Ochre Restaurant Cairns: Burgers and Bush Tucker
Ochre on the Cairns marina: chef Craig Squire's bush tucker menu, its 2 lunch burgers (AUD 30–32), hours, address and the Nick Holloway mix-up.
Photo: Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ochre, on the Cairns marina, is a native-produce restaurant first and a burger stop second. Chef Craig Squire opened it in 1994 as Red Ochre Grill and still owns it. Today it sits on the Harbour Lights boardwalk at 6/1 Marlin Parade, open Monday to Saturday for lunch, tapas and dinner. Burgers are lunch only: on the Winter 2026 menu, the Ultimate Aussie Burger costs AUD 32 and the FNQ Burger, made with barramundi, AUD 30. I checked every price, address and hour below against Ochre’s own website and menus on 21 October 2026.
1 correction before going further, because it keeps circulating online: Nick Holloway does not cook at Ochre. He runs Nu Nu in Palm Cove. Ochre is Craig Squire’s.
Ochre restaurant Cairns: key facts
Ochre is a modern Australian restaurant on the Cairns marina, built on regional produce and native ingredients, owned by its founding chef, Craig Squire.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Address | 6/1 Marlin Parade, Cairns QLD 4870 (Harbour Lights boardwalk, marina) |
| Phone | +61 7 4051 0100 |
| info@ochrerestaurant.com.au | |
| Days | Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday |
| Lunch | 11:30am to 3pm |
| Tapas | 3pm to 5:30pm |
| Dinner | 5:30pm to 9:30pm |
| Service | Dine-in and takeaway |
| Public holidays | 15% surcharge |
| Founder and owner | Chef Craig Squire |
| Opened | 1994, as Red Ochre Grill Cairns |
| Cuisine | Modern Australian, regional and native produce |
| Status | Open, taking bookings and catering enquiries (checked 21 October 2026) |
Sources: Ochre contact page and Ochre homepage, checked 21 October 2026.
Ochre restaurant Cairns key facts: address, hours (lunch 11:30am–3pm, tapas 3–5:30pm, dinner 5:30–9:30pm, Monday to Saturday), phone and owner, checked 21 October 2026. (Table: Burger Breton, data from Ochre Restaurant official website (ochrerestaurant.com.au/contact), checked 2026-10-21)
Map of Ochre restaurant at 6/1 Marlin Parade, Cairns QLD 4870, on the Harbour Lights boardwalk beside the Cairns marina. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
Who owns Ochre? Chef Craig Squire
Ochre was founded by chef Craig Squire, and he still owns it more than 30 years later. His official bio traces a career that runs from South Australia to London and Austria before Cairns.
Squire finished a four-year apprenticeship at the Adelaide Festival Centre (Regency Park) in 1984. A year later, aged 21, he opened Gaby’s Restaurant on Kangaroo Island. Then came London, at Kensington Place among others, and Austria.
Back home, he opened Red Ochre Grill in Adelaide in 1993, then Red Ochre Grill in Cairns in 1994. Sources disagree on where he was born. They all agree that he came from South Australia. Source: Ochre, About Chef Craig.
The team behind Ochre today
Craig Squire shares the business with Carley Elsum, whom Ochre’s website names as Managing Director since 2010 and Cairns Local News describes as an owner. In its November 2024 report, Cairns Local News also named head chef Harrison Wall, sous chef Mikayla Stirling and restaurant manager Jamille Roberts. That line-up is 2 years old, and I could not confirm it is unchanged. Source: Cairns Local News, 7 November 2024.
From Red Ochre Grill to the marina: Ochre’s timeline
Ochre has had 2 names and 2 addresses: it opened as Red Ochre Grill on Shields Street in 1994, became Ochre Restaurant in 2008 and moved to the Harbour Lights boardwalk in July 2016.
- 1984: Craig Squire completes his apprenticeship at the Adelaide Festival Centre.
- 1985: he opens Gaby’s Restaurant on Kangaroo Island.
- 1993: Red Ochre Grill opens in Adelaide.
- 1994: Red Ochre Grill opens in Cairns, on Shields Street.
- 2008: the Cairns restaurant is renamed Ochre Restaurant.
- 2010: Carley Elsum becomes Managing Director, per Ochre’s website.
- July 2016: after 22 years on Shields Street, Ochre moves to a purpose-built venue on the Harbour Lights boardwalk.
Ochre timeline: Gaby’s on Kangaroo Island (1985), Red Ochre Grill Adelaide (1993), Red Ochre Grill Cairns on Shields Street (1994), renamed Ochre (2008), move to the Harbour Lights boardwalk (July 2016). (Timeline: Burger Breton, data from Ochre Restaurant, About Chef Craig and About pages, checked 2026-10-21)
The old site was Ground Floor/43 Shields Street, according to a 2017 lease listing. If an older guidebook sends you to Shields Street, head to the marina instead. Sources: Ochre, About and About Chef Craig.
Yachts moored at the Cairns marina, the waterfront Ochre has overlooked since moving from Shields Street in July 2016. Photo from 2008, not taken at Ochre. (Photo: Jorge Láscar, CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/8721758@N06/4559822077)
Bush tucker restaurant in Cairns: what Ochre cooks
Ochre is the Cairns restaurant to book if you want bush tucker, the native foods of Australia, on a modern plate. Its menus are headed ‘Guaranteed Local Produce’, and TripExpert credits it with using more than 30 native foods.
Bush tucker meats in Australia: a home-cooked plate of emu, crocodile, kangaroo, buffalo and beef. Illustrative photo, not taken at Ochre. (Photo: Terrazzo, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/8249050@N02/6286224689)
The native signatures on the Winter 2026 menus are hard to miss. Kangaroo appears twice. Crocodile goes into a laksa. Wattleseed, quandong, finger lime, pepper leaf, macadamia and Ooray plum run through the sauces and desserts. Seafood is marked A (Australian), M (mixed) or I (imported), so you know exactly where your fish comes from.
A cooked kangaroo steak with glazed apples, cranberries and roast potatoes. Illustrative photo taken at another restaurant, not at Ochre, which serves kangaroo sirloin with quandong chilli sauce (AUD 49). (Photo: Stanislav Kozlovskiy, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kangaroo\_steak.jpg)
| Dish (Winter 2026 menus) | Price |
|---|---|
| Kangaroo satays with macadamia sauce | AUD 18 |
| Crocodile laksa | AUD 29 |
| Chargrilled kangaroo sirloin with quandong chilli sauce | AUD 49 |
| Wattleseed pavlova with Ooray plum sorbet | AUD 21 |
| Tempura Gulf bugs | AUD 66 |
| Local Tablelands Beef: 250 g striploin | AUD 50 |
| Local Tablelands Beef: 600 g rib eye | AUD 85 |
Bar chart of Ochre’s Winter 2026 native and regional dish prices in AUD: kangaroo satays 18, wattleseed pavlova 21, crocodile laksa 29, kangaroo sirloin 49, 250 g Tablelands striploin 50, tempura Gulf bugs 66, 600 g Tablelands rib eye 85. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Ochre Winter 2026 lunch and dinner menus, checked 2026-10-21)
My read of the 2 menus: here the native ingredients carry the sauces of the main courses. They are not a sprinkle of garnish. The seafood labelling is the detail I would like to see copied elsewhere. Prices read from Ochre’s Winter 2026 lunch menu and dinner menu on 21 October 2026. Some travel sites still quote a croc burger at AUD 18 and 3 courses at AUD 85. Those figures are out of date.
Lonely Planet, quoted on Ochre’s own site, calls its desserts ‘worth moving to Cairns for’. Source: Ochre, About.
Ochre’s burgers: menu and prices (Winter 2026)
Ochre serves 2 burgers, both at lunch only: the Ultimate Aussie Burger at AUD 32 and the FNQ Burger, made with barramundi, at AUD 30. The dinner menu has no burger.
| Lunch item | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Aussie Burger | Premium beef mince, milk bun, bacon, beetroot, cheddar, pickles, salad, pepper leaf aioli, onion rings and spiced fries; dairy-free option | AUD 32 |
| The FNQ Burger | Australian barramundi, grilled or tempura, brioche bun, Asian slaw, cucumber, finger lime mayo, spiced fries; dairy-free | AUD 30 |
| Tacos (pulled pork or crispy chicken) | 2 tacos | AUD 24 |
| Secret spice fries | Side | AUD 12 |
| Lunch Share Platter | 3 small or medium dishes, fries and a glass of wine or beer; minimum 2 guests | AUD 52 per person |
| Lunch 2 Course with a glass | 2 courses and a drink | AUD 52 per person |
Ochre’s lunch burgers and deals, Winter 2026 (AUD): FNQ barramundi burger 30, Ultimate Aussie Burger 32, 2 tacos 24, secret spice fries 12, Lunch Share Platter and 2-course lunch with a glass 52 per person. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Ochre Lunch Menu Winter 2026, checked 2026-10-21)
Source: Ochre Lunch Menu Winter 2026 (PDF), still linked from the homepage on 21 October 2026. A summer menu may replace it, so check the current PDF before you go.
The Ultimate Aussie Burger
The Ultimate Aussie Burger is Ochre’s beef burger, and the beetroot is what makes it Australian. It stacks premium beef mince, bacon, cheddar, pickles and salad in a milk bun, with a pepper leaf aioli as the native touch. Onion rings and spiced fries come on the side. Ochre does not say where the patty’s beef comes from, so I won’t either: the ‘Local Tablelands Beef’ heading on the menu covers the steaks only.
The FNQ Burger: a barramundi burger in Cairns
The FNQ Burger is a barramundi burger named after Far North Queensland, and it is the one I would order. My reason is simple: of the 2 burgers, it is the only one whose main ingredient has its origin printed on the menu. The fish is marked A for Australian, and you choose it grilled or in tempura. It comes on a brioche bun with Asian slaw, cucumber and a finger lime mayo. Finger lime is the native citrus whose pulp bursts like tiny beads of lime. The burger is dairy-free and, at AUD 30, AUD 2 cheaper than the beef one.
Cooked garlic-crusted barramundi fillets, the Australian fish in Ochre’s FNQ Burger (AUD 30). Illustrative photo, not taken at Ochre; it does not show the burger. (Photo: Rob and Stephanie Levy (robstephaustralia), CC BY 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/59773274@N00/408495187)
Finger lime (Microcitrus australasica), the native Australian citrus whose caviar-like pearls flavour the finger lime mayo in Ochre’s FNQ Burger. (Photo: Jpbrigand, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lime\_Caviar.jpg)
Is Ochre one of the best burgers in Cairns?
No, not in the sense a burger ranking means it. Ochre is a native-produce restaurant with 2 well-built lunch burgers. Go for a burger that tastes of the region, not for the cheapest or the biggest in town.
If the burger itself is the goal, Cairns has a national award winner. In 2024, Edge Hill Butchery won ‘best burger’ at the Australian Meat Industry Council national awards with a lamb and halloumi burger, against more than 140 entries. Source: Cairns Local News, March 2024. For more venues across the city, see our Cairns burger guide.
Waterfront restaurant at the Cairns marina: awards and reputation
Ochre’s reputation rests on its wine list and its tourism awards as much as on its food. Its official list includes Gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards (Tourism Restaurants and Catering Services, 2016) and Silver in 2015.
- Australia’s Wine List of the Year (Gourmet Traveller): 2015, 2016 and 2017.
- Wine List of the Year Glass Winner: 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
- 3 Restaurant and Catering Wine List awards: 2018.
- TripExpert Expert’s Choice: 2024.
- Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice: 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Source: Ochre, Awards and Achievements; the 2024 awards are confirmed by Cairns Local News. TripExpert gives Ochre a score of 92 from 4 expert reviewers, including Frommer’s, Lonely Planet and Insight Guides, and places it in the top 1% of Cairns restaurants. Source: TripExpert.
Nick Holloway and Nu Nu: the Palm Cove correction
Nick Holloway has no verified link to Ochre: he is executive chef and co-owner of Nu Nu Restaurant in Palm Cove, a beach village north of Cairns. Nu Nu’s team page does not mention Ochre.
Nu Nu opened in 2004, and Holloway co-owns it with Jason Rowbottom. He also runs Numi Ice Creamery on the Palm Cove Esplanade and Nu Nu Events and Catering. He trained at Stella and Blake’s, spent 4 years at Pearl in Richmond, Melbourne, and has twice been a guest chef on MasterChef Australia. Source: Nu Nu team page.
Nu Nu was Gourmet Traveller’s Regional Restaurant of the Year in 2008. It is a separate restaurant with its own story, and worth the drive if you are staying up the coast.
How I built this profile
I did not review Ochre in person for this piece, so it carries no Burger Breton rating. I built it from Ochre’s official pages and Winter 2026 menus, Nu Nu’s team page, Cairns Local News and TripExpert, all checked on 21 October 2026. Where sources disagreed, on Craig Squire’s birthplace or the founding year, I kept only what the official bio supports.
FAQ: Ochre restaurant Cairns
Who owns Ochre restaurant in Cairns?
Chef Craig Squire founded Ochre in 1994 as Red Ochre Grill and still owns it. Cairns Local News also names Carley Elsum as an owner; Ochre’s site lists her as Managing Director since 2010.
Is Nick Holloway the chef at Ochre?
No. Nick Holloway is executive chef and co-owner of Nu Nu in Palm Cove. Ochre is Craig Squire’s restaurant.
Does Ochre Cairns serve burgers, and how much do they cost?
Yes, at lunch only. On the Winter 2026 menu, the Ultimate Aussie Burger is AUD 32 and the FNQ Burger is AUD 30, both with fries. The dinner menu has no burger.
What is the FNQ Burger at Ochre?
It is a barramundi burger: Australian barramundi, grilled or tempura, on a brioche bun with Asian slaw, cucumber, finger lime mayo and spiced fries. It is dairy-free.
Where is Ochre restaurant, and is it open on Sundays?
Ochre is at 6/1 Marlin Parade, Cairns QLD 4870, on the Harbour Lights boardwalk at the marina. It opens Monday to Saturday and is closed on Sundays.
Can you eat kangaroo and crocodile at Ochre?
Yes. The Winter 2026 menus list kangaroo satays with macadamia sauce (AUD 18), chargrilled kangaroo sirloin with quandong chilli sauce (AUD 49) and crocodile laksa (AUD 29).
What is bush tucker, and which native ingredients does Ochre use?
Bush tucker means the native foods of Australia. Ochre’s current menus use wattleseed, quandong, finger lime, pepper leaf, macadamia and Ooray plum, alongside kangaroo and crocodile.
Is there a lunch deal at Ochre?
Yes. The Lunch 2 Course with a glass and the Lunch Share Platter (3 dishes, fries and a drink, minimum 2 guests) each cost AUD 52 per person. Ochre takes bookings through its contact page.
Is Ochre still on Shields Street?
No. Ochre spent 22 years on Shields Street, then moved to the Harbour Lights boardwalk in July 2016.
More burger guides from Australia
Ochre is 1 stop in our Restaurants section, which maps burgers city by city. In Queensland, see our Brisbane and Gold Coast hubs. Further afield, read the best burgers in Perth, or the Grill’d guides for Sydney and Canberra.
