Iyara By Sakare Thai cuisine

Best meal I've had in Australia so far. Best Thai food I've ever had in my life! Almost everything on the menu is gluten free, many items are also vegetarian. Definitely worth walking up the stairs, where you will find this quiet, sophisticated, and air conditioned Thai restaurant. We started with the fried prawns with toasted coconut served in betel leaves (appetizer). So many flavors and textures bursting in my mouth!! For the main course, we tried the green curry chicken and the stir-fried vegetables. The two dishes complimented each other perfectly; so different but both delicious. We also had mocktails made with frozen pineapple juice and basil. Sooooo refreshing after our day out on the water! I highly recommend this restaurant.

Having just got back from 3 months in Thailand yesterday, we decided to go to a lovely Thai restaurant where I have been previously. My Thai wife came with me on this occasion and was very impressed with the quality saying the food was “original Thai food” unlike some of the restaurants which aren’t authentic, quite often as they’re not Thai owned. Thankfully this restaurant is Thai owned and the owner and staff are very friendly. I have attached a few photos of the food which unfortunately aren’t great quality photos, however, this restaurant is a must try and go and see for yourself. Enjoy.

Best Thai food I've had outside of Thailand; Sakare & her team were delightful hosts and the view is great too. Sakare was super mindful of my vegetarian diet too, checking in about fish sauce/eggs etc. specifically.

Lovely night out dinner! We're like all of the food that we ordered. Best Khoa soi noodle I've had so far. Definitely coming back again.

My family and I ate there in July 2025. We turned up without a reservation, and were immediately accommodated and still made to feel welcome. The service was outstanding and the food was the best Thai we have ever had (and we’ve been to Thailand)! The ingredients were fresh and the food was absolutely amazing. As a foodie, I would highly recommend it and will definitely return next time I’m in Cairns.

Consistently amazing! We visit here regularly and are never disappointed. Staff are efficient and kind and seem to really enjoy their work. The food is delicious and a great range of wine options. All that and a gorgeous view as well! Thank you!

We've walked place this restaurant dozens of times without knowing it existed on the Esplanade as it's up on level 1, and there aren't enough signs to inform potential customers. We were greeted by Jay, he was great and knew his stuff and made some great suggestions. The food arrived very quick, it looked great, well presented and full of flavour. We really enjoyed ourselves and had great Thai.

What a great meal. I can’t recommend enough. The manager came to the table and gave us his personal recommendations and had a great personality. Food and drinks 5 stars.

Very careful service in person and very good food. My vegetarian guest had the red curry with lychees and grapes. I had the duck confit, which was excellent. We ordered vegetarian Pad sie eww for my wife who had stayed back at the hotel, but when we opened it, we found it had chicken included. Ugh. The cocktails were very nice and very nicely presented. If you are looking for food, that is a little cut above, then I think this is the place for you.

AMAZING food!! the service took a bit longer since there was only one host taking care of all the tables, but he was very helpful and accommodating. the view sitting outside was really nice and the food is plated so beautifully! truly the BEST thai food i've ever had

I had high expectations after reading all the reviews on this place and to be fair, it didn't disappoint. The pad see ew and somtum stood out, they were easily high quality Thai dishes. But it was $19 for an ordinary tom yum soup AND a tiny portion size? Very unreasonable. The service was immaculate, waiters were constantly checking in on the food and refilling waters without request. I would recommend coming here if your visiting Cairns.

Amazing food and the staff was super friendly and welcoming! I had fried rice with prawns and my husband had pad see ew with chicken and both dishes were fantastic! So much flavor!

I had a terrible experience here as someone with celiac disease. I notified the waitress that I have a gluten allergy and asked for both the appetizer and main course as gluten-free. I took a few bites into it and had a bad feeling and called her back over. She claimed that she had "asked the kitchen for it to be gluten free" but looked guilty and took it away immediately. The manager comes over and gives me a lecture about how I need to tell them when I request something gluten-free (which I did, clearly, twice) and that the waitress said she had asked if I had an allergy and I had said no, which was a bold-faced lie. I've had people make mistakes but never been accused like that before. They ultimately ended up comping my meal but the experience left a horrible taste in my mouth (and horrible stomach pain).

Fantastic food and awesome service. Welcome from Melbourne and have tried several Thai restaurants there. I have to say we had to go to cairns to get the best Thai food

Best restaurant in Cairns! Traveling to Cairns for the first time, we were limited with options for good food. After using Yelp to guide us, we discovered this place and were a party of 6. Walked in the place was full and they happily accomodated us without a reservation. The servers were attentive but a little slow (only 2 of them for the entire restaurant) but it was ok as we weren't in a rush. Took our order for drinks and food, the food came out a little late but was absolutely delicious! If you are a local im sure you enjoy this place often, and if you're a tourist you MUST TRY. Great Quality, worth the pricing. Is a proper sit down restaurant so i would dress appropriately.

Owner Sakare was delightful food was delicious service was prompt and presentation was inviting. View of esplanade before sun goes down is lovely too from the balcony! Will come again!

Would rate this place zero stars if I could. The owner was so rude when I asked if my mate could remove peanuts as he's allergic, then when I asked a question about the menu she made me feel like the dumbest person on earth. Not a way to treat your customers when your paying $30-$40 per dish. The food is overpriced and customer service is lacking. Could get the same tasting food at the night markets for less $

Excellent. First, Thai food in Australia is fantastic and this place does not disappoint. Top notch food and service. The restaurant is nice, you can come here for a casual dinner or a special occasion. Nice decor and the front of this second floor restaurant opens up to a view of the bay and esplanade. Servers were really good. The curry puff appetizer is to die for!

Iyara is highly recommended. We had made reservations so we got in right away, but since it was a weekday they had a decent amount of seating available (but it wasn't dead either). They had Chang beer in addition to Singha, which was fun because most Thai restaurants I've been to only carry Singha (neither beer is amazing, BTW, but that's not the restaurant's fault). Our server was very nice and when I asked her if the vegetarian mains had any fish sauce, she rapidly shook her head "no" in a way that was both funny and reassuring. I felt confident that she was giving me a sincere and knowledgeable answer. The gaeng keaw waan vegetable (green tofu & vegetable curry) was amazing. A decent amount of heat balanced by the sweetness of the curry and the bite of lemongrass and Thai basil. Maybe the best Thai curry I've ever had. Overall, I haven't a complaint to offer about Iyara. Two quick notes that I think may help: 1) This place is not at all hard to find. Don't let that discourage you. It has clearly marked stairs that lead up to their 2nd floor dining room. (If you're nervous about finding it, just walk down Esplanade until you pass by two successive restaurants with green outdoor grandstand/corral type seating outdoors. Iyara's stairs are directly in between these two places. 2) Their 2nd floor location offers excellent ocean views. I bet if you ask for such a table when reserving they'd be willing to accommodate

Staff was really friendly and helpful the all time. We asked for advice on what to order and we didn't regret it. We had an entree and two mains plates, and was curry the other was salmon with a mild spicy sauce that left us breathless, we are definitely going back 100% recommend!!

Upstairs but out door dining. Very good food. A little pricey but good. Very nice staff and owner!

Best Thai since I visited Thailand. The Hot and Sour Soup so good!! As well as the Green Curry with eggplant!!

Food was ok here, a bit less than expected but the overwhelming feeling we left with was the total disregard of the staff . The service was painfully slow. The front desk was quick to turn us away, only to find that the party behind us ,of the same size, was given a table. We persevered the following night only to be disappointed in the uncaring attitude.

I entered the dimly lit room upstairs sounding of peaceful music and classy Thai decor. We were quickly greeted and seated near the outdoor covered area. Service was quick throughout the evening by friendly staff. I instantly felt at ease after a long day on rough seas. We started with two entrees: chicken satay with peanut sauce and fresh oysters. These are classics that they easily put their own signature touch to make delicious. I quite enjoyed the spicy toppings for the oysters which were fresh and tasty. For the mains we went with salmon curry which came with your choice of jasmine or coconut rice. Pad See Ew was also delightful and less spicy as my friend had requested. Everything was colourful and full of flavour. Drinks were also refreshing with a selection of wine by glass or bottle, beer, and a variety of cocktails. We left very full and happy! For a location with a waterside view, smack dab in the middle of a touristy town, this could have been a disaster. However, Iyara never skimped on taste or service and I would gladly return for another amazing meal.

Want perfect Thai food with a view of the esplanade and a fruit bat launching into the night show? This is for you.

This is a delicious thai place in the middle of the Esplanade. It's hard to find because the main restaurant is upstairs, and the entryway is barely visible from the street. Some nights there may be a waitress advertising / promoting the restaurant. Don't think that means it's not a good restaurant. To the contrary- it's excellent. My husband and I passed it up our second night on the esplanade and really regret not eating here that night. They have options for both vegetarians and meat eaters. We tried the vegetable green curry and the special stir-fry chicken with green peppers, onions and cashews. The green curry was excellent and the stir-fry chicken was good. The green curry was quite spicy, so if you cannot handle spice, you may want to tell them to make it mild. It is hard to review this place without talking about the truly exceptional service provided. I don't know our waiter's name, but he's like a waiter-machine. Not only did he always refill our water glass, but anything at all that we needed, he was there to help us with. I dropped my napkin and within 5 seconds he had picked it up and was handing me a new one. My husband went to go use the bathroom and without even asking where it was, he pointed him in the right direction. He also co-works as the bar tender on site. Try the ciders! They are very good. We had the apple cider and it tasted like drinking sparkling apple water. Very crisp and refreshing. On a nice night, you may enjoy sitting outside on the balcony, which overlooks the Esplanade. The decor and ambience are great. Good for groups or date night.

This is THE BEST Thai food I have ever had. And I have had a lot of Thai food. I am visiting from the states and my mom & I decided to stop here for dinner one night while we were in Cairns. We had the papaya salad & the chicken green curry. It was phenomenal !! Each dish was so lovely & the flavors were fabulous. We are only here a few nights and we are coming back tomorrow for more! (Apologies for the subpar picture I wish I had taken more!)

They make it spicy! Proud staff making great food in an area more interested in partying. Find this hidden gem tucked away up a staircase and you won't regret it. Great drinks too!

Interesting Thai food with some western influences thrown in. Great location and views over the lagoon - worth climbing the stairs to get there.

Food was excellent. The service was slow, took forever to get our drink and food orders. I would go back though, because the food was so good.

Best Thai place in cairns, I have been to about 4 Thai places in 5 days i styled in Carins. Good authentic food, friendly staff great location. Not too crowded, make sure to get a reservation

I've been back twice and it's been perfect each time. So friendly and lovely. The food is unbelievably good. Both times we just asked for a variety of entrees and mains and OMG phenomenal! You have to try the betel leaf prawn and the moo shu pork. Best Thai in Australia!

Sat down for a beer in the evening. It was quite and not busy. The staff are very friendly as well as attentive. The location is really nice looking out of the water. It's on the second story so you get to avoid seen the crowd. Only issue I would say is that it is overpriced.

Great food and great presentation. Would give it 5 stars except the service was a little slow and they mixed up one of our orders. Nevertheless, we highly recommend this restaurant.

We went here for dinner and were lucky to get the balcony seats. From there we were able to see the boardwalk, including the moonlight, trees, etc. It was a really pleasant sight. We had somtum, which is a prawn appetizer with peanut curry, string beans and tomato. It was slightly on the spicy side. For the main course, we had veg. pad thai and prawns with jasmin rice. The food was tasty overall.

The one part of our meal that arrived was pretty good unfortunately the appetizer was the only thing we got in just under 2 hours of being at the restaurant. Would have gotten a higher rating if there was any semblance of service. No one came to check up on us to see if we even wanted more water or another drink. We were also one of the first people to arrive to the restaurant. Overall they get one star because the appetizer was quite good and I imagine the rest of the food would be as well, complete shame.

I am no Thai expert but after making my way in through the pokey little entry and up the stairs I didn't know what I was in for. Once seated I don't think my glass of water ever sat empty or more than 30 seconds. The service was excellent and understanding of the menu when I asked a question was great. I decided on some chicken skewers and then a Pad Thai as a main. The chicken arrived promptly and was quite nice. All over cooked well with an abundance if sides. No sooner had that been competed it was time for my main, which again appeared fair quickly. I am no expert in Pad Thai however this was well presented as was delicious. I would certainly go back to Iyara again - however for me it would be considered a treat as its a touch on the pricey side.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at iyara. The red curry duck was delicious, and the appetizers were inspired! (Warm scallops and shrimp with some kind of wrap) my husband had a passion fruit and rum cocktail that was really good! The waitstaff was helpful with our choices.

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner last night. The food was the best we have had in Australia. We traveled to major cities before coming here. The curry duck dish and the chicken with lemongrass were superb. The restaurant is located on the Esplande on the second floor overlooking the public pool and beach area and has a beautiful view. We had a delightful evening with friends. We would definitely return if we weren't leaving...Enjoy!