Free glass of wine worth 16-year wait

A TRAVELLING German couple who first visited a Hobart restaurant 16 years ago has returned for a meal and presented a complimentary wine voucher that they’ve held on to since 2002.

Staff at Hobart’s Drunken Admiral were flabbergasted on Wednesday night to be handed a 16-year-old complimentary wine coupon by German woman Tanja Fuerst and her husband, who staff said made a return trip to Tasmania with a visit to the waterfront restaurant at the top of their to-do list.

“I was blown away when they presented it to us,” restaurant owner Brierlie Godfrey-Kemp said.

“We thought it was hilarious. The voucher had no expiry date so of course we honoured it.”

Mrs Godfrey-Kemp said it was one of the most unusual yet heartwarming stories she had heard of in the restaurant’s 39-year history.

“All the staff working ab- solutely loved seeing the little vintage coupon and the waiter who served them said he’d never seen anything like it,” she said.

“It was great to hear they kept hold of it in a scrapbook all this time.”

Mrs Kemp said the couple, who visited with their daughter, told her they enjoyed their most recent meal just as much as they did in 2002.

Sadly, though, they didn’t leave with a new voucher as the restaurant no longer issues coupons.