Prawn Star — Restaurant in Cairns City

Booked today (Thursday) after walking past yesterday to try it out. Walked up to the first boat and saw the two staff in the kitchen prepping (male and female). We went to the third boat to be told by a young guy who seemed to be a customer that we needed to wait by the first boat. Whilst waiting another four (4) couples arrived. During this time the two « cooks » did not make eye contact to acknowledge anyone except when they took a platter to one of the tables and had to walk past us and therefore greeted us. I went to the third boat to ask the lady who seemed to be in charge front of house and she told me that they were short staffed and she would be with us in a moment yet she seated another couple who arrived after us (and also booked). To be fair to her she was very busy and was juggling A number of things and serving seated customers. We returned to the first boat and then saw a new staff member at 5.05pm who leisurely put away her bag away then proceeded to brush her teeth (yes you read it correctly - brush her teeth, spit out the toothpaste foam into a side basin, rinsed her mouth and wiped her mouth dry with the back of her hand in full view of the waiting customer queue. Zero hygiene and totally unbelievable. During this time there was NO acknowledgement of the customers waiting. With this turn of events, we decided to leave at 510pm and go somewhere else. We are not the type to provide feedback on line as we understand how challenging the hospitality industry can be having worked in it for 30yrs and just sold our own restaurant, however the lack of acknowledgement and lack of any effort to be professional was gobsmacking. To the owner, something is not right. I know it’s tough to find good staff but the ones you have are not doing your business any favours or perhaps have not been set standards especially those working from 5pm Thursday 18th August 2022, the worst being the curly brown ombré headed lady brushing her teeth. This is where you come ...

Hi Prawn Star, I do not take leaving online reviews lightly, I know how these reviews can affect your business. But I feel like people need to know. I was not going to leave a review at all, and I was going to let it go, until the very last part of my experience changed my mind. I loved the atmosphere of your restaurant. The concept is great, eating "Fresh" seafood out on the boats in the tropical Cairns heat. Sounds awesome right? Rafael was an excellent host too. However.... The seafood is about as far from fresh as you can get. How do I know this? I worked in the seafood wholesale business for 8 years. You can tell a fresh prawn very easily and a prawn that has been frozen then thawed. The prawns that were served to me and my family had been frozen then thawed for a least a few days. Things to look for: Broken short antenna on the prawn = definitely frozen then thawed. The prawns eyes are concave and shrivelled = frozen then thawed but also thawed for days. The prawns tail shell appears to be full of water and when peeled the meat is mushy = Definitely thawed and days old. The lesson here is that a frozen then thawed product can not be marketed and sold as "Fresh", this is misleading. When talking about seafood, "Fresh" means that it has never been frozen before. We did not even finish the prawns that we spent $80 on. So to explain the reason why I went to the trouble of leaving a review, when I was waiting there at the cashiers table to pay my bill, even though I was the only one standing there waiting to pay. When a fellow customer came up after me to pay after I was already there first, I was ignored when this customer spoke Portuguese to the cashier and so I got served second. Rafael's great customer service initially was cancelled out in my mind. Sorry Prawn Star but I will not return on my next trip to Cairns and I cannot give you a...

I was looking to experience what the local Cairns seafood scene had to offer. Guided by reviews, I decided we would try this venue. The first impression when I arrived gave me a touristy vibe. Which is what I was. But when you arrive at a tourist venue these days it typically isn’t the best of experiences. They have three boats set up with tables in the middle of each. This may appeal to some, but I felt like I was in a south East Asian country instead of Cairns. The food came out and looked exactly as they advertise but what would have stood out is either a menu with where the seafood was sourced or a quick run down by the wait staff. There were two wait staff (boss and a young helper) who looked too busy to stop and chat. We had the large seafood platter $120. There was a mixture of perhaps three different types of prawn, small Morton bay bugs, 6 oysters, salmon sashimi. I was a bit let down by the oysters as the synonymous salty brine they come with was missing. They seemed fresh but had very little taste. I saw another patron adding salt to hers which I found somewhat odd. The prawns and bugs were tasty but appeared to have been pre boiled as they come out cold. It just reminded me of the precooked cold seafood you can get at your local woolies or coles- which I normally steer clear of. All in all it was an experience. Would I go back again. Probably not. Would I recommend a visitor going? Yes but taper your...