CALM, COOL AND COLLECTED

Institut Polaire 1/7 Murray St, Hobart Fully licensed Open Wednesday to Friday 3pm to late, Saturday noon to late, Sunday 3pm to late Tasting experiences by appointment

Snuggling one’s well-chilled body against an Icelandic sheepskin on a wintry night is a rare treat. It’s just one of life’s little luxuries to be had inside one of Hobart’s newest and more stylish bars.

Drawing inspiration from Hobart’s everexpanding position as a gateway to the Antarctic, Institut Polaire was opened in September last year by Louise Radman and Nav Singh just a stone’s throw from the waterfront.

Louise is the distiller behind Sud Polaire Tasmanian gin, while husband Nav makes cool-climate wine bearing the Domaine Simha label. With white marble tables, a funky fireplace, and icicle-like pendant lights shipped from Milan, it is a cool and classy space in which to showcase their shared wares.

Previously home to an exercise studio, it joins an array of venues raising the bar across the Hobart docks precinct in recent years including Society at Salamanca, the Glass House, and the year-old Story Bar at Macq 01. And let’s not forget Ettie’s, the Rude Boy rum bar and the small and quirky Kaiju Can Bar, all in midtown. The latter is a no-frills affair which only sells (as you may have guessed) drinks in cans. The nearby Quartermasters Arms, meanwhile, has just been reborn as Grinners, billed as an old-school bar offering “booze and tacos”.

Even the new Icon shopping arcade boasts a bottleshop-cum-bar. Johnston & Miller, on the first floor facing out to Murray St, is tucked in behind the old Myer building façade – all that was left after the catastrophic fire of 2007. The exposed brick wall adds to its allure, which will no doubt grow when the adjoining Crown Plaza Hotel finally opens in 2019.

When we enter Institut Polaire on a Thursday night just ahead of Dark Mofo, the temperature outside is in single figures. We gaze out at a crane set up to help rid the blossoming Parliament Square development of the ugly brutalist office building that was 10 Murray St. It’s adorned with red lights, heralding the Mofo merriment to come.

A young blonde woman with beautifully braided hair is sitting alone at a table by the window. Clad all in black, she nibbles on prawns on sticks and sips on a cocktail.

We three take a table nearby, with two of the chairs lined with Nordic sheepskins. Waitress Rhiannan introduces herself as she passes us menus. The lights are low, so low that our new friend offers an LED light with which to read said menus. We gratefully accept. A bit of a gin junkie, I opt for a gin and tonic flight. It is comprised of three Sud Polaire gins – infused with Tasmanian botanicals including Southern Ocean seaweed and pepperberries – and a dinky bottle of Strangelove tonic on the side. My companions order a bottle of Simla blanc to share.

As I slowly work my way through an Antarctic dry gin, a saffron gin, and pleasantly pink cru gin that’s been matured in a pinot noir cask, we order a few bits and pieces to share from the grazing menu: a ramekin of crunchy house-pickled vegetables; a salumi board; the gruyere and artichoke dip; and Scottsdale pork sticks, essentially four bitesized cubes of pork belly in a sticky Asian sauce.

While the salumi board is good, featuring a variety of cured meats including lardo (cured fat from the back of a pig), the real crowd pleaser is the dip. How can you go wrong with molten cheesy goodness smeared across warm crusty bread? It’s one of those dishes that could alone justify a return visit.

We round out an indulgent evening with the Huon salmon tartare, topped with the oozy golden yolk of a 65-degree quail egg, and a bowl of fries with wasabi salt and mayo – kind of like a posh fish and chips.

Fully thawed after our 2 ½-hour sojourn, we head back out into the night.

Passing a packed-out Fico and busy Astor Grill on our short walk to the car, it’s clear that Hobartians are done with hunkering down over winter. Revelling in the cold has never been cooler.