Published:
June 29, 2024
About Ellis Beach Bar & Grill
Dine in
Takeout
Delivery
Service Options
Highlights
Live music
Live performances
Offerings
Alcohol
Beer
Cocktails
Coffee
Dancing
Food
Food at bar
Happy hour drinks
Hard liquor
Healthy options
Small plates
Wine
Amenities
Bar onsite
Restroom
Crowd
Family-friendly
Groups
LGBTQ+ friendly
Transgender safespace
Payments
Credit cards
NFC mobile payments
Parking
Free parking lot
Free street parking
Plenty of parking
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible entrance
Wheelchair accessible parking lot
Wheelchair accessible restroom
Wheelchair accessible seating
Dining_options
Breakfast
Brunch
Lunch
Dinner
Catering
Counter service
Dessert
Seating
Atmosphere
Casual
Planning
Accepts reservations
Children
Good for kids
Has changing table(s)
High chairs
Kids' menu
Pets
Dogs allowed
Dogs allowed inside
Dogs allowed outside
Map
Ellis Beach Bar & Grill Reviews
You tried.....this is a chicken and bacon burger.....a strip of Bacon? Disappointed with the food. Not great, tastes average at best. Just go for a beer. At least the view is nice.
- johnny Bełczącki
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Wow this place has just been refurbished. What a fantastic job the owner has done, very impressive. Staff are friendly & efficient. ice cold beers , fish & chips generous & crispy . Dog friendly too! Great outlook, this is a must do when in Cairns, for brecki/ lunch/ dinner or even a couple of nice cold beers in the arvo😎
- jodie klaproth
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
What a shame the food was tasteless, soggy and bland. Was looking forward to breakfast after a busy week and drove out from town to Ellis. Ordered the Works breakfast and eggs Benedict. Plate for the works is in the metal dish with high sides that was sliding all over the table, food was bland, bacon was dried out to the point of no bacon flavour, sourdough was soggy. Eggs Benny had soggy ciabatta that wasn't even toasted. Thought I was eating dough. Bacon was flavourless as well. Such a shame as we love the venue and had many a lunch there with lots of flavour. Would not choose from the breakfast menu again. Also whilst the coffee is nice flavour we asked for a flat white and had at least a cm of froth.
- David peters
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
We were here on a Su day which is $2 Oyster day , we also has a serve of fish and chips , both fantastic great service and great atmosphere
- Nicky Jurd
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
We drove out here for dinner last night and really enjoyed the food and service. We had a Jamaican chicken burger, fish and chips, and squid. Everything was yummy! I also had a fruit slushie which was a non-alco version of one of the cocktails. Great vibe and very friendly.
- Michal Hošek
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Very nice Beach Bar with friendly staff!! Everything is really quick, no waiting for anything! Reasonable prices for huge portions😋 You can feel the classic Australian mood here and the fun of all the guests. KEEP IT UP!
Cheers!🍻
- Kaige Silcock (Mozart)
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
This place is awesome to take your family and pets. Laid back vibes good view and cold beer. Food was outstanding huge portions for a good price. Definitely check it out
- Bianca Arnold
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
The best Rhueben sandwiches and BBQ Cubans I've had. They smoke the meat themselves and are quite generous with it on the sandwich. The service is friendly, too. Their setting right across the road from the beach is nice and there's plenty of seating. The coffee is also excellent!
- Robin Patel (Self-Love Abundance)
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Stopped in for brunch or our way to Kurunda from Port Douglas. Ordered the latte and Smokin Rheuben. The gentleman at the counter said that they have a smoker behind the restaurant for the brisket so we knew right then we made a great choice.
The latte and sandwich were delicious! It was a thick cut of the brisket, the pickled onions were a nice touch. I didn’t think I would finish it, but I had to eat the meat and tossed the remaining bread. It’s something that could easily be shared.
The view of the beach is incredible too.
- T
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Sadly the beautiful renovations don't make up for the bland food. Lovely for a drink though! Service is lovely!!!
We were super excited to come see it after the Reno's and the meals we'd seen coming out when we popped in for a drink the week before looked amazing so we drove down for lunch. Ordered a few entrees as they all sounded great. Presentation 10/10 but ends there. Food was pretty much left behind - chicken was very, very dry even with the coleslaw. Salt n pepper squid, same and no flavour. Garlic cob loaf had near no butter in it so was left. The other dish was moterella sticks which was like bland rubber which we took one each and put half of it back on the plate.
This review doesn't come easily as we were really excited and as I say, it looked amazing! But, I had just returned from working out bush for 2 weeks eating frozen veg and basics, and was so excited to have some fresh yummy flavoursome food. It should've been like heaven. Maybe just a bad day?
- Hazel Wardale
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Really nice. Easy parking, looks over water/road. Food amazing and quick service.
The Bench's and tables could have done with the occasional wipe down, before lunchtime, after breakfast/morning crush. We wiped down our tables, probably road dust. .. separate smokers area. We had our meals upstairs.
- Jrdmum
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Really great little place to eat and have a few drinks. Sunday sesh here with some music and lunch was a really good vibe. Lovely outlook to the Beach. If you have a large group I would book a table on the weekends but we came again during the week and it was fine actually really quiet compared to the Sunday. Food was really good huge serves different variety to usual pub fare. Fish tacos are delish! Highly recommend stopping here if your coming past.
- Tony Wenz
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Perfect spot to stop, have a beverage and soak up the tropical atmosphere. I expect it is really busy in the peak season, but right now it is perfect. Good food. Quick service and a very very short walk to the beach. Try arrange you trip yo or from Cairns to get a meal here. You will enjoy the break.
Sit inside or outside under the shady trees.
- Ian Cairns
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Not my best dining experience on the Cairns northern beaches. New owners are renovating (Aug 2023) and according to my friends not all the changes were for the better.
I had ribs which were OK but overall they were a bit overcooked & dry. On the other hand the chips served with the ribs were really good.
Ordering the food was a mess. You order at a specific counter, one register for food and another for drinks (you could order both at either place but it was set up as food & drinks). When we were there the food terminal had a problem so we ordered at the "drinks" terminal. The person taking the order wasn't rude but was kinda surly so we walked away from the ordering experience feeling a bit down.
Overall the food wasn't bad but the renovations seem to have removed the personality of the place and starting with an unpleasant service experience wasn't great.
- Donna Tulloch
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Nice restaurant on the side of the highway. Vego nachos were great as were the sweet potato chips and barramundi side. Fisherman's basket was smaller than expected but still a good size for one person. Shrimp was like 3 tiny cocktail prawns in a bit of sauce. Great customer service 👍
- Bryce McLean
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Major renovations July 2023 have enhanced this popular eating, drinking, coffee stop. No matter what time of day there is something for everyone. I love the morning snack of banana bread and coffee, but will return for the afternoon pizza special on Thursdays. Plenty of parking across the road next to the surf beach. NB. Pizza was one of the best of ever had.
- Toni Peagram
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Loved the drinks, didn't try the food but looked tasty
- Kim Jack
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
I love Ellis Beach Bar & Grill and the amazing team there…
HOWEVER if there is one thing we don’t like after their renovations is how crazy the chairs & tables situation is. It’s SOOOO packed outside (see photos) - the tables and chairs are too close together.
When it’s medium busy and you try to get to your table you’re hitting other people’s chairs or bumping in to them.
It’s just way too crowded now and thus makes the dining experience far less enjoyable.
There’s less walking room as you go past tables. I’m constantly getting bums in my face.
We much preferred the more spacious layout that has been there for the many years prior.
The main the issue is squeezing too many people in to a space. People’s comfort should be a primary consideration - and being jammed in is not a fun experience.
Hopefully the new owners might ponder the above issue. It could be easily fixed with the removal of maybe 25% of tables. Just please space it out better. Thanks. 🙏
Also - ordering everything at the Bar also gets crowded. It was nice when you could order food and drinks separately. But don’t think this can be changed with the new layout. People slowly deciding what food to order delays ordering of drinks when people know what they want. Should seperate it again like it was before.
But otherwise please keep up the great work in the Kitchen & Bar. We appreciate all the hard work of the Team 👍
- Vicki Kaddatz
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
I had the parmigiana and hubby had the fish and chips. Mine was ok but the cheese could have been cooked a bit, salad was a little bland. Was way too much onion. Hubby said the fish was bland as well, couldn’t get any veggies with it. Wouldn’t eat there again as was overpriced.
- Kaija Kautto
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Great night at the 5 de Mayo festival. We ordered three different types of tacos, and all were equally delicious. We couldn't believe how fast the service was in spite of all the people in the pub. Great music, great dancing and great atmosphere 👍
- Amanda Farns
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Good location by the hwy and opposite the Ellis Beach.
Menu had variety and catered to most needs.
They have specials deals daily today it was taco and beer for $15.
We had the fisherman basket, nachos and barra burger. All were ok. Just a pub style meal.
Staff were friendly and prices fair. Varied drinks menu, I had a tropical colada $17 decent size drink.
Breakfast menu looked good.
Seemed to be a popular place to go.
- Brooke Tera-Sundri
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Fabulous pit stop. Menu is extensive and has a good variety of vegetarian options which are surprisingly tasty. Food quality exceeded my expectations. We stop here regularly on our way back from Cairns, the kids love the beach. Service tends always to be average and inconsistent but the atmosphere, music and food are always good.
- N. B.
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Excellent in and out, road-side restaurant! Good selection of dishes from small plates to large platters. Choices ranged from meats/seafood to fries to nachos to salads…and the drinks were on point! Fast service, lots of places to sit. Near Ellis Beach.
- Peter George
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Awesome place great food great staff great view you can not aks for more
- EUNI DRAKE
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
An access lift to the next level to enable everyone to enjoy the bar.
- Ross Woodford
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
A great little spot on the Captain Cook Hwy just past Palm Cove. You can sit undercover overlooking Ellis Beach with great service and food. If you're around at the right time you could even enjoy dinner and a live band ($25) which all just adds to the atmosphere. Worth a look if you want to get away from the Palm Cove mayhem. I would recommend giving them a try.
- Sam Jensen
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
Absolutely loved our breakfast at Ellis Beach Bar and Grill! 5 stars! The free pancakes for kids on Saturdays were a delightful surprise. Great food and family-friendly atmosphere.
- Peter Sinclair
5 Fri 2024 at 11.35 pm
30 years between beers at this pub. A lot has changed but still a great spot to people watch over a cold beer. Staff were very friendly and the food was on point.
- Mich Does Travel