Whet Restaurant – Cape Tribulation Rd, Cape Tribulation. Ph: 07 4098 0007

Whet Restaurant Cape Tribulation might mark the spot where the sealed road ends but it’s certainly not the end of line for food. Indeed, Trib’s newest menu item is the laidback, groovy Whet; a funkily appointed venue for coffee, wine, tapas and contemporary fare. It’s not quite what you’d expect to find in the Daintree but that’s one of the reasons it works.

This year Whet has evolved to include a 24 seat cinema to their repertoire of groovy settings. Located upstairs from the restaurant, it screens the latest flicks (before their DVD release) in both style and comfort. Licensed, air-conditioned and designed with fantastic huge beanbags, recliners and leather sofas, it gels well with the feel of the restaurant. It’s a great way to finish the evening or to enjoy a day of rainy, steamy rainforest weather.

Flicks aside, there’s always the food, and with Whet it’s a simple formula: an emphasis on local produce, seafood hauled from the surrounding waters, fresh, clean flavours and a menu that oozes creative flare.

Whet’s fare is both gorgeously presented and thoughtfully concocted, with chef Matt Wenden keeping his mostly Asian flavours simple. The entrees are reliable crowd-pleasers, whether it’s the son-in-law eggs or the deliciously huge soup of the day.

Mains are similarly infused with Asian influences, such as the oven roasted lamb, served with stir fried tat-soi and choi-sum leaves and a spiced peanut dressing, to the panfried fresh wild local barramundi fillet served on a roasted root vegetable and almond salad. Indeed, the restaurant’s obvious commitment to superior ingredients helps explain the fantastic array of flavours across all meals.

Perhaps the best case in point is the fresh wild local barra dishes. I had the one mentioned above, (panfried) and the accompanying veg and almonds provided a warm yet refreshing contrast, not to mention a little nutty crunch.

What really got me going though were the sexy sounding cocktails: Whet Dream, Whet T-Shirt, Whet Season, etc. As colourful as the surrounding rainforest, they were all deliciously naughty. (Good thing I was going upstairs to watch a film afterwards and not driving back to Port.)

Whet is Cape Trib’s most tastefully unfussed restaurant. Treading a good middle ground between rainforest luxe and city cool, it has a welcoming, ‘sit down and chill’ vibe with some great tunes and, happily, very comfy chairs, (which came in handy after the lavish cocktails).

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