The experts
Launceston —— What those in the know are eating, drinking and seeing.
01.
Mairi Ward
Artist (mairiward.wordpress.com)
“For a small city, Launceston has a number of great art venues and events. Outside the more traditional gallery settings there’s also some wonderful street art. Contemporary artist Paul Eggins recently completed a series of murals in the CBD that are bold, vibrant and playful. You can see them at three locations along the Charles Street restaurant and café strip. Paul is also part of the Electric Botany street-art project, which has emerging artists painting on traffic control boxes. The artworks are imaginative interpretations of botanical illustrations, organised by the city’s Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery and local council.”
02.
Matt Adams
Chef and owner, Timbre Kitchen (timbrekitchen.com)
“Whenever I can, I hit up Pachinko (pachinko.net.au) in the centre of Launceston for dinner. It has super-clean Japanese-style food made with ultra-fresh produce touched gently with amazing dressings. The sashimi, the dumplings and anything coming off the grill are musts – just go for the ‘feed me’ menu and you’re sorted. It’s a small, intimate space with bar seating and it’s a hospo hangout, so you know it’s good. Plus there’s a great wine list with a heavy focus on fun, natural wines from Tassie and around the big island, an eclectic playlist and friendly staff. Don’t miss it.”
03.
James Welsh Sommelier, Stillwater (stillwater.com.au)
“I’m loving wines with texture at the moment and a great place to find them is Havilah (havilahwine.com.au), a cosy space by dreamboat winemaker Ricky Evans, who is behind Two Tonne Tasmania and Havilah wines. There is always something tasty and interesting to drink. I recently enjoyed a glass of 2020 Sinapius la peau d’un – “the skin of one” – a grüner veltliner left on skins for 18 days and in the amphora for nine months. It’s all flowers and citrus; salty and super-savoury. Delicious.”