Hi Tide by the beach — Restaurant in Port Douglas

We're locals and have been coming here for years. Tonight we had dinner at Hi Tide and was utterly shocked at how ordinary the food was. My husband ordered fish of the day and I ordered crispy skinned chicken with lotus roots and char grilled corn. First inkling something was not quite as good as it has always been was when my husbands meal arrived several minutes before my own. He was going to wait but the mashed potatoes were already mostly cold when the meal was first set out, so I insisted he start while I sat there awkwardly twiddling my thumbs. When my meal eventually arrived (with an apology from the lovely waiter who we later found out was the manager) I was disappointed. The chicken was not crispy, there were no lotus roots (basically the only reason I ordered that dish in the first place) and the corn was rock solid and definitely not char grilled. There were baby carrots, but they too were quite solid. We ate what we could but with a definite feeling of disappointment. When a different waiter came to clear our plates he saw we had left quite a bit and asked if everything was alright. We gave honest feedback and he listened really well. We were told there is new management and a new head chef and they are in the process of designing their own menu and are currently working with the old menu. It certainly wasn't the old menu we knew, so we still didn't understand how this restaurant could have gone from great to disappointing in 6 months, Anyway, when we paid the bill, the manager had a good conversation my husband and we left feeling hopeful this restaurant could return to its prior standard or even get better. It has one of the most enviable locations in Port Douglas. So in summary - food was very ordinary and staff were wonderful. View was amazing as always. We wish you luck new management and...

Still great - confirmed. We saw some recent reviews warning customers away - looks like there was some staff turnover and settling in period maybe? In any event, I went as a group of four last night for dinner (with a booking). We were seated promptly, served soon after, probably the best lemon, lime and bitters I've had this year, then we ordered. The front of house staff were great - available when needed, non intrusive when not, polite and willing to learn in to the joke of the moment at the table. The wind picked up and we asked if we could move inside - immediate response, a new table being readied for us, zero issues. The prices are high enough to suggest fine dining, and that is exactly what we got... Every course as good as the last, and not one of the four of us with the slightest quibble. The pate portion was large, the sides came with garnish which enhanced the flavour rather than just decorating the plate, the steaks were perfectly cooked to our different levels of preference ... Honestly, we had been apprehensive due to recent reviews of Hi Tide, but in our experience, this place is definitely worth serious consideration of you'd like some upmarket dinner in a private setting with the beach only twenty metres from your plate. Great experience, can...

I have eaten at this restaurant before and was a wonderful experience over the years obviously new owners/ management However soon as approaching was told 20 minutes wait so I went for walk on beach. For 20 mins came back waited 15 mins to be acknowledged at concierge placement with no concierge present ,,, with my elderly parent , when seated was told water and menu would be in its way (it never came ) couple in front of us up and left as no service was offered to them so we took there menus then moved to there table as they were at least given cutlery and water we quite possibly waited forty minutes for order to be taken no apologies no eye contact other people arrived and got served before us ,we ordered waited and waited tempted to leave as other couples had I asked where is our meal As was coming up quite windy and said food would be cold anyway our meals came eventually no apologies .. mentioned to staff do you know how many people left "lots i bet" was answer unfortunately we wont return we were booked for dinner but will now cancel a concierge as was with previous owner would greatly benefit this business and more...