Why this town in Far North Queensland is a paradise for seafood lovers
Even the rainforest and Coral Sea views are to die for.
I've already dined on barramundi wrapped in banana leaf, Moreton Bay bug, citrus-cured reef fish and a giant grilled tiger prawn dressed in roasted garlic and parsley butter. It's been a fresh-fish mega fest across two restaurants in one day. And now, at the Nautilus Restaurant in Port Douglas, the OG of eateries in Far North Queensland, the crispy-skinned flesh of a fried whole coral trout is being felled from the bone by waiters at our table, to be eaten with a Thai spiced caramel sauce.
It's one of six courses we eat that night, sat beneath palm trees in the tropical gardens of the degustation-only Nautilus. Out come pan-seared scallops topped with crunchy pork floss and salt and pepper cauliflowerets. Here's yellowfin tuna and hiramasa kingfish, bite-sized yet brimming with taste bombs, like smoked kewpie and toasted eschalot puree.
Nautilus opened in the 1950s, its founders a retired British spy and his aristocrat wife, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. Port Douglas was a sleepy fishing village then, and for some time afterwards, until Christopher Skase arrived in the 1980s and put it on the map with his sprawling resort on Four Mile Beach. The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort is where we feasted the previous night under original 1980s chandeliers in Harrisons restaurant. After our cured fish and prawns we had barramundi (again), this time cooked tandoori style and served with smoked yoghurt and octopus.
And that Moreton Bay bug? It came sweet-fleshed and unfussy, save for some vanilla butter and a squeeze of lemon, at Thala Beach resort's treetops restaurant, Ospreys. It's named for the local birds of prey who are themselves expert fishers, although I suspect the bird's-eye view from here is behind the moniker. The sweeping outlook across rustling rainforest and the glimmering Coral Sea is the perfect side to a three-course lunch. nautilus-restaurant.com.au; harrisonsrestaurant.com.au; thalabeach.com.au
My all-time favourite destination is … Italy. A three-week family holiday, from Rome to Venice via Tuscany and the Cinque Terre, was a pinch-ourselves dream come true, every single day.
Next on my bucket list is … South America - in particular Argentina, Peru and Colombia. I’d love to explore them all, the capital cities and beyond.
My top travel tip is … Make regular plans to travel and have adventures - however near or far from home - with the people you love most.
Travel's Top Picks
Travel's Most Viewed
Bye-bye, French fry benders: How to travel without derailing your health habits
I wanted to experience the real Japan, so I followed the locals
6 best travel deals of the week: save over 50 per cent on a Miami-return cruise
Western Sydney airport transport: free parking, $15 daily rates and $25 shuttles
From Kiama to Kalbarri: the Aussie towns competing for 2026's top tourism crown
