"Sunday with Mum" at Palooka Restaurant, Cairns, in Far North Queensland

 Mother's Day at Cairns Palooka Restaurant, in Far North Queensland, totally exceeded my expectations. They describe their food as contemporary modern European dining, or Mediterranean, and the French and Italian influences in their cuisine are very obvious. The restaurant is situated in the heart of Stratford village in Cairns, offering cosy seating inside or outside on the footpath, which is well protected from the weather by sturdy blinds if needed. The restaurant is very accessible, and parking along the side street is generally available.

I remember when Palooka was opened in September 2022, by three of Cairns' most renowned restaurateurs and everyone was excited at the thought of a new neighbourhood restaurant. Since then they have grown from strength to strength, and whether you require just a delicious cup of morning coffee, brekkie, lunch, dinner or a takeaway pizza or pasta, Palooka are happy to oblige. If you are travelling up to the Atherton Tablelands, why not time it and stop here on the way for a coffee and breakfast? You will be pleased you made the effort.

I knew the food would be very good, as my daughter Shannon is quite the experienced food critic, and when she arranged to take me for lunch at Palooka with Mr. HRK too of course for Mother's Day, I was really excited. The Mother's Day menu was a set one, however guests could still order anything from their extensive menu, right down to a pizza if they wished. We went for broke and ordered the set menu, which is representative of many dishes which are available any night of the week, except Monday and Tuesday nights. However, check their opening hours to be on the safe side. Heck they deserve to have Mondays off, and close early on Tuesdays, after being open all weekend. On Mother's Day we were told they catered for 300 for breakfast, then 150 for lunch and were open for dinner as well. No doubt Mother's Day is one of the biggest events of the year for restaurants, and I am absolutely blown away that any restaurant can cater flawlessly for so many people in one day. 

As a food blogger, I'm not really in the business of reviewing restaurants unless I am absolutely impressed by the food and the service. Needless to say I couldn't fault anything at Palooka. The staff attended to our every need as diners without being overattentive, if you know what I mean. When a restaurant is catering for a special event such as Mother's Day, with 150 diners at their tables, and the staff are all still smiling and appear to be enjoying themselves as well, the owners are doing a lot things right. The vibe of this place is on point.

So on with the menu.

The freshest oysters as a starter were served natural and classic mignonette. I chose them natural. They were served with a champagne vinaigrette which was perfect. Mr. HRK and Shannon very kindly donated theirs to me, so I had three.

"BREAK BREAD"

Their bread is baked daily and was served with warm butter, white anchovy, tomato nduja & whipped ricotta. A plate of prosciutto was also placed on the table.

Then, a shot glass of gazpacho cleaned the palate beautifully. The flavours of watermelon, basil and pink gin shone through the gazpacho perfectly. This was really superb.

The Main Course was Tarragon roasted free range chicken with a delicious sage, garlic, and raisin stuffing, served with bread sauce and Marco's mustard.  I don't know who Marco is, I didn't have time to ask, but it could be San Marco's French mustard, available by the jar.

Crunchy and salty, the compulsory baked potatoes were served on a base of creme fraiche, with chopped chives.

The salad served with the main meal was light and delightful. Peach slices, spinach, toasted almonds, and goats cheese, were scattered with bread from yesterday tossed with Extra Virgin Olive. The salad was lightly coated with a lemon vanilla dressing.

Dessert, is there room for a dessert? Well surprisingly there was.  Dessert was called Cherry Ripe, and was deliciously light and the perfect finish to an exquisite meal. The coconut curd was chilled to represent a sorbet, and served with maraschino cherries, and a chocolate sabayon. 

We've been watching the latest Australian series of Masterchef on television, and the food cooked on most episodes is inspiring. I've really enjoyed this series. All of the dishes we were presented with on Mother's day at Palooka were as good as, if not better than what I have seen on Masterchef. 

If you are passing through Cairns, or live here, I really recommend this spot. However just remember to book. If you just feel like take away pizza, they are happy to oblige. As I said before, if you just feel like enjoying a glass of wine and a delicious snack, the bread with anchovy, tomato nduja, and whipped ricotta is generally available. There's something for everybody.

Palooka Pizza can be picked up or ordered for delivery. Remember to make a booking or you might be disappointed.

The thoughts I have expressed in this review are all my own, and I am not being paid by anybody to write this review. Does that really happen anyway?

Happy dining, I feel so fortunate as a home cook, to have experienced such a delicious lunch. We ate inside.

Warm wishes,

Pauline