Tropics Restaurant at Tafe Cairns

If you feel like a relaxing coffee, you need to come here. It is the TAFE run café, so the staff are students honing their barista skills. This makes the coffee cheap, but these guys have great skills! The actual café has a lot of tables and seating surrounded by glass windows, so you have a lot of natural light and a great view of the tropical themed gardens surrounding the café.

I have attended this event before several times over the years. I was not impressed this time. There were canapes on arrival, following by a five-course meal. The canapes were good. The food in the five-course meal was acceptable, nothing special. The table service was not good. This is a training restaurant, so you can 't expect it to be perfect, but it appeared to me that the waiting staff had not been taught how to wait properly. They didn 't seem to know the serve-on-the right, take-from-the-left rule, a pretty basic thing really. The person chosen as the MC for the event mumbled into the microphone so that a lot of what he said was unintelligible. Strange choice for the MC. The people chosen from the attendees at random as contestants in the best-dressed, best-hat competitions, did not include the best-dressed or best-hatted women in the room. The people who were running the sweeps did not seem to know how to handle money and seemed to be confused most of the time. The cost for the day was $65 plus drinks. I was very disappointed, especially as previous events for this day have been great. All eight in the group I was with have said they will not be going back, at least not for this event. Not having been there for a normal lunch I cannot say if the level of service and food applies outside the Melbourne Cup lunch, let 's hope not.

Tropics is a training restaurant within the Cairns TAFE which gives hospitality students the chance to hone their skills on a live audience. Staffed by students under the close but supportive trainers, Tropics has limited timings, but a host of Cairns diners are more than happy to wait Our group of 9 had missed earlier presentations, but the wait was well worthwhile with only a few recommendations. But the real standout was the students themselves. A little tentative at times but always attentive and pleasant, and a bonus they actually cast their eyes constantly across the room to see if any diners were seeking attention. They are all a credit to TAFE Yes, the future of dining is in VERY good hands! The food exceptional. A choice of four entrees, 5 mains and 4 desserts with a limited but well priced beverage list which includes 2 cocktails (a real hit

Tropics Restaurant at TAFE Cairns is the contact point between the public and TAFE hospitality students who prepare the meals, serve them and tend the bar. Yesterday 's Melbourne Cup celebrations saw a patronage of around 70 patrons gathered to enjoy the day, and we were incredibly well fed by the Cert 3 in Cookery from Papua Niugini and served by other students under the watchful eyes of their teachers A few very minor hiccups couldn 't detract from a well-presented function and everyone left impressed and completely satisfied Tropics is not open every day of the week, and then only for lunch (they still have lessons to attend) and it 's REALLY popular, so its essential to 'phone ahead and book. HIGHLY recommended!

The students tried hard to provide great service. Friendly and very reasonable price as you get to try a variety of foods.