Salt House

Marina Point Cairns

Paving a new direction in the restaurant and bar experience, Salt House at Marina Point in Cairns opened its doors in May 2009.
With breathtaking waterfront views across the marina, a plethora of modern Aussie cuisine delicacies and a stunning selection of wines, both by the bottle and from the glass, the stylish Salt House venue launched to a massive gala event on Friday evening and an even bigger weekend of ongoing celebration.
Directors Fintan Rafferty and Lui Garozzo took years to research their concept, from travelling to view the world’s most acclaimed venues, such as The Shore Club in South Beach, Florida and Ku De Ta in Bali, to make sure they were heading in the right direction.
Mr Rafferty said the ideal behind Salt House was to merge the ambience of Far North Queensland with a key restaurant, bar and entertainment venue, resulting in something which hasn’t been seen before in the region.
He said checking out venues in similar climates around the world gave good inspiration, specifically Ku De Ta.
“It was a pub, it was a restaurant, it was a music venue all in one,” he said.
“It had a relaxed atmosphere… it’s a real melting pot.”
Both the local directors (and owners) are from strong hospitality backgrounds – Fintan from a service perspective having owned La Pizza on the Esplanade for many years, and Lui from a food background that spans generations – so they were well placed to know what positives and negatives to look for when creating their dream venue.
Lui’s passion lay in creating a top quality restaurant / bar environment where utilising the best local produce and creating a unique and tropical-flavoured menu was paramount, while Fintan’s heart lay in entertainment, trying to provide not only a restaurant and a bar, but also a mini entertainment precinct – all within Salt House.
“There seemed to be lacking a quality entertainment venue that wasn’t focused specifically on the backpacker market in Cairns, and wasn’t just about entertainment,” Fintan said.
“We wanted to create a quality venue that was well-priced, family friendly, and a location that was great, so it gave us lots of scope to include different function areas.
“This site leant itself to a public bar, public and private dining areas, and areas for live music and a DJ booth.”
From passion, and considerable patience across many years of work, the ethos of Salt House was borne.
And with the successful launch and already rave reviews, it certainly seems the Salt House dream has become a reality that will pave a new direction for venues in Far North Queensland for years to come.

Upcoming events for this venue 'Salt House'
	Fri, 12th Mar 2010 Frontear Duo playing live at Salt House 9:00PM		Sat, 13th Mar 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM
	Sun, 14th Mar 2010 Beau Live and Unplugged Beau Cawse 4:30PM		Tue, 16th Mar 2010 Sarah Booker Sarah Booker (Acoustic/Originals/Covers Solo) 8:00PM
	Wed, 17th Mar 2010 St Patrick's Day Snake Gully (Australiana/Acoustic/Blues Trio) 2:00PM		Wed, 17th Mar 2010 ST Patricks Day - John 'Irish Carr' from 3pm John Carr 3:00PM
	Wed, 17th Mar 2010 St Patricks Day - Irish Band from 6pm Snake Gully (Australiana/Acoustic/Blues Trio) 6:00PM		Thu, 18th Mar 2010 Live @ Salt House 18-03-10 Chris Holliday (Acoustic/Covers Solo) 8:00PM
	Fri, 19th Mar 2010 Frontear Duo playing live at Salt House 9:00PM		Sat, 20th Mar 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM
	Sun, 21st Mar 2010 Live at the Salthouse James Braithwaite (Acoustic/Folk/ Alternative Solo) 4:30PM		Tue, 23rd Mar 2010 Davy Simony Davy Simony (Originals/Rock/Indie Solo) 8:00PM
	Wed, 24th Mar 2010 Jazz in the House with The Derringers The Derringers (Jazz/Blues/Country Trio) 7:00PM		Thu, 25th Mar 2010 Kian 1 man band Kian (Roots/Acoustic/Blues 1 man band) 8:30PM
	Fri, 26th Mar 2010 Frontear Duo playing live at Salt House 9:00PM		Sat, 27th Mar 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM
	Sun, 28th Mar 2010 Tasty Sunday Sounds at Salt House Tasty (Acoustic/Covers/Originals Duo) 4:30PM		Tue, 30th Mar 2010 Frontear Duo playing live at Salt House Frontear Duo 8:00PM
	Wed, 31st Mar 2010 Jazz in the House with The Derringers The Derringers (Jazz/Blues/Country Trio) 7:00PM		Thu, 1st Apr 2010 Live @ Salt House 1-04-10 Chris Holliday (Acoustic/Covers Solo) 8:00PM
	Sat, 3rd Apr 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM		Sat, 10th Apr 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM
	Sat, 17th Apr 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM		Sat, 24th Apr 2010 Vaness Playing Live Vaness 9:00PM
	Sat, 5th Jun 2010 Arabian Nights Charity Event 6:30PM