All reviews from three weeks spent in Australia in 2024 visiting four major cities and areas around.
Sydney
SYDNEY: Love.Fish, 7/23 Barangaroo Avenue
Our hotel was sited right above Barangaroo, the quayside area near Darling Harbour that has been redeveloped over the past 20 years. Gleaming towers of glass and steel house offices, financial institutions, apartments, and up-market hotels, and it has become a magnate for hospitality too. A ferry connects it to Circular Quay, or it’s a 15-minute stroll from The Rocks. Love.fish is one of a whole string of restaurants that share the quayside, one continuous space with each terrace separated only by some planting. It’s a noisy space for sure when busy, with the voices of hundreds of people merging together. Don’t come for a quiet tete a tete. For food, however, Love.fish is on song. We settled in with a bottle of Canberra Riesling and plenty of sparkling water and I kicked off with zucchini-flower tempura. The whole zucchini was in a crisp feather-light batter, the flower stuffed with ricotta and truffled pecorino, sitting in a romesco sauce. My main course was a beauty: grilled barramundi fillet came as a serious tranche, the skin crisped and the flesh moist. The butternut pumpkin sauce didn’t have a lot of flavour, but the accompanying pearl couscous, rich with marinated goat feta and basil, added oodles of tangy flavour. The bill for two courses each plus wines and a shared banoffee pie came to $220 before tax.
SYDNEY: Cirrus Dining, 10/23 Barangaroo Ave
Modern fine dining here, in a restaurant run by much lauded chef/sommelier partnership of Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt. Indeed, the wine list is easily the best I came across in Sydney and reflects a real passion for global wines, with a dozen cuvées from cult German producer Keller, for example, among its 500 bottle listing.
Sitting on their waterside terrace on a balmy summer evening we opted for the tasting menu at $125 per person for seven sharing dishes. In truth all were delicious and whilst each portion was modest, the whole was absolutely satisfying. Two dishes appeared together to kick things off: a little pillow of puffy, charcoal grilled bread lathered with whipped cod roe and espelette pepper along with a trio of small scallop crudo, zinging with nectarine, tangerine and lime oil. The combination of flavours and textures across the two dishes was a delight. Poached calamari came topped with crunchy fennel, radicchio and dulse (a seaweed) and served alongside two fabulous and meaty grilled king prawns given loads of tang from their fermented chilli and caper dressing. Grilled barramundi was topped with a translucent sheet of lardo, a crisp green salad came with a Chardonnay and mustard vinaigrette, and a sliced striploin with mustard oil and portion of chips, magically elevated by being dusted with chicken salt. Really, the whole menu didn’t skip a beat, finishing with a tart of fermented strawberry, sumac and roasted white chocolate. Various levels of matching wine flight are offered, but we went with a bottle of Framingham Riesling and glasses of a Loire Cabernet Franc, the whole bill coming in at a shade over $420 before service.
SYDNEY: Bottega Coco, 300 Barangaroo Ave
An Italian deli, bakery, and restaurant one street back takes you just out of the hustle and bustle of the wharf with its bars and restaurants. This provided a very good and authentic feeling Italian dinner, with good ingredients and a fine wine list – it also has a bottle shop adjoining the dining room. Seeing a large wood-fired pizza oven, that deal was sealed. We started by sharing some very good burrata – in fact some of the creamiest, freshest and best I’ve had outside of Italy – served with a tasty tomato salad drizzled with pesto and aged balsamic. My pizza was Friarelli, lots of Italian fennel sausage, mozzarella and shaved pecorino on a really good sourdough base. With a bottle of fine, dazzling fresh Semillon from Glenguin in the Hunter Valley, a bill of $155 before service was absolutely spot on.
SYDNEY: Eastbank Brasserie, 61-69 Macquarie Street
Macquarie street is the esplanade that connects Circular Quay’s transport hub with the Opera House, so you will undoubtedly find yourself there at some point. It is, of course, tourist central, the restaurants, bars and gift shops that line its length not holding the promise of fine cuisine. However, it was 28°C and full sun, and we’d been walking for hours, so sitting down somewhere for lunch was more necessary than optional. “A plate of pasta and a glass of chilled white,” was the order of the day, and this place delivered it. We sat on the terrace under a canopy and the glasses of Wilson Watervale Riesling at $13.50 were nothing to write home about, but they were well chilled and decent. I opted for fettuccine polo, a good portion of well-cooked pasta with a carbonara-like sauce featuring plenty of chicken and mushrooms. My partner’s oven-baked ravioli with butternut pumpkin and goat’s cheese came with a sage butter sauce. It was pronounced as good rather than great, but absolutely doing its job of feeding two tired and hungry, sun-baked travellers. Mains around $35 each. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
SYDNEY: Fix Wine Bar, 111 Elizabeth Street
Fix is a friendly, casual wine bar in the Central Business District. Sited among all the designer shops and just round the corner from the Theatre Royal, the location is handy, and the food and wine are good.
Having already lunched that day, we settled in for an appetiser each, followed by a sharing platter of Australian cheeses. My appetiser of seared scallops on a fermented chilli butter dressing was terrific. The Scallops were tender, and the sauce packed with sweet and sour, piquant flavours. Cheeses were good too, and nice to explore what Australia can do with artisan cheese, all served with toast, crackers and slices of pear. Drinks-wise, a really enjoyable bottle of 2015 vintage Hunter Semillon, tasting just as it should with developing honey and cream over citrus, and only 9.5% alcohol. All in, the bill topped out at $170 for a fine casual meal. They also offer more substantial dishes, and BYO with a minimum food spend.
SYDNEY: The Observatory Bar, Langham Hotel, Kent Street
This Art Deco-ish, glamourous bar in the 5* Langham does a mean line in cocktails, has a short but interesting wine list, and does very good casual food – no fine dining here. We had a bottle of Grüner Veltliner from the Wachau estate, and I chose their club sandwich which also came with fries. It was very good too, a whole grilled chicken breast with bacon and loads of avocado and tomato on grilled sourdough. Not expensive for the surroundings, the sandwiches around $20 and the wine $80.
SYDNEY: Queen Chow, Manly Wharf, Manly
The busy suburb of Manly is a 20-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay across Sydney harbour. Famed for its surfing beaches, a day here enjoying the water and relaxed seaside vibe is great way to escape the city for a while.
Right on the ferry Wharf sits Queen Chow, a lovely, cool space with a colonial feel, and people and boat-watching central, especially if you can snag a seat by the big open windows. Food is Cantonese, with a deliberate touch of nostalgia – wonton soup, sweet and sour chicken and char sui are present and correct, but the food is far from old fashioned. Instead, it is clean, modern and freshly flavour-led, with just a touch of retro. Best of all had to be the dim sum. We ordered a selection of eight – two pieces each of four different dumplings – and they were fabulous. Highlight for me was the prawn and scallop siu mai, generously filled with minced prawn and a whole creamy scallop, a scattering of caviar on top. These really were top drawer, followed by a solidly good Peking duck. We finished by sharing their signature deep fried ice cream: a generous, tennis-ball sized scoop of ice cream in a coconutty, thin batter, doused in hot butterscotch sauce. A bottle of Riesling Freak’s ‘Number 5’ off-dry Riesling ($70) was superb with this food. A bill of $230 before service – which was excellent – all-in.
BLUE MOUNTAINS: Tempus, 66 Katoomba Street, Katoomba
A popular day trip from Sydney is to the Blue Mountains, a fabulous and huge nature reserve that can be reached by train, car or organised tour in around 90 minutes.
The main town of the Mountains is Katoomba, where I had sussed out a café/restaurant that I guessed might deliver some very good food – and it did. An airy, simple space with polished wood floors and well-spaced tables, it’s basically a sharing menu on offer here with a dozen small dishes and half a dozen more substantial. As well as some sourdough from a local artisan bakery, we shared three small dishes: tuna carpaccio came doused in a perfectly piquant lemon and crunchy fried caper dressing, and the clever addition of slices of ripe and juicy plum. Next up, burrata, locally made and very good, with a green tomato relish and cucumber pickles, and then to complete the trio, roast zucchini, which was delicious, topped with toasted almonds, chimmichuri and a sprinkling of pangrattato (Italian crispy fried breadcrumbs) adding wonderful crunch. Saving the best for last, a simply superb nectarine tart, topped with almonds and a vanilla bean ice cream. The magic here was the superbly buttery and short pastry case, and a caramel rich, tarte tatin-like filling of warm fruit. With a bottle of Riesling Freak’s #3, limey and dry, the bill came to $218 plus service.
SYDNEY-MELBOURNE: Merimbula: Bar Monti, 6/11 Merimbula Drive
Merimbula is a small coastal town, popular for water-based holidays. Our reason for spending a night there is that is is also half way between Sydney and Melbourne if you drive the coastal road, a long drive (each section will take around 7 – 8 hours). Bar Monti was close to our Motel, so we popped in for a simple dinner, which it provided very nicely. The wine list is small but interesting, and I choose a skin-contact, funky white from Rock of Wisdom in the Eden Valley at just $55 – big city prices have been left behind here. I started with calamari fritti, plenty of it, served with slices of zucchini and with a mint and preserved lemon sauce on the side. It’s a basically Italian menu, and creamy fettucini – basically a carbonara – was well flavoured with smoked speck ham and three different types of mushroom. A fine and cheap meal for two in simple surroundings for $150.
Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula
MELBOURNE: Stokehouse, 30 Jacka Blvd, St Kilda
Fine dining right on the beach in this upstairs restaurant with stunning views over the ocean as the sun sets – “Australian beach luxe,” in their words (they offer a much more casual pizza and past place downstairs). It’s a modern, bustling place, and though we secured a window table, all tables have a good view. Our first night in Melbourne, so we celebrated with a glass of Pol Roger while perusing the menu – $28 for a small pour. There is a tasting menu at $185, but we chose a la carte on this occasion, selecting from ‘snacks’, starters, mains and desserts. Two bite sized snacks were very good indeed: a spanner crab & coconut donut, a light doughnut shell filled with tangy citrus infused white meat, and beef tartare, served in a small, scooped out jacket potato and topped with a spoonful of oscietra caviar. My partner’s yellowfin tuna didn’t go down too well – as a chilled dish it wasn’t quite chilled enough, and I have to say my quail terrine was good though unremarkable, the preserved green tomato dice on the side being needed to generate some flavour. For mains we both chose seared John Dory fillet, served with a creamy white almond gazpacho, tarragon and sliced green grapes. Once again it was a ‘good’ rather than great, my overall verdict on the whole experience. We shared some good Australian cheeses with lavosh to finish. The wine list is extensive and globe-trotting with top names littering each page. I chose from South Africa on this occasion, a bottle of Chris Alheit’s ‘Catrology’ white at $175. The total bill was just over $500. Service was friendly and the views wonderful. Open noon until late every day.
MELBOURNE: Bistro Volière, 129 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
In the heart of St Kilda, a little slice of Paris with a decidedly French bistro, French-staffed and with a distinctly Francophile food and wine offering.
The style is very much bistro/brasserie, with genteel portions of hearty food – and very good it was too on our visit. We kicked off with St Jacques, or scallops, two smallish morsels seared and served in their shells, doused in a creamy sauce that had been liberally sprinkled with grated Comte cheese and grilled. That element added so much tang and nutty richness to a fine dish, with which we had glasses of Muscadet ($11). Special of the day was beouf Bourguignon, which was hard to resist with a glass of decent St Nicolas de Bourgueil. And it was good: two chunks of beef cheek, braised to melting softness in a rich sauce studded with mushrooms, some crisply roasted little potatoes and very tasty carrots to garnish. It was comfort food writ large. We may have passed on dessert, but then we noticed that Crepe Suzette was on the menu, flambéed at the table, and couldn’t resist; and I’m glad we didn’t: the crepes were perfect, the sauce richly and deeply flavoured with brandy and orange, and the ladle of flaming brandy poured over made it a boozy treat. $220 before service, so around £115 for two at time of review, was good value for genuinely good food. Closed Monday and Tuesday, dinner only Wednesday.
MELBOURNE: Donovan’s, 40 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda
Donovans is an institution, its low-slung building hugging the beach. Inside is a grown-up oasis of calm, where fine food and wine has been served for almost 30 years.
Our window table was perfect for watching the ever-changing beach life and ocean beyond, as we settled in for a light lunch. The wine list is very good, and there’s a neat selection of wines that can be had by the glass or half bottle; in this case we had a 37.5cl of Chardonnay from Credaro in Margaret River at $38. We both chose two dishes from the starter menu. For me, that kicked off with seared Hokkaido scallops. These were lovely and beautifully executed in terms of cooking and presentation: topped with a little dusting of bottarga and lemon, with curls of lardo and studs of candied walnut, all within a swirl of cauliflower puree. My partner’s wagyu carpaccio was given the thumbs up too. My second starter course was again very good indeed: spanner crab ravioli, a count of five plump specimens, was doused in a lemon butter, little rounds of baby zucchini, the whole lot split with a crustacean oil. Good bread was served too, making for a slightly more substantial lunch than we’d intended… $175 before service. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday.
MELBOURNE: Rosetta Ristorante, Crown Hotel, Southbank
You cannot miss the Crown Hotel and Casino complex on the Southbank of the Yarra River in central Melbourne, with a sprawling collection of restaurants including brands like Nobu and Rockpool. Having spent the morning browsing the nearby Arts Precinct our decision not to have lunch went by the wayside when the idea of a plate of pasta and glass of chilled wine reared its not so ugly head. A quick google for ‘Italian restaurants near me’ brought up Rosetta, rather posher and more expensive than we wanted, but it’s broad and shady terrace was inviting and our fate was sealed. The wine list is expensive and very much focused on Italy, but we enjoyed a bottle of Framingham Riesling ($85). Good, though tiny, portions of boquerones – marinated white anchovies – had been given a real kick by being doused in an nduja sauce, presented on a finger of toasted sourdough. I chose a ‘Primi’ portion of pasta next: orecchiette, or ‘little ears,’ came with an almond pesto sauce and a dome of stracciatella in the centre, and studs of smoked cherry tomato. Again, a small but tasty portion and just right. We should have stopped there, but the table next door was raving about the house tiramisu, one of those was ordered along with long blacks. It was very boozy and very good. The bill came to $220. Lunch Tuesday to Sunday, Dinner closed Tuesdays.
MELBOURNE: Il Gambero, 166 Lygon St, Carlton
Notes are minimal as this was the lunch venue for a meet-up with local wine lovers gathering to welcome me to Melbourne, with an astonishing and generous array of rare Australian wines dating back to 1976. Food was really good: hearty, family style dining on tasty arancini, bread smothered in buttery garlic, thin crust pizzas and fresh as a daisy salads. Very inexpensive and handy to know in this bustling neighbourhood of Melbourne. Open daily, lunch and dinner.
MELBOURNE: The Recreation Bistro, 162-170 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North
With adjoining bottle shop and welcoming BYO Sunday to Thursday, this is a wine-friendly place where I met up with a small group of local wine friends to taste some historic Australian wines generously supplied by them. I did have a browse through their wine list and it is extensive, with lots of grower Champagnes, some mature bottles, and loads of interest. Food-wise, this is modern Australian cuisine that’s pitched somewhere between fancy and wholesome, and done very well. We shared a few starters including a delightfully fresh heirloom tomato tart, a crisp pastry base loaded with tomatoes and creamy stracciatella. Another fine dish was grilled calamari, nice big chunks of tentacle, spiced with pil pil and fennel, with slivers of lardo (a popular ingredient as we travelled around Australia). There was an array of iconic red wines to taste, dating between 1966 and 1985, so all of our main course choices were red meat based. I kept it simple with a steak served with a bowl of crisp fries. We did order up desserts as there was also a fabulous old tawny, bottled in 1975 from a cask of unknown antiquity (sensational), and the hazelnut parfait chocolate cake hit all the right notes. Corkage is $30 per bottle, and the bill worked out around $300 for two before service. Open every day, dinner only Monday and Tuesday.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA: Laura Restaurant at PtLeo Estate
The finest dining on the Peninsula is arguably at the posher of PtLeo’s two restaurants, where two tasting menus are served, four courses at $165 or eight at $275. On each there are various supplements to trade up, so a meal here is never going to be cheap. On our experience however, it is going to be exceptionally good in the way of very refined, modern cooking based on local seasonal ingredients, and with a light Spanish touch thanks to Catalan chef Josep Espuga.
We decided on the $165 menu, but with a splurge of $85 per person to swap wagyu beef for lobster. More of that later. Settling in with a bottle of the estate’s Reserve Chardonnay, a little amuse of a roasted mussel in crisp shell was delightful. First course proper was a sea urchin mousse, served in a terrific Carnaroli rice broth, with touches of apricot adding unexpected punches of flavour. It was definitely more broth than risotto, which was absolutely perfect with the richness of the mousse. Next up, an exceptional piece of native Aquna Murray cod, with kokotxa, a Basque fish stew, a little curl of fabulous Joselito jamón on the side. Alongside, a pretty as a picture ‘bouquet’ of fresh salad from the property’s own garden.
And so to the $85 supplemental lobster. Chef Josep himself arrived at the table to flambé this for us, using two local rums. Southern Rock lobster from just off Tasmania was served with an absolutely delectable sauce Aurore Maigre, a butter and tomato emulsion of incredible intensity. The chef scooped the very generous portion of lobster on tour plates and topped with Yarra Valley salmon roe. Playfully, a little Mornington Peninsula wakame seaweed doughnut and bowl of bouilliabase arrived just as we neared the end of the lobster meat. The chef was kind enough to send a complimentary course (normally a $35 supplement) of Main Ridge Dairy goat cheese, formed into a disc and coated with a burnt honey, sitting atop an oat biscuit with a little compote of local pears alongside. Fabulous it was too. After a bite-sized palate cleanser of a violet and coconut mochi (little ice-cream like rice cake) came a lovely dessert to finish with a glass of Campbells Rare Muscat: chocolate cremeux, with boozy local cherries and an ice cream flavoured with local Cape Schanck Estate olive oil. $630 before service was not cheap, but this was Michelin two-star food, with a serious bottle of wine and finishing with mint teas and hand-made chocolates; by international standards that is very reasonable. Lunch Thursday to Monday, dinner Saturday only. Dining in Laura also comes with free entry to the estate’s sculpture park and a premium wine tasting.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA: Port Phillip Restaurant, 263 Red Hill Road
Port Phillip shares its base with Kooyong, so the large fine dining restaurant offers an extensive range from both estates, as well as a broader selection of domestic and world wines. It’s a lovely space within an architecturally impressive building, the long curve of the dining room framing picture perfect views through a wall of glass that take in the vineyards, but stretch all the way down the peninsula to the ocean.
The menu is a fairly straightforward proposition, with three courses for $100. There are, however, a number of temptations that will add to this, such as a local scallop, seared perfectly and topped with compressed watermelon and pickled apple – a bite-sized delight for an additional $10 per scallop. Sides too are extra, and though not necessary, the baked potatoes with marjoram from the kitchen garden and ranch dressing were delicious ($17 extra). In terms of the three courses, everything satisfied. I opted for grilled octopus on a risotto-like rice base, with plenty of chorizo oil adding piquancy. Next up I went for duck three ways: a lovely slice of well cooked breast, and a little tart of confit duck leg topped with a scoop of creamy duck parfait. All very good indeed. Desserts and cheeses feature for the third course, so we shared one of each. Three local cheeses were among the best we’ve had on this trip, and a dish of local strawberries and cream, was made exciting with the taste of estate tarragon, and substantial with the addition of a little victoria sponge on the side. We took glasses of the top, single block Chardonnay and Pinot Noir under the Morillon label at around $28 per glass for a total bill of $360 before service. Stylish and relaxing dining within a beautiful setting. Open Wednesday to Sunday. Dinner Friday and Saturday only.
Cairns
CAIRNS: Palm Cove: Nu Nu, 1 Vievers Rd, QLD 4879
Palm Cove is a coastal suburb of Cairns in Queensland. Restaurants are strung out along the beach front, but Nu Nu has one of the nicest locations. We had a couple of brunches here and one dinner, from a menu full of temptation. Brunch highlights would include a warm, inch-thick coconut crumpet, smothered in coconut caramel with roast banana and a refreshing sorbet on top, and an omelette generously filled with white spanner crab meat with a spicy ginger caramel and white pepper broth. For dinner we did mostly sharing small plates, including ginger caramel chicken wings with blackened chilli and lime, raw yellowfin tuna with white sesame and heritage carrots with garlic and chilli. Best of the lot, a fabulous spanner crab mini burger with avocado and lime butter. We drank excellent, zippy citrus and flint Chardonnay from Bubb & Pooley in Tasmania at $120. Brunch for two with coffees will cost from $70 to $100, dinner maybe $200. Open daily from 7am until late.
CAIRNS: Palm Cove: Vivo, 49 Williams Esplanade, 4879
There are a handful of more upmarket but still distinctly casual and beachy places in Palm Cove, of which, like Nu Nu, this is one. With a broad veranda and simple indoor space centred by an open kitchen, food was good and service charming.
I really enjoyed a starter portion of reef fish tacos: lemon and herb-crumbed coral trout presented as three little three-bite sized chunks sat on a small corn tortilla, with a pile of pickled cabbage, chargrilled pineapple salsa and a yoghurt-like sharp but creamy dressing. The wedge of lime served with it really added a dimension when squeezed over the fish. My main was good too: a slow braised veal ragu with pappardelle, the meat tender and full of flavour, the pasta just the right side of al dente for such a dish. The portion was enormous, and even after leaving half behind, there was no room for dessert. We drank Paringa Estate of Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay which very good; fairly oaky, but flinty and bracing too ($65). Starters around $15 – $20, mains around $35 – $45. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Hobart
HOBART: Source at Mona
The Museum of New and Ancient Art was our principal reason for visiting Tasmania; it’s an astonishing place that easily soaks up a full day of your time. Take the dedicated high speed ferry there from Hobart’s Wharf. There are many dining options in Mona and its grounds, but we went for the fine dining, ‘top’ place, Source. Perched high above the Museum with views to the ocean, it’s a light-filled, airy space which is also a nice contrast from the atmospheric museum itself.
There is a tasting menu at $125 per person, but we went with the short a la carte menu. There’s an extensive wine list available on request which I believe is excellent, but for lunch all of the wines by the glass come from Mona’s owner’s two estates: Moorilla and Domaine A. Wanting to focus on our afternoon back in the museum we stuck with those. Our shared ‘snack’ was actually quite substantial, and for me was dish of the day. A ‘truffled cheese toasty’ was two thick pieces of a brioche-like buttery toasted bread filled with melted Comte cheese, and topped with slices of Tasmanian summer truffle. It was glorious. I went then for two small plates: a goat’s cheese soufflé then a bowl of tagliatelle with a tomato and zucchini sauce. The soufflé was the star here, or rather its accompanying salad. The cheese used for the soufflé lacked a bit of flavour , but there was flavour in abundance in the wonderful green olive and lemon salad that surrounded it, studded with walnut pieces and so much fragrant fennel and dill, all doused in a warm, citrussy dressing. With a couple of glasses of rather unexciting Moorilla wines each, the bill came to $220 before service. Not too bad at all for food and the surroundings. Complimentary still or sparkling water too when most places charge $10 or more. Open Thursday to Sunday until 5pm.
HOBART: Landmark Restaurant & Grill, 23 Hunter St
Within the Henry Jones Art Hotel on the wharf, a converted jam factory, this has a very calm, grown-up vibe compared to the many party spots of Hobart. Dark wood, and romantic period paintings by artist John Glover adorn the dark wood-panelled walls, and a relatively hushed atmosphere makes it a nice place for a quiet dinner. Steak is its thing, with an Argentine asado barbecue for cooking, fired by whisky barrel chippings from Hobart’s cooperage. A word too for the extensive and excellent wine list, which includes some hard to find local gems.
We both started with wood-fired king prawns, four plump and large specimens, sitting on a buttery slick of mash, and doused in a smoked wagyu dressing fired-up by a hint of lemon. It was a seriously good dish, small but satisfying, and a small sourdough loaf from Hobart’s terrific Pigeon Whole bakery was the perfect way to mop up the sauce. We both went for steaks too, in the shape of grass-fed King Island Tasmanian eye of fillet. This came with grilled baby gem lettuce and a choice of sauces. The beef was full-flavoured, the char of the asado giving patina of caramelisation evenly across the surface. We added sides of triple-cooked duck fat chips and cauliflower, in gruyere sauce sprinkled with macadamia, dukkha and dates, which was nicely exotic and lightly spicy. We really didn’t have room for dessert. We had kicked the evening off with glasses of House of Arras Blanc de Blanc ($19 each), and then a wonderful bottle of Pinot, the Butcher’s Hill 2022 from Pooley ($165), the whole bill hitting just over $400 before service. Open daily, dinner only.
HOBART: Mary Mary, Tasman Hotel, 2a Salamanca Place
Having lunched at Source restaurant, something light was called for. Mary Mary wine bar was a decent option given that many restaurants are closed on Mondays. Done out with sofas and low, slouchy seating, it’s not a place for formal eating, but with a decent if unremarkable selection of wines and sharing food plates it was more than adequate for us. And the food was tasty: house made meatballs in a rich tomato ragu and puffy ‘pizza’ breads with a tangy, ‘smashed’ zucchini dip, tangy with garlic and lemon in our case. With a couple of glasses of wine each, both very pleasant (local Riesling from Quiet Mutiny, and a Pinot from Two Tonne), the modest bill of $110 was fine. Not worth a special trip, but handy that it is open every evening.
HOBART: Harbour Lights Café, 29 Morrison St
I can’t put hand on heart and recommend this as anything other than serviceable, but having arrived mid-afternoon off of a Melbourne flight we stumbled into it, being not far from our hotel and still serving. I had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken which was substantial and satisfying enough (no more can be said) and my partner’s scallops earned much the same reaction. Only two white wines were listed on a small blackboard, and one of those was out of stock, so we had a glass of Tasmanian Sauvignon Blanc of unknown provenance. Coffee to finish was not great, so all in all it’s a refuge rather than a destination, though a drink at their pavement tables might be OK. $91 before service. Open daily for breakfast through to dinner, but no dinner service Monday or Tuesday.