This is one “very special” restaurant with amazing unique cuisine that delights.

The proprietor/ Chef, Craig Squires is a genius and his menu selection like no other.

His awards would need an entire book to list but include, Queensland Restaurants & Catering Three Awards for Excellence: Cairns Best Specialty Restaurant, Best Event Catering and Caterers of the Year.  There are heaps of other awards from American Express, Diners Club and other prestigious outlets.

Having travelled the world and sampled almost every type of cuisine in the world’s best restaurants, it was a revelation to find I was at a loss in understanding listed ingredients. What were Illawarra Plums, Samphire, Bunya nuts, Kurrajong Flour, Lemon Aspen and Pepper leaf? I’d heard of Wattle Seed, but could not remember how it enhanced food. As for Quandong, this completely mystified me.
Not until we’d finished our meal did Craig sit and enthrall us with his knowledge of Bush Food. Who if anyone in Australia, other than Craig uses so much Bush ingredients?

Starting with Salt & native pepper crocodile & Prawns – Vietnamese pickles – * lemon aspen sambal (* Small pale lemon coloured fruit with a unique sharp citrus flavour and found in the rain forests from Sydney to the far north).

Soba noodle, lemon aspen cured ocean trout & asparagus – * lemon myrtle dressing (* lemon myrtle dressing. The leaves & stems of the rain forest tree exhibits a wonderful citrus flavour & aroma).

The menu is extensive with a great variety of dishes from Soups, Salads, Fish, and Pasta’s, but don’t look for too many familiar dishes, as most are unique. On the menu there is Kangaroo sirloin, either Char grilled or smoked wild spice crusted, Ostrich fillet and Emu paté.

The familiar dishes all have some added ingredient that makes them unique, such as, Tea Smoked Duck breast – vermicelli and coconut fritter – mango- Davidson plum and ginger glaze, or Grilled Lamb short loin – Mungalli mozzarella and eggplant roll, herb salad and bush tomato balsamic tar. 

Apart from the Modern Australian Cuisine menu Red Ochre Grill offer light snacks that can be taken at lunch and here dishes may be well known to diners.

The menu is extensive and one should be bold and order food never eaten previously for it is a revelation to sample such delicious dishes all cooked to perfection and exquisitely presented.

Craig Squire is a Master Chef. He is in demand worldwide and countries such as Singapore and Dubai constantly require his presence where he demonstrates and advises Executive Chefs in the five star hotel restaurants of his unique brand of cooking.

His awards extend to Canada, USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Argentina. Download the outdoor events on his website and pages and pages of information are shown from conference dinners of 1250 people to a simple Beach Private lunch for 4 people.

Craig is proud of the food he offers. It is healthy, environmentally sympathetic, sustainable, and most importantly, tastes GREAT! And we fully condone that.

This is one of the most exciting restaurants in Queensland. It seats over 200 people many outdoor, weather permitting.

When in Cairns one should have at least one meal here, but be advised, one is never enough.