Nautilus Restaurant - 17 Murphy St, Port Douglas. Ph:  07 4099 5330 

Nautilus Restaurant Port Douglas has defined fine food dining in Port Douglas. Nestled in its spectacular rainforest perch above the main street, the Nautilus Restaurant offers an avowedly romantic and exceptional outdoor dining experience. The real difference, apart from the quietly tropical ambience, is the superior attention to detail.

An evening at Nautilus is not just ‘eating out’; you get something a little better up here. If I had to outline what it was, I’d say that all the dishes had beautiful texture. Indeed, they were all somewhat sensual.

My dining partner and I began with a chili margarita and a lychee & lime caprioska and they set the tone. Why? Because both were sublimely balanced concoctions, presented with a careful but unfussed style.

And so to the food. With the entrees the byword was delicate yet richly absorbing textures and thoughtfully matched flavours. The lightly cured waygu beef, served carpaccio style with a fennel & herb remoulade and drizzled with an enticing sherry a la vanilla vinaigrette was certainly appetite whetting. Likewise, the nicoise style tuna tartare special, which came with a wonderfully fulsome olive tapenade set the palate up for what was to come. Both dishes underlined the Nautilus ethos of accessible but undeniably fine cuisne delivered with extra care.

The mains lifted the level higher. The richly sensuous and indulgent mushroom lasagne, constructed with house made cep mushroom flavoured pasta, sautéed wild mushrooms and mushroom consommé was both subtle and densely flavoured. Little touches, like lavender salt and tarragon vinaigrette, added great top notes to the blend.

Over on my side of the table, the elegant simplicity of the crispy skin corn fed chicken breast with ratatouille presse, (red capsicum, eggplant, zucchini and red onion, baked and then pressed), was equally sumptuous. Clean flavours, crisp accents and, once more, thoroughly enjoyable texture. The chesnut cream sauce was a great touch too.

It should come as no surprise then to discover that the desserts, (Valrhona choc mousse with white licorice sherbet and an upside down orange cake with white soursop curd and cardoman sugar), were outrageously ‘feel good’. What really shone through, though, was the restraint of these creations. Again, attention to detail. Big tick.

Nautilus Restaurant in Port Douglas is foodie heaven but in a very unpretentious North Queensland fashion. With experienced waitstaff and a gorgeous low light feel added into the mix it creates a sense of the true theatre of dining.

Nautilus Restaurant Port Douglas

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