Cairns has had a decent run of new and revived venues over the past year, and a few of them have not had much written about them beyond an Instagram post on opening night. Here is where things actually stand, with the caveat that opening hours in this town move around and you should check before you drive.
Wild Pony Saloon, 32 Abbott Street
A cowboy themed bar in the city from The Hospo Group, the team behind Three Wolves. Shuffleboard, a popcorn machine, and a drinks list that runs to bourbon peach sweet tea and a house lager made for them.
It opened in April 2026, so it is not new any more, which matters if you have been putting off going on the assumption there will be an opening night crowd. There will not be. Reported hours start from 4pm. Their Instagram is @wild_pony_saloon and it is the most reliable place to check what is on.
The theme could easily have been naff. By the accounts we have read it is played with enough self awareness to work, which is the difference between a themed bar and a costume.
Murphy’s, 86 Sheridan Street
An Irish sports bar in the former Empire arcade, showing NRL, Origin and UFC, with live Irish music, spice bags and Guinness pies.
It opened over the weekend of 3 to 5 July 2026, per Cairns Local News. The spice bag is the detail worth noting, because it is a genuinely Irish thing rather than a generic pub menu item, and it suggests someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing.
Sheridan Street is the Bruce Highway running through town, so it is easy to find and not the most charming stretch to walk. That is what it is.
The Aloomba pub
South of Cairns, past Gordonvale on the way to Babinda, a husband and wife team have been bringing the historic Aloomba pub back to life, as reported in May 2026.
We are deliberately light on detail here because we have not been yet and the published reporting is thin. What we will say is that the small Queensland country pub is an endangered thing, and the ones that survive usually do so because someone decided to care about them. If you are doing the run south to Babinda or the Boulders, it is on the way.
If you go, tell us what it is like and we will write it up properly.
Also worth knowing
The Cock and Bull is relocating, which is the bigger story for anyone who has been drinking in Cairns for a while. And if you are bringing a dog, our list of dog friendly cafes and pubs is verified against the venues rather than assembled from vibes.
A note on what this list is not
This is a roundup of recent openings, not a ranking of the best bars in Cairns. We have not written that one, because doing it properly means going to all of them repeatedly and we would rather do that than guess. It is on the list. For the eating rather than the drinking, our guide to where to eat in Cairns is the settled version.
Sources: Cairns Local News, 30 June 2026 and 16 May 2026; FNQ Food Magazine and venue social accounts for Wild Pony Saloon, accessed 09/09/2026. Opening hours change, so confirm with the venue.
Header photo: Brad Newton. Courtesy of Tourism and Events Queensland.
