Two years after floods devastated their much-loved Palm Cove institution Chill at Portofino, Cairns hospitality stalwarts Tony and Manuela Moore are back — and they’re back in style, opening two new venues in Clifton Beach that signal both resilience and renewal.
The headline act is The Big Chill, which opened on New Year’s Eve after a three-month renovation of the former Coco Mojo site on Clifton Road. Designed in classic Mediterranean whites and blues, the venue features a wrap-around deck and an easy alfresco feel that suits both the tropics and Tony Moore’s sun-soaked menu philosophy.
Here, Moore returns to the Mediterranean fare he is known for, with a simple but confident offering: house-made pasta, antipasto plates, pizza, grass-fed rib-eye, and signature dishes such as tiger prawn pizza, prawn linguine, and Santorini-style octopus — flavours that long-time Chill diners will instantly recognise.
Just down the road, the couple have also opened Chill Beach Café, located within the Estia retirement village complex on Arlington Esplanade. Opened in late September, the café focuses on all-day breakfast and light lunches, broadening their offering to suit the local Clifton Beach community.
After years of operating in a predominantly tourist-driven market, Moore says the move north presents a welcome shift. This time, the focus is firmly local — a place for neighbours to gather, connect and feel at home.
For FNQ’s food community, it’s a genuine welcome-back story — and one built on experience, humility and hard-earned optimism.
Follow The Big Chill here
