Perrotta's at the Gallery — Restaurant in Cairns City

I have been visiting Perrotta’s since it opened some years ago. I go mainly for coffee and biscotti. My favourite is the macchiato - the best cup of coffee I have had anywhere in Cairns. The food is very good too. A small but interesting menu that always leaves a wonderful lingering aftertaste because they use quality fresh ingredients and don’t over embellish their food. There is plenty of choice for restaurants in Cairns but one feature of Perrotta’s that keeps me coming back is the position. It is on a raised deck right on the street corner of Abbott and Shields. The building is the Regional Art Gallery - another great reason for visiting. Being a little above street level gives a plumb view of the passing foot traffic to the esplanade. I love people watching and this is a terrific spot for it. At dusk, there is another bonus. The amazing hubbub of sound and flashing colour as hundreds of Rainbow Lorikeets arrow in from the esplanade to squabble and shriek before settling for the night in the Yellow Flame tree (Peltophorum) opposite the restaurant. Look the other way, towards the Cairns central swamp, and thousands upon thousands of Flying Foxes or Fruit bats are circling before heading off for their nightly forage. It is an incredible sight against the last rays of light edging the mountain rim of the city. Oh yes, they have a very friendly and...

Terrible unfriendly customer service and frozen Italian jam balls.

After 15 years in Cairns, I took a mate of mine to Perrotta’s for his birthday breakfast expecting a good moment.

The Indian lady working there was unfriendly and is 100% unable to smile. We ordered an $80 breakfast yet nobody wiped our table. We had to ask the young asian waitress who reluctantly quickly wiped approximately 70% of our table.

She then managed to dump our plates on the table and walk away. Not a single bit of Care nor kindness in her service and approach. (Why employing people who seem to hate their job?)

The italian bombolinis we ordered are literally the frozen ones from Aldi. They were still wet and microwave-moist underneath from the microwaving process.

Such a shame, the bacon eggs was decent. A business that has been doing too well, for too long in Cairns and does not value its clients, especially locals, and clearly has not learned its lessons from Covid.

I was so embarrassed by this experience in front of my mate after joking about having a great brekkie for his bday.

Never again Perrrotta’s. Good luck disrespecting and serving mediocre service and...

We were keen to try this cafe for breakfast after reading encouraging reviews about the food. Unfortunately we didn’t even get to place our order! From the minute we walked in, we got a negative, dismissive and arrogant vibe from the staff. Despite the cafe not being busy, there was no acknowledgement or greeting, and we were left standing for some time at the counter until we were told “ to sit over there”. 10 mins later we were still without menus or service. It appeared that the wait staff were more intent on wiping down and laying tables than making an effort to serve us. I tried several times to catch one waiters attention and I was then reprimanded for getting up to get menus. When the waiter finally came over with the menus he blatantly ignored my request for a coffee and walked off to another table. After another 10 mins of no service we got up and walked out. It was interesting to see the smirk on this waiters face. Clearly they don’t want the business treating customers in this way. We ended up at the Bang and Grind next door, were greeted warmly, seated and coffee orders taken within 2 minutes...