Where to eat and drink in Hobart and Launceston



Where are Australia’s great food destinations? There’s tropical fruit ripe for the picking in Queensland, artisan cheeses churned out in Western Australia’s Margaret River and fine dining all over Victoria and New South Wales. But what about Tassie? This small island might look unassuming on a map, but ignore it at your peril. With wineries, dairy farms and sparkling fresh seafood at every turn, not to mention a few world-class restaurants of their own, Hobart and Launceston are two city-break destinations all foodies should visit. Expedia’s Kiwi travellers tend to spend 2-3 days in each city, and that’s plenty of time to work your way through this list, one meal at a time.

HOBART

Cafes for coffee fiends

Make sure you’re awake and ready by kick-starting your day at Pilgrim Coffee. The exposed-brick cafe has proved so popular it recently took over an adjoining business to keep the hungry masses satisfied.

Decadent but down-to-earth dining

You want a posh night out in Hobart, we say it has to be Garagistes. The food at this wine bar-meets-restaurant has whipped critics around the world into a feeding frenzy. The dishes coming out of Luke Burgess’s kitchen feature foraged, native and super-local ingredients washed down with biodynamic wines. The five-course set menu (currently being matched with an array of different sakes) is decadent but won’t break the bank. If you just want to graze on a few small plates, head to sister operation Sidecar.

To market, to market…

Every Saturday morning, hundreds of stallholders selling arts, crafts and artisan produce fill the pedestrianised area known as Salamanca Market. Make your way through the throng while snacking on a slice of stone-baked pizza from Mountain Pepper (the Tasmanian cheese lovers and East Coast scallop varieties always sell out fast), while Pacha Mama sees Mexico and Australia collide in the form of wallaby burritos.

If you’re buying up items for a waterside picnic, be sure to see the folks at the Bruny Island Cheese stall where you’ll find lovingly crafted offerings including Otto (a cows milk cheese wrapped in prosciutto) and Oen (which has been washed in pinot noir and left to mature in vine leaves). Save room for one of Tassie’s traditional scallop pies – just $7 gets you a flaky short crust pastry case stuffed with fat, local scallops from Smith’s Specialty Pies van.