What to Eat at Uluru

Updated June 24, 2020.

A real taste of the Outback involves surprisingly little beef, no bloomin’ onions, and to be honest I never once saw “shrimp on the barbie” on even one menu! What I did find was kangaroo, emu, wattleseed, and lots of bush tomatoes! So here’s your sneak peek at what we really ate in the Australian Outback at Ayers Rock Resort!

Pira Pool Bar

By the time we landed and checked into Sails in the Desert, we had worked up quite an appetite! Fortunately for us, the Pira Pool Bar was just steps from our room, with a view of the pool to boot!

Wagyu Beef Burger: quinoa housemade bun, Provolone, lettuce, paperbark smoked bbq sauce, caramelised onions, aioli, and fries with tomato sauce (ketchup)

Outback Croque: smoked kangaroo, fried egg, warrigal greens, wattleseed cheese sauce, bush tomato chutney, and fries

Read on: 10 Things to Do at Uluru

A Night at the Field of Light

The day we arrived was my birthday, and we had reservations for A Night at the Field of Light, which involved sunset canapes with view of Uluru, dinner, a fun lecture on the stars, and a walk through the Field of Light art installation! Dinner was buffet style, and since it was night time, my pictures aren’t the best, but I tried to get some good ones for you!

Pineapple juice while we wait for the sunset on Uluru.

Canapes: crocodile, carrot, and saltbush flan; poached prawn sea parsley, and finger lime aioli crostini; caramelized sweet potato and lemon myrtle filoette; rosella, caramelized onion, and feta tart; smoked kangaroo with native peaberry yoghurt

Fusili pasta salad, spinach salad, bok choy, barramundi (fish) with lemon myrtle cream, native sukkah crusted kangaroo, quinoa, and there’s cauliflower in there somewhere, too!

Desert lime cheesecake with blueberry garnish, warm apple and quandong crumble tart with Davidson plumb and berry compote, pear and lemon myrtle tea cake, and warm chocolate and wattleseed slice, with vanilla anglaise on basically everything.

Ilkari Restaurant Breakfast

As you can see above, my buffet plates are not beautiful! So instead of showing you my breakfast plate from each morning, I sneaked into the restaurant just before it opened and got pictures of everything before anyone dug in! There was also a chef preparing omelettes, French toast, and more on the griddle.

Hot bar: scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes for the Brits

Sushi! with pickled vegetables, wasabi, and ginger

Cheese, dried apricots and apples, and crackers

Raw vegetables, cold cuts, and smoked salmon

Gecko Cafe

Gecko Cafe is a very popular spot, but thankfully we were able to get a couple of pizzas to go after a long and wonderful day. We made quick work of them!

Outback Pizza: smoked kangaroo, emu, mushroom, onion, roasted red capsicum, and mozzarella

Breakfast to Go

Honestly, this was not the ideal breakfast! There was very little protein, but this is what the resorts puts together for everyone who misses breakfast to take a sunrise tour.

Reusable bag, bottled water, granola bar, banana bread, milk, apple, apple juice, crackers, fruit and nut muesli, cutlery, wet nap, and tic tacs

Read on: What to Know Before You Visit Uluru

Kulata Academy Cafe

This coffee shop in the Town Square has great coffee and food, too! This business also supports hospitality education for the indiginous people of the area. We stopped in for lunch after hiking the Valley of the Winds at Kata Tjuta.

Spinach and ricotta pie with side salad and tomato sauce (ketchup)

Ilkari Restaurant Buffet Dinner

Our package deal included a buffet dinner at the Ilkari restaurant, the same place we had breakfast. The dinner buffet was set up similarly, with a variety of foods surrounding a made-to-order, open kitchen with a chef and a menu for what she could make for guests.