If you’ve been to Hobart, you’ll know it offers outstanding eating and drinking: Dier Makr, Lucinda Wine Bar, Tom McHugo’s, Fico, Templo and just out of the city, the Agrarian Kitchen. But there are also some newer places you may not have been to, ones that are worth a visit for a hefty meal or just a drink. Here are spots to consider when you’re next in town.
In The Hanging Garden
Encompassing nearly an entire block in the centre of Hobart, In The Hanging Garden is an ambitious live music and cultural precinct that opened during Dark Mofo in 2019. Darklab (which is part of Mona) and Melbourne’s Fender Katsalidis architects worked together to reimagine a couple of historic buildings – including the Odeon Theatre – to create this huge, evolving public space with bars, restaurants, a nightclub and tiered outdoor beer garden. Like the venue itself, the food will switch up over time but at the moment it’s by pan-Asian eatery Oryza, plus cheeses and beers from respected Bruny Island Cheese Co. “Come for lunch, stay for drinks, then catch a band or hit one of the dance floors,” Rebecca Fitzgibbon from DarkLab tells us.
112 Murray Street, Hobart. More info here.
Aura
If you love imbibing at a height, this is for you. Aura is on top of a tall CBD building, so has great views of Hobart from its floor-to-ceiling windows. The restaurant wraps around a central bar, and punters can watch cocktails being made and new chef Joey Astorga preparing delicate dishes. (Astorga lists Sydney's progressive and now-closed vegan diner Paperbark on his CV and you can see its influence here.) Owner Alexia Kalis says her favourite dish is Astorga’s black lip abalone yakitori with mountain pepper teriyaki. Rooftop bars aren’t really a thing in Hobart – in fact when Aura opened in 2020 it was the city’s first high-rise rooftop bar – and talking to Kalis you get a sense she’s got big ambitions for Aura. “We wanted to create a theatrical experience very different to anything seen in Tasmania.”
Level 12, 110 Liverpool Street, Hobart. Find more info here.
Ti Ama
Husband and wife duo Isabella Lubiana and Joel Edwards launched their pizza-making careers in 2015 when they opened popular Local Pizza near Mona, serving slices the way they’d learned at home with Lubiana’s Italian family. “The thin and authentic-style pizzas we made at home didn't exist in Hobart,” she tells Broadsheet. “We cold-ferment our pizza dough for 72 hours to allow an amazing flavour and digestibility with virtually no yeast,” adds Edwards. Lubiana describes their second venue as “a little more glitzy” with a larger focus on drinks. “We wanted a chic space that had some bling; I love sparkle,” she says, referring to the disco-ball pizza oven. Ti Ama is in the thick of the city, in Battery Point, and along with pizzas you can get house-made pastas (the gnocchi is great), cacio e pepe fries and many different spritzes.
Shop 13, 13 Castray Esplanade Battery Point. Find more info here.
Dubsy’s at Mona
Mona’s casual outdoor burger bar, Dubsy’s, was launched in late 2020 as part of the cultural institution’s revamped post-Covid offering. Named after Mona’s owner and founder, David “Dubsy” Walsh, the gallery’s lawn-front venue serves American diner-inspired food, and the menu is divided into “burgers” and “not burgers”. “As part of our evolving food philosophy, the menu is almost entirely vegetarian or plant-based,” says Mona’s co-CEO Mark Wilsdon. “Where meat still features, feral and low-impact animals will replace their heavily farmed counterparts. And there’s now hot chips. We’ve never served hot chips at Mona before, so this is big news in our world.” Dubsy’s launch coincided with the reopening of Mona’s experimental and immersive restaurant Faro, which combines live music, art and drinks with food by executive chef, Vince Trim.
Mona, 655 Main Road, Berriedale. Find more details here.
Sisterhood
Yasmin Chung bought an existing cafe in Sandy Bay and, after gutting it and working with design studio Biasol, has opened an inviting space with lots of natural light, hanging plants and rattan furniture. It serves an all-day brunch menu, which is under the charge of head chef Josh Mathewson. There are the usual culprits like avocado on toast, but also breakfast pasta and folded eggs with braised duck. Chung says her dish pick is the breakfast bowl, piled high with salad, sauerkraut, pickled carrot and house-made hummus. Or the Reuben sandwich, but only on her days off. “It’s the kind of dish you need a nap after.” If you like dogs, this is also a good spot to pat some good boys and good girls – they’re encouraged, and there’s even pup treats on the menu.
4/48 King Street, Sandy Bay. Find more details here.
