|
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 Terry 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
shore side 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
the tropical Hummingbird, with its carrot cake base and
smattering of local fruits, (pineapple, banana, mango, etc).
This is an old school classic redressed in rainforest garb
and it works a treat. Neither too sweet nor dull, it’s a
very cool ‘adult’ cake.
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 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 Thornton's Beach - Port Douglas Australia
|
