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Eating & drinking in Darwin

Darwin's city centre has lots of eateries and bars catering for the tourists, but if you venture out of the city centre where all the accommodation is centred you will find some great food at the markets that are held in various parts of Darwin. A lot of Asian immigrants live in Darwin and they cook the food just like back home and are always found at every market where they have their stalls.
The most well known ofcourse is Mindil Beach markets on Thursday and Sunday nights in the dry season, but there are other markets with spectacular Asian food too, more info below.

Barbeques

Darwin is well endowed with barbeques, in many of the parks there are free gas barbeques, or barbies as the locals call them. Find one and have a real Aussie barbie!

Cafes

With its tropical climate Darwin is ideally suited to outdoor cafes and you will find them everywhere.

Cullen Bay

Located near the end of Smith St., on the way to Mindil Beach, this development has numerous cafes and restaurants and is a popular place to wine and dine on the waterfront. It is also the departure point for ferries across the harbour, scuba trips etc.

Darwin Stubby

A stubby is usually a beer bottle of 375ml. but in Darwin it is two litres! In the days when Darwin was the city with the highest beerconsumption per capita in the world this saved a lot of walking back and forth to the fridge. Nowadays only tourists buy the Darwin stubby as the two litres of beer will set you back about $20.- You'll have to buy and drink at least one to make your Darwin experience complete!

Markets

The most famous place to eat in Darwin is Mindil Beach where during the dry season there is a market every Thursday (and on a smaller scale Sunday) night. The markets have been a Darwin tradition for 18 years now and it is hard to believe now the organizer actually had a really hard time getting permission from the council to run this market! Thousands of people converge on this beach where they cruise the stalls full of craftwork, more than 200 craft and general ware stalls stock jewellery, art, adornments, trinkets, souvenirs, ceramics, clothes, music, didgeridoos, coffees and much more. But the most popular is the foodstalls where you will find food from just about every country you can think of, while the sun sets over the sea not far from Darwin's city centre, market-goers can tuck into spicy Asian dishes, traditional Greek, Italian, English or South American food, crocodile, buffalo and barramundi. Add to this Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Turkish, Indian, Swiss, Chinese and, of course, Aussie dishes and you won't go hungry.
When you have made your choice head down the beach with your food and esky full of cold beer and settle down to enjoy one of the magic sunsets that this place is famous for. And to top it off, buskers, tarot readers, masseurs/masseuses and a variety of local and travelling musicians provide the entertainment. The markets are within walking distance of the city centre so are easy to reach. A scaled-down version of the Thursday night markets is held on Sunday from 4pm to 9pm.

If these markets are on your agenda consider staying at Cullen Bay Serviced Apartments , only a short stroll away from the markets, or Skycity which is right on Mindil Beach.

Markets on other days are held at Parap on Saturday mornings, and Nightcliff and Rapid Creek on Sunday mornings, they all have sensational Asian food that will beat a lot of restaurants.

Organic food

Greenie's Real Food If you are after healthy organic food, have special dietary requirements, or are simply looking for some healthy delicacies, go and see Greenie and Ursula at the Rapid Creek shopping centre. Phone 08 - 89851922 Fax 08 - 89851944 Contact via email

Pubs

Victoria Hotel in the Smith St. Mall

Drinking has always been a very important part of life in Darwin, and up until the 1980s it used to be the town with the highest beerconsumption per capita in the world. The Victoria Hotel in the Smith St. Mall is one of the longest running establishments and has changed from a very rough place in the old days to a bar where backpackers party the night away. They also do meals here.

Irish Pub Kitty O'Shea on Mitchell St.

The Blue Heeler on Mitchell St.

These two are also popular places for a drink and located conveniently close in Mitchell St. in the city centre where most of the backpacker hostels are.

Subway

Darwin also has a Subway branch, one of the few fastfood franchises where you can eat healthy.
Find them on Knuckey St. between the Smith. St. Mall and Mitchell St. There is another one in Nightcliff.

Wharf precinct

A good place for a meal and a drink while catching a few cool breezes on the waterfront, and a very good place to see some of Darwin's spectacular sunsets.

 

About Darwin - Accommodation - Tours and what to do - Transport and car hire - Photos - Map