The Beach Shack
The Beach Shack Restaurant - 29 Barrier St, Port Douglas. PH: 07 4099 1100
The Beach Shack Restaurant Port Douglas knows relaxed outdoor dining is a Port Douglas specialty. It’s not so much a style setting as a reaction to the heat that encourages the unbuttoned vibe this town is famous for. Places like the Beach Shack, with its chilled atmosphere encapsulate the Port Douglas spirit perfectly.
The Beach Shack is anything but stuffy, even when the weather is. The casually dressed staff, sandy floor, cosy bar area and the retro radio soundtrack create a snob free zone. Leave your pretensions under the table, with your thongs.
The menu underlines this with its broad, approachable range, and particular feel for great steaks and fresh fish. There’s also a pizza oven out back, serving traditional and mind blowing gourmet styles. Or, you can simply pull up a pew, grab a drink and enjoy the live weekend entertainment.
Although dining at the Beach Shack has the feel of a ‘local’, it does creative twists on family restaurant food. For a start they do this wonderful Pesto & Parmesan bread. Served warm, it’s at once earthy and gourmet. To be honest, it’s difficult not to fill up on it and forget the rest. (A cheap alternative for the kids, perhaps).
The mains run the gamut from old school pasta to great inventive takes on fish of day and, of course, super steaks. It’s also worth running the radar over the specials, because the shack kitchen specialise in specials (if you’ll pardon the pun).
Anyway, my partner and I decided to go for the creamy chicken carbonara and a scotch fillet special from heaven. The former was classic peasant fare, full of big, rich flavours which brought to mind Nona in her kitchen. The steak was uber tender and clearly superior, drizzled as it was with a fantastic, almost delicate shiraz reduction. It was big without being ridiculous and certainly satisfied a craving.
For dessert we went for an Oz standard, Sticky Date Pudding. Well, yes, it was sticky and it filled the mouth with rewarding sweetness and the hips with a bit more rubber. What’s more, the portion was generous enough to share, something uncommon in contemporary dessert land.
Situated in Four Mile, Beach Shack is 60 seconds from the beach and five minutes drive from the centre of Port. Not only does it offer a sandy tropical hang out but good, affordable nosh. It’s unpretentious, won’t fleece you or make you feel you shouldn’t have beer with your meal.
The Beach Shack Restaurant Port Douglas
October 16th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
We just got to the Beach Shack by chance, but I never tasted such good food in such a relaxing atmosphere. You’re sitting with your feet in the sand, and on your plate it looks and tastes like you’re dining in a five-star posh restaurant. Unusual combination and a very nice surprise.