Tha Fish in Cairns is a standout waterfront seafood restaurant at the Marina. Known for its fresh, locally sourced seafood prepared with creative flavours, it’s perfect for tropical dining. Oh and believe me, things do get creative here!
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Tha Fish offer a $25 Lunch Special, so we take advantage of that plus a few other menu items that absolutely delight us! Please, read on…
Tha Fish sits right on the Cairns Marina, offering a beautiful vantage point to watch boats and luxury superyachts come and go. If you’ve seen Below Deck Down Under with the Thalassa docking, this is exactly the spot!
We start with the duck and ginger flower dumplings and they were wonderful, beautifully cooked with a golden, crisp base and soft, delicate tops. The minced duck, though a touch firm, carried a deep, savoury richness, perfectly balanced by the fragrant ginger that elevated their flavour.
Next up, the Coral Trout cassava crisps were a delight, crispy and golden on the outside, with a savoury richness inside. Although the trout flavour wasn’t distinct, the balance of texture and taste made them quite enjoyable.
The shucked oysters, steamed with soy and ginger, are absolutely delicious. As you probably know, I adore oysters, and anything with ginger, but these truly take it to the next level with their bold, fragrant flavour.
Our next dish, the Kilpatrick oysters, were also excellent, as my friend Victor pointed out, it’s more than just a splash of Worcestershire sauce that makes a Kilpatrick great! They had a somewhat spicy and smoky flavour that we devoured with delight.
The ginger and dashi tempura soft shell crab with seaweed gnocchi, wood ear mushrooms, edamame, and miso butter was memorable. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the crab that stood out most, but the seaweed gnocchi, earthy mushrooms, and rich miso butter creating unique, layered flavours.
This dish is easily the best, seared scallops with tempura eggplant, wakame, pickled ginger glaze, and black sesame dressing. The crispy eggplant contrasts beautifully with the tender scallops, while the bold sesame dressing ties every element together perfectly. I dream of a dish like this.
My friend Ron ordered the black salt and tamarind pork, served with green pawpaw, lychees, and chilli salad. The pork is cooked beautifully, but the addition of lychees leaves him puzzled, and we both agree they feel a little out of place in the dish, albeit the pork is beautifully cooked with great charring.
The salt and pepper calamari, unfortunately, doesn’t quite hit the mark for me. It has a slightly old taste with a strong, lingering smell that takes away from what should have been a light and flavoursome dish.
However, the prawn and pancetta linguine from the lunch specials menu was absolutely divine. Each bite was packed with flavour, with succulent, juicy prawns perfectly paired with salty pancetta and sun-dried tomatoes, all brought together by the rich, velvety champagne sauce, this was truly a wonderful, indulgent dish.
Matty Somewhere 
Wish I could find my darn genie lost again to beam me up to Cairns for a Sunday lunch 🙂 ! A lot of appetizing fare at pretty hefty prices! Like the dumplings, crisps and tempura crab . . . but don’t agree with the presentation of the oysters Kilpatrick – they used to be a firm favourite of mine way back when – need a far more elegant presentation with finely cut bacon et al – whatever the ‘red’ is on them does not belong in the classic recipe 🙂 !