P.J.O'Brien's Irish Pub — Restaurant in Cairns City

I visited P.J. O’Brien’s Irish Pub in the Cairns CBD in November 2024 with a large group for dinner on a quiet Tuesday evening. We had a few tables booked, taking up about three in total. After a long day of travelling, I really appreciated the cosy, laid back atmosphere. The venue has a lot of little nooks for seating, with easy access to the bar and kitchen for meal and drink pick up.

I ordered a chicken parma with both mash and chips on the side, along with a lemon, lime and bitters. The meal was fairly standard, nothing to write home about. The parma was decent, but nothing particularly stood out, and the mash was just average. That said, a few friends at the table had the pie and commented that it was hearty and well cooked. The lemon, lime and bitters was refreshing and hit the spot.

What really stood out was the atmosphere. The pub is well themed, with loads of character and décor that gives it an authentic Irish pub feel. I liked the style of the bar and the variety of seating options, whether you wanted to pull up a stool or settle into a booth, there was something for everyone. Service was smooth, with meals ready for pick up when your buzzer went off. There were also a few TVs scattered around showing sport, which added to the vibe and kept us entertained during dinner.

For a Tuesday night, it was relatively lively without being overwhelming. It seemed like the kind of place that would really come alive on the weekend, but it was a nice relaxed spot for a midweek meal. Overall, P.J. O’Brien’s is a solid choice for a casual bite in Cairns CBD. It’s well located with parking nearby and just a short walk from the foreshore. If you’re after a chilled out pub meal in a themed setting with friendly staff and good service, it’s definitely worth...

My partner ordered a T-bone Steak (Medium Rare) which have ordered all all over Australia and cooked ourselves better, This T-bone came out tough as and was not Medium Rare. On chewing her first bite it became lodge in her throat, I thought she was joking but then realised she wasn’t, only for my quick thinking that I whacked my partner on her back with my hand that it became dislodged and came back up, if I didn’t act we would have been moments away from calling a ambulance for my partner, on complaining to the staff the floor staff that served us said are you ok and would you like a refund I’ll get the manager for you, the manager straight away attacked my partner stating that it was the way she was chewing and cutting the meat, there wasn’t at compassion from the manager as she could see my partner was distress from the incident, after numerous attempts we were finally given a refund, on leaving the premises we were approached by the security on the front door who ask us if everything was ok and ask us what happened, The owners of this premises seriously need to retrain their staff on the etiquette of hospitality and how to treat customers with respect and compassion especially when it could have almost ended up with my partner...

While this place has the best affordable steak in the area the service is ok, sometimes bad and the nightlife is a struggle. Pjs keeps making it a stop on pub crawls and I'm not sure why. The only night it should be is when you can sing. The trivia nights is a blast. I would have given 4 stars but once I told a waitress I wanted a steak with chips. I got back steak with mash. No big deal, I just asked to get chips since it was what I had asked for. I worked in resturants, I know it isn't always the server's fault, mistakes happen. Did she say no worries and try to fix it? Nope, not right away at least. Instead she made a big stink about it, wincing how I had ordered mash (which I know I didn't since mash is my least favorite food and I've not eaten it in a decade) Anyways after going round and round a few times she finally was like "Well, I'd have to take the plate back and it will be a few minutes to make the fries." As if that was my problem, her job to make the fries, or a huge deal. I said I'd be more than happy to wait and returned to my friends and cider. I look over and the gal was glaring at me talking to another worker. It isn't like I wanted something fixed that would have taken half an hour -...