The toast of Tassie
The seven best places to eat and drink in Hobart
Be sure to pack your appetite because when it comes to dining, this harbourside city punches well above its weight.
The café
Snag a place at the long share table beneath the vaulted skylight at Berta (bertahobart.com.au), an elegant industrial space in the CBD. From there you can watch baristas at the front bar churn out cup after excellent cup for regulars from surrounding offices. Order one yourself before perusing the breakfast menu and making some difficult choices – spring onion pancake with sticky pork belly or the potato crumpet with poached egg and house-cured trout?
The farmers’ market
It may be dubbed the Apple Isle for its abundance of fruit but Tassie also boasts some of the country’s finest cheeses, seafood, honey, vegetables and small-batch spirits. Stroll down Bathurst Street at the Sunday-morning Farm Gate Market (farmgatemarket.com.au) to sample the spoils, chat with the producers and rub shoulders with locals stocking up on supplies.
The lunch
The Glass House (theglass. house), perched at the end of Brooke Street Pier, offers what might be the ultimate Hobart dining experience. Apart from the eatery’s menu of King Island beef, Southern Ocean seafood and Bruny Island olives, the space is wrapped in glass to reveal the glittering waters of Sullivans Cove. Book a table by the window, order a dozen oysters with ponzu and pickled ginger and a glass of something local and watch the Mona ferries come and go as you consider the main course (and dessert).
The tasting menu
When the food’s as good as it is at Fico (ficofico.net), choosing the set menu is a no-brainer. Luckily, this intimate hatted restaurant on the fringe of the CBD offers both a six- and eight-course Let Us Cook for You option. Perhaps you’ll try one of the house specialty handmade pastas – such as pappardelle with smoked mozzarella or Neapolitan-style pappa al pomodoro tortelli – Barilla Bay oyster san choy bau or lamb rump with fresh seasonal vegies.
The wine bar
Being about the size of the average living room, local favourite Sonny in the city centre (sonny.com.au) is small on space but big on natural wines. Spanning red, white, pink and orange drops, the chalkboard list changes every day and is complemented by a compact menu of handmade pasta, fancy toasts and an in-house vinyl collection.
The cocktails
When a bar’s owners also make the spirits they pour you can expect great things. And ultra-chic grey, white and marble bolthole Institut Polaire (institutpolaire.com. au), the HQ of Süd Polaire gin, doesn’t disappoint. Drop in for a signature Martini (or sample from the list of sake, whisky, amaro and house wine label Domaine Simha) and snack on salumi, local cheese or a plate of oysters. You’ll find the best seats by the fire. Cocktail connoisseurs should book a weekend Martini masterclass.
The surprise
Checking out the art at Mona is a must but eating at the avant-garde museum’s Faro Bar + Restaurant (mona. net.au) nudges the sensory experience into indulgent excess. Nab a table in the vast glass-and-concrete dining room – with views of the River Derwent that are partially obscured by a giant spherical James Turrell artwork – and feast on blue swimmer crab risotto or gruyère soufflé while sipping a Beetroot Negroni.