Code Cairns — Restaurant in Queensland

I dined solo on the bread with konbu butter, fish, and the vegetable plate. Due to dietary restrictions, they did not add the peas to the fish.

The bread was delightful, but the konbu added to the butter had a mild sweetness and an umami flavor not unlike candied fire-roasted tomatoes mixed with vegemite. The texture still screamed butter, but no sense of a buttery taste remained. I might have preferred konbu mayonaise but leave the butter lightly salted and otherwise unadulterated.

The vegetable plate was done perfectly. Kudos!

The fish was a missed opportunity. Instead of flash frying the skin to make it crispy, the choice was made to slow fry it. This left the skin somewhat gummy and plastic, and barely overcooked. A disappointment. Having so stated, perhaps the pea concoction, omitted at my direction, would have mitigated this failing. A fluffy salad came with the fish, containing mint. After the first taste, I thought I might not enjoy it. Happily, I was mistaken.

The staff was very helpful, if quite busy, and had a positive attitude to guests. Clearly, every course was individually prepared, and took just as long to be served as it took to prepare. Re-think the kobu butter. Continue experimenting until either fixing the emperor fish recipe, or selecting another fish that cooks up more delicious. The interior seemed lacking in adornment.

As others have stated, this was not an easily forgettable experience. This is a very good restaurant, teetering on the brink of greatness. This year's new dietary restrictions left me wishing I could enjoy more of Code's dishes...

Finally had the chance to get out to Holloways Beach to try CODE bar & restaurant over the Father’s Day weekend, And I was delighted.

I need to give some context to my delight before I continue, I have worked in and around the hospitality industry for more than twenty years most of which was as a chef and then later the cocktail bar scene and management. I frequently find going out for dinner to be a disappointment due to one thing or another, if not subpar food or lack lustre service then the frustration of industry standards not being what they once were.

My experience at CODE was the opposite, the front of house staff were energetic, knowledgeable, communicated extremely well with one another and above all were happy!

My wife choose the cocktail of the day which was served with a subtle but beautifully matched garnish, I a glass of pinot noir served in an appropriate glass to let it breath.

Every morsel of food that was delivered was on point and had me grinning from ear to ear, my favorited dish being the “cured beef katsu sando” while my better half’s dish of choice was “Eggplant, peanut cream, kasundi, pomegranate, preserved lemon”.

The experience reignited some the passion in me for food and drink, put a smile on my face and left me wanting more.

I don’t often write reviews and in this case nothing I can say will do the experience justice, If you are in the area go and try it, Code staff obviously have a great passion for what they do and it shows.

Thank you for an Excellent experience and Ill see you again very soon..

PS; we talked about moving to Holloways so we are a...

Tucked away in a nook next to Liquorland and Thai Spricy dish, Code Cairns is a hidden gem. I could fault nothing there. Everything from the atmosphere to the meals and service was superb. I'm not surprised that their beef katsu sando is their signature dish; the bread and potato had a crispy richness offset by the freshness of the mustard cress and the beef was delectably soft. The confit duck with sweet potato croquettes were a delight, rich and flavoursome and the aioli completmented the dish well. Normally, I don't order desserts, but the quality and flavour of the main meal was so exquisite, I simply needed to try it. I ordered the tahini sundae with baked white chocolate and sesame crisp. I'm a big fan of sesame icecream for it's nuttiness balanced against the sweet caramel of the burned white chocolate. The grittiness of the sesame gave it a rustic charm and the sesame crisp biscuit had a lovely chewy texture under the crispy outside layer. I also highly recommend the buddah's hand curd donuts with lemon balm meringue. I tried a spoonful from my partner's dish and it was mouth watering. The next time I'm up from Melbourne, dining at Code Cairns will definitely be on my list of...