Wonderful welcoming staff. Beautiful explanations of menu items. Perfect food and large portions, great cocktail selection. Our only issue was we were cold! Not that big of an issue- always nice not to be sweating in Cairns. But next time I will bring a jacket in case I'm seated directly in front of the A/C again. But there will definitely be a next time.

Palooka was an amazing find in Stratford, a quiet and very pretty suburb of Cairns. Firstly the service was outstanding. Kiki was so friendly as were absolutely all of the staff. So professional and personable yet allowing us the right amount of space. We chose a starter on the specials menu, the blue swimmers crab on a sourdough crumpet...extraordinary tasty and delightful. The saganaki was so delicious we wanted to lick the pan. Pizza had a very light base, which was welcome. And the tiramisu served from a very large dish was strongly coffeed and a real treat. In all, we enjoyed a wonderful night out. Mind you, it's very noisy but we wallowed in the cosmopolitan buzz of it all. Congrats to all and highly recommend this experience when in Cairns.

Firstly we came for the brunch, it was very nice. You have to come during the week days to taste the cinnamon rolls, there are incredible ! The service was quick and very sympathetic. We decided to come for dinner and we don’t have any regrets ! The food is so delicious and the service was amazing ! Thank you Bérangère and Gaelle for your exceptional service. It was super lovely !

Intimate, warm, friendly, welcoming and impeccable service. Love coming to Palooka. Ohhhh and the rustic in-house devine food. Always a excellent experience. Thank you to the wonderful Chiara enjoy your adventures travelling.

I've always wanted to try this place since it opened and I finally did with a good friend. The menu was interesting, but I wouldn't say there was much on there that I would order, plus everything was on the expensive side, but probably comparable to other cafes these days. Staff were lovely, quite a large space with seating indoors, in the garden or outside on the pavement. The meals were large and tasty.