Cafe On Sea - 90 Cape Tribulation Rd, Thorntons Beach. Ph:     07 4098 9118    

Café On Sea is one of those rare tropical gems, a place to get a real coffee whilst admiring north Queensland’s lush oceanside panorama. About 25 minutes drive north from the Daintree River ferry along the rainforest road to Cape Tribulation you come across Thornton Beach, a beautiful expansive stretch of Coral Sea coast fringed by some of the rarest rainforest habitat on the planet. And right there you’ll find Diana and the crew at Café On Sea.

Nestled beneath a beachside canopy, it’s an immediately inviting slice of roadside temptation. In fact, there can be few more iconically idyllic locations; rustic, relaxed but far from rudimentary.

Without trying to be fancy, Café On Sea turn up the quality a few notches. The menu still runs the gamut of casual family/drive fare, (yes, you can get chips with that), but with a few individual twists.

While the kids eat their fish & chips and play on the beach you can do what the photographer and I did and go for the Greek salad with garlic prawns. This is a fresh, healthy option for sure, but the generous lashing of juicy prawns gives it that indulgent lift.

The shoreside seafood delights continued with the coral trout garden salad, (with chips), which was topped with a tangy white balsamic vinaigrette. It was another light lunch classic, the grilled trout bringing a genuine FNQ flavour to the mix.   

But apart from the salads, burgers, calamari and chips, it’s the cakes that really reach out to you. Top of the list is Diana’s rich and fabulous Mars Bar cheesecake. This is an excellent and caramelly reworking of a familiar idea and it comes up a treat. Neither too sweet nor dull, it’s a very cool ‘adult’ cake that most kids will probably love.

Then there’s the coffee. Just because you’re surrounded by the glory of nature doesn’t mean you have to go without your espresso now, does it? (Or for that matter, your email. A latte and a surf in the wilderness? You bet.) 

Indeed, Café On Sea has the seductive dining location thing wrapped up. Sitting under the trees and looking out towards the diamond blue sea, you’ll probably feel like the photographer and I did; in other words, you’ll find it hard to get back in the car.

Cafe On Sea Thorntons Beach

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