Luckily for the beautiful people of Port Douglas, when Simon came on holiday to Australia from the UK 8 years ago, he decided not to go home. That sensible decision means that 22 Macrossan Street in the palm tree fringed, beach town is now home to
N17. A lively, trendy diner serving tasty burgers and other delicious meals.
Photo by N17 chef and photographer Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia
N17 is Simon's Australian dream. After years of cheffing at high-end restaurants, he decided the time had come for him to go out on his own and open his own diner. He had a vision of what he wanted and with creativity, determination, hard work and good mates, he made it happen. After living in Port Douglas for many years, he'd seen that there was a gap in the market for a cool late night diner that fed hungry locals and tourists after all the pubs stopped food orders. With N17, he filled it. The vibe is relaxed, unpretentious and yet cool. Locals are greeted by name and one of the waitresses had a tub of cute gift cards she'd drawn for sale on the counter. A mural painted by one of the staff fills most of a wall and marries the underwater reef of the nearby ocean with Simon's British past. A copper stops reef traffic on one side while
SuperTed,
Banana Man and
Oasis chill on the other side of the picture.
Simon at work in the N17 kitchen
As if you need more than good food and good vibes to give somewhere the seal of approval, N17 are more than doing their bit for the environment. They don't have plastic, including straws or drinks bottles (apart from water) and the team are all over their recycling. The beer they serve is from Barrier Reef Brewing Co. whose ethos is to save the turtles as well as brewing great craft beer and the N17 meat is all from a butcher across the road and local produce.
Photo by N17 chef and photographer Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia
After hearing that the signature N17 burger had just about everything in it, I, of course, opted for that and Jot went for the BBQ, bacon and cheese. I am a big fan of being able to see the chefs at work, so we sat at the counter to watch the masters at work on my dinner. While I could just about get the beautiful creation of the N17 in my mouth, it wasn't a pretty sight. If you're on a date, then this is not the burger for you (although there is something sexy about egg yolk dripping down someone's chin but that might just be me). Both burgers were amazing as were the fries and sweet potato fries that we couldn't help but order.
My dinner. Diet starts tomorrow
Even the N17 website oozes the vibe of the place and after scrolling through their pictures, you'll be putting your thongs on and heading there. Conveniently, they are open at 10am and don't close until 3am, so no matter when hunger strikes, the N17 team's happy faces are there waiting to fill your belly.
Photo by N17 chef and photographer Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia
It was great to meet Simon and see him living his Aussie dream and next time we are in Port Douglas, N17 will be our first stop. I've already decided what I'm getting next time we go. The chicken wings and deep fried brie for the record.
P.S I can't take credit for the amazing burger photos. They are by photographer
Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia who is also a chef at N17 and kindly let me use them.
