Watergate Port Douglas

4 to 4.5 stars I walked past the entrance twice the same day without realising Watergate existed. It's a green Oasys hidden down a lane way thats been providing fine dining pleasure in Port Douglass for over 20 years. Its a really interesting space that I suspect vopes well with the summer heat. The food is very good without being cutting edge. It undoubtedly straddles the difficult divide between bistro and fine dining that's so hard to navigate. I expect we might have been more excited by choosing other items on the menu. Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls (GF) (DF) with a green pawpaw salad, crispy shallots and a lemon grass & palm sugar sticky glaze. Well balanced and enjoyable. Eggplant Nasu Dengaku (GF) V Miso glazed eggplant with a coconut & sweet potato puree, pickled red radish and a watercress salad with mustard dressing, sesame & parsley. The presentation needed work although the dish itself worked well. Pork Belly★ (DF) Crispy pork belly with a five spice, soy & garlic glaze, kimchi salad with gochujang dressing and toasted peanuts. This was very good. I was hesitant the kitchen salad would overwhelmed my palate but it was delightfully balanced and the por belly was well cooked and flavoursome. Lamb Ribs (GF) (DF) Twice cooked lamb ribs with a green papaya salad, crispy shallots and a lemongrass & palm sugar sticky glaze. There just wasn't enough balance. The Lamb ribs were very very fatty and the lamb flavour too strong with not nearly enough input from the glaze. The salad was again perfectly balanced. I regretted choosing this dish. Tableland Roasted Potatoes (GF) (DF) V with confit garlic & rosemary. It's difficult to deliver crunchy potatoes but these had obviously waited a long time before serving. No crispness and under seasoned, really disappointing as I went with two entrees to be able to fit in the potatoes. I might go back in the future but not this trip.

Amazing location and seating area. Lots of the food is very expensive for the amount that is there, although the steak was amazing. Dessert was disappointing, with the chocolate crème brûlée being 24 dollars and coming out more like a cheap chocolate mousse and in a small 3 inch diameter dish.

We rushed in at 9 PM without having read any reviews, and I’m so glad we did! We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful meal, along with awesome service. The atmosphere was lovely, and I highly recommend this wonderful restaurant.

We have dined here a few times over the years. On our most recent visit to Port Douglas, we loved the food and service so much, we dined there twice! :-) We also managed to get the same quiet perfect table on both occasions. The service is absolutely fantastic and David manages his wonderful team extremely well. Justin, Valentina and Sharon were some of the professional and hard working staff that we also met. I will let the photos of the fantastic food speak for themselves! Do make sure you ask for a break between the courses (if you want one) as the food can come a little bit too quickly. There is also a big cocktail bar for those that fancy a drink before or after their meal. When in Port Douglas, don't miss the opportunity to dine at one of the twn's best restaurants. 2025 update... Sadly, the Watergate of recent years is a distant dream. The management and chef has changed and standards have dropped. Watergate are again spruiking for the occasional customer and the word is out that things are not good. Proceed with caution.

Booked Valentines dinner here but arrived to find out Valentines atmosphere was totally missing. How much would it cost to hang a V Day banner or add a heart shaped sticker to the menu or surrounding? The food was a mixed bag. Grilled lamb chops, barramundi egg rolls and Arancini were excellent. But the steak and roast chicken were nothing to write home about. The shocker was the miso chocolate dessert which was a bit weird in terms of taste, personally I don’t think the miso and chocolate go well together. And ironically it was marked “recommended” on their menu.

This restaurant looks beautiful and inviting, very tropical and ambient. We walked past and decided to have a cocktail. The staff were very friendly and accomodating and the cocktails were pretty good. The menu looked really impressive so we decided to stay for dinner. We ordered the spare rib and steak for the adults. Unfortunately both cuts of meat were not quality, they were fatty and tough. Really disappointing and didn’t match the price or our expectation. They ended up refunding us for one of the mains. In general the food is not high quality but the service and ambience are top quality.

Pleasantly surprised. We booked this as we were passing by and didn't read the reviews until we were sitting in the res. Couldn't fault the service, food or atmosphere. I could have eaten 3 bowls of the brussel sprouts! I ordered the kangaroo and it was cooked perfectly. My husband ordered the strip loin, cooked exactly as he asked. The Belgian chocolate creme brulee finished off the meal and it was delicious . A bit cheeky with the pricing of $24 for a tiny portion though. All in all, we'd come back here. Highly recommend 😊

We had a lovely dinner at Watergate on our holiday to Port Douglas. The staff made us feel so welcome, and service was very professional. Our host Xavier was exceptional. The food was delicious, and I was pleased with the range of vegan options available. We will definitely be back on our next trip