Cairns Cocktail BarsThe ultimate guide๐Ÿšถ Cocktail trails

The best pubs and beer bars in Cairns

Proper pubs, old favourites and craft beer bars in Cairns.

Last checked 14 November 2026. No bar paid to be included.

Pubs and beer bars: 5 bars

Swipe to see all 5 bars โ†’

1 ยท The Esplanade and the marina

Hemingway's Brewery

Brewery

A brewery in a heritage-listed wharf building over Trinity Inlet, brewing on site with rotating beers and ciders.

  • ๐Ÿบ Craft beer
  • ๐ŸŒ‡ Views
  • ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Food

๐Ÿ“ Wharf Street, Cairns City

2 ยท The Esplanade and the marina

Rattle n Hum

Bar and grill

A bar and grill with sport, live music and an Outback Beer Garden under a retractable roof.

  • ๐Ÿบ Pub
  • ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Food
  • ๐ŸŽถ Music
  • ๐ŸŒฟ Outdoor

๐Ÿ“ 65-67 The Esplanade, Cairns

3 ยท The city centre

P. J. O'Brien's

Irish pub

An Irish pub with Guinness on tap, Irish whiskey, Irish music gigs and daily meal specials.

  • ๐Ÿบ Pub
  • ๐ŸŽถ Music
  • ๐Ÿฅƒ Whisky

๐Ÿ“ 87 Lake Street, Cairns City

4 ยท The city centre

Elixir Music House

Music bar

A bar and music venue with live music across genres, craft beer and fried chicken.

  • ๐ŸŽถ Music
  • ๐Ÿบ Craft beer
  • ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Food

๐Ÿ“ 1/92 Abbott Street, Cairns City

5 ยท The city centre

Cock & Bull

Pub

A decades-old Cairns institution with two bars, a tropical beer garden, big screens for sport and even a piano.

  • ๐Ÿบ Pub
  • ๐ŸŒฟ Outdoor
  • ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ Food
  • ๐ŸŽ‰ Groups

๐Ÿ“ 6 Grove Street, Cairns North

Map: pubs and beer bars

Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.

Your questions

What are the best pubs in Cairns?

Start with Hemingway's Brewery, Rattle n Hum, P. J. O'Brien's, Elixir Music House and Cock & Bull. Our full list has 5 bars.

More Cairns bar guides

Who wrote this guide

This guide is written by the team at M.AD Agency. We run Cocktail Week, the ten-day cocktail festival held town by town across the UK and Ireland. Now we're bringing it to Australia. Since 2022 we have taken it to more than 20 towns and cities and worked with hundreds of bars. We put this guide together from our own research and trusted local guides, including Australian Traveller and Queensland.com.

No bar paid to be included and nobody can buy a place. We check the guide regularly as bars open, change and close.

Cocktail Week in Australia

Want your bar in this guide?

Run a bar in Cairns that should be here? Get in touch at hello@cocktail-week.com and tell us about it.