Port Douglas, Queensland
Sassi
1 Bale Drive, peppers.com.au.
The cuisine is a stylised tropical adaptation of home cooking from Italy's Adriatic coast. Dishes include ostriche sassi (freshly shucked oysters served in delicate Chinese porcelain spoons with a lightly spiced sauce topped with chives and salmon caviar) and piatto del pescatore (a seafood feast). Expect to pay about A$80 (HK$540) for three courses and between A$35 and A$635 for a bottle of wine.
Zinc
Corner of Macrossan and Davidson Streets, zincportdouglas.com
Zinc (above right) has international favourites such as Indian butter-style curry chicken (A$25.90) and seafood lasagnette; a medley of chilli, garlic, white wine, basil, parmesan and saffron (A$28.90).
Port of India
38/9 Grant Street
The menu offers a range of cooking much broader than your typical Indian restaurant, from traditional southern sadhya (a vegetarian dish) from Kerala to northern Mughlai cuisine. Expect to pay about A$60 per head for an Indian feast.
The Living Room
22 Wharf Street
Executive chef Steve Ritchie's description of The Living Room's fare is modern international. Oysters come with toppings such as lime, mint and chilli granita or pickled green paw paw with fried shallots and chilli jam. Try the crispy skin Barramundi fillet served on potato and chive roesti with salted cucumber, mud crab butter and baby watercress (A$34).
2 Fish Restaurant
7/20 Wharf Street
2fishrestaurant.com.au
Try the oysters wasabi served with cucumber, coriander granita and flying-fish roe, or oysters topped with red wine vinegar and eschalot dressing (A$31.90 per dozen). The seafood plate for two is a feast of bay bugs (lobsters), king prawns, yabbies (freshwater crayfish), soft-shelled mud crab, scallops, oysters, smoked salmon, octopus and battered reef fish (A$119.90).
Nautilus Restaurant
17 Murphy Street
nautilus-restaurant.com.au
The Nautilus (far left) does not admit children younger than eight. The six-course degustation menu costs A$99 per person or an extra A$50 per person with six matching wines.