Must-see restaurants in Tasmania

  • Metz

    Launceston

    Locals recommend family-friendly, unpretentious Metz, a good-time bar/eatery in the former St George Hotel building (the old pub signage and resident…

  • Central Restaurant

    Tasmania

    Most Tasmanian pub bistros serve a monotonous and unhealthy menu dominated by fried dishes and grilled steak. Here at the Central, they do things…

  • Peppermint Bay Hotel

    The Southeast

    On a mesmeric D’Entrecasteaux Channel inlet, jaunty Peppermint Bay is a cool, contemporary bar/bistro, open all day for coffee (or a drink), for lunch…

  • Kosaten Japanese Restaurant

    Hobart

    We could say this darkened Japanese bunker in an old stone ordnance store near Salamanca Place is a sushi-train joint, but that would be underselling it…

  • The Hub

    The East Coast

    Mountain biking, pizza and beer are a perfect marriage, and Derby’s finest eatery, reopened under new owners in late 2018, brings it all together. Wrapped…

  • Pyengana Dairy Company

    The East Coast

    Cheese is produced using century-old recipes at the Pyengana Dairy Company. Taste and purchase cheddars in kaleidoscopic flavours at the Holy Cow Café,…

  • Tamar Cove Restaurant

    Tasmania

    More ambitious than most motel restaurants, the eatery at Tamar Cove serves steaks, fish and chips, burgers and salads with a difference – steaks are…

  • Feisty Hen Pantry

    Midlands & Central Highlands

    This likeable little hen has a very small roost out the back of Oatlands Lodge. It feels like a farmhouse kitchen and serves up all-day breakfasts,…

  • Fico

    Hobart

    This stylish Italian restaurant on the business flanks of Macquarie St somehow manages to feel intimate despite the traffic thundering past (jazz,…

  • Veg Bar

    Hobart

    'Plant-based eatery' may be a coded way of saying 'vegetarian joint', but there's really no need for disguises. Veg Bar is a quality outfit, from the…

  • Gateway Cafe

    The East Coast

    This cafe does bang-up breakfasts, then serves other filling stuff throughout the day: pies, wraps, sausage rolls, vegetable frittata, biscuits and slices…

  • Géographe

    The East Coast

    The only hazards here are the view – of the Hazards – and the possibility of lingering too long over breakfast. Mornings are eggy and evenings are pizza…

  • Roaring Grill

    Hobart

    Beefing up the offerings in NoHo is this sassy steakhouse named for the Roaring Forties winds that wash and dry Tasmania. It's a stylish split-level fit…

  • Gunn Deck Cafe

    Tasmania

    Hidden in an upstairs mezzanine in the nautical Bass & Flinders Centre, overlooking the Norfolk sloop replica, this cafe is a pleasant surprise. Delicious…

  • Pierre's

    Launceston

    Pierre's has been here since 1956 and the retro trim – velour walls, gold-starred ceiling, theatre lighting – is so gaudy it's good. Days begin and end in…

  • Xanders

    Tasmania

    The views from the rear windows of this fine diner on the main street are impressive, and the dining room's interior is very attractive, making it a…

  • Earthy Eats

    Launceston

    Part cafe, part grocer, part juice bar, black-painted Earthy East is an unexpected find on little Kingsway. Super salads, panini, lush cakes and slabs of…

  • Three Japanese

    Hobart

    Run by (you guessed it) three Japanese friends, this mod little black-and-white restaurant sources its produce as much as possible from organic producers…

  • Saltshaker

    The East Coast

    Ebullient, all-day Saltshaker gets the urban vote in Swansea. This bright, chic, waterfront dining room serves fresh lunches and classy dinners that are…

  • Milkbar

    Launceston

    Sixties retro cool and 21st-century chic collide at Milkbar, which serves excellent coffee, organic tea, huge milkshakes, delicious sandwiches and home…

  • Ingleside Bakery Cafe

    Tasmania

    Sit out under the roses in the Tuscan-styled courtyard, or under the high ceiling inside this former council chambers building (1867). Expect delicious…

  • Tio Rico

    Launceston

    It's all things Latin (Mexican, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Spanish…) at this brightly coloured corner cantina near Royal Park, plating up great-value burritos…

  • 1830

    Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur

    The food is anything but prison rations at this swish restaurant inside the main visitor centre at the Port Arthur Historic Site. Looking through slit…

  • Urban Greek

    Hobart

    Fancy Mediterranean offerings in a former garage fitted out with bent copper lighting conduits, a timber bar, polished concrete floors and an intimidating…

  • Liv-eat

    Hobart

    Soups, grilled salads, rolls, sandwiches, wraps, juices and smoothies – all of it fresh and/or made on the spot, and none of it deep-fried. It's a healthy…

  • Beachfront 32

    Hobart

    What are all those people doing over there? Oh, they're eating and drinking at Beachfront 32, a cafe-bar right on Kingston Beach. Scan the menu (pinned to…

  • The Source

    Hobart

    The Source is an excellent (and not overpriced) restaurant at MONA, named after a painting by John Olsen hanging in the entryway. It's a stylish affair …

  • Lucas' Hotel

    Tasmania

    The quintessential country pub, Lucas' has a bistro where locals of every age enjoy tucker including beef-and-Guinness pies, rissoles, steak sandwiches…

  • Jetty Cafe

    Bruny Island

    Part cafe-restaurant, part provedore, part local art gallery – the stylish Jetty Cafe (designed by ace architect John Wardle) is a North Bruny highlight…

  • Bayviews

    Tasmania

    An upmarket establishment right on the beach, Bayviews serves a limited menu of dishes featuring produce including local free-range pork, the region’s…

  • Landscape

    Hobart

    Adjunct to the flash Henry Jones Art Hotel is this top-flight restaurant and grill. It can get pricey in here, but the hushed, moody atmosphere – with…

  • Bay Restaurant

    The East Coast

    When the sun goes down over Great Oyster Bay, Freycinet Lodge wheels out the fine dining. Expect delicacies such as chargrilled Tasmanian wallaby with…

  • Raspberry Fool

    Hobart

    The all-day menu here features dressed-up comfort food with a chef's spin. Try the cheesy leeks on toast with bacon and a fried egg, or the baked eggs…

  • Tannin Restaurant

    Tasmania

    Named after the tannin that gives the Pieman River its distinctive colour, the bistro in Corinna's lodge is arranged around a wood stove and serves hearty…

  • Sweet Envy

    Hobart

    A delicate diversion along North Hobart’s restaurant strip, Sweet Envy conjures up gossamer-light macarons, madeleines and cupcakes, plus gourmet pies and…

  • On the Bay

    Tasman Peninsula & Port Arthur

    Oddly clad in orange-stained timber like a giant packing crate, this upmarket waterside restaurant showcases produce – oysters, scallops, ocean trout…

  • Crowded Lounge

    Tasmania

    Latrobe's arty residents tend to congregate in this gallery and cafe near the Court House Museum, often whiling away an hour or two browsing the small…

  • Van Diemen's Land Creamery

    Tasmania

    The ice cream, gelato and sorbet on offer here changes every day, rotating between the 40 flavours this artisan company produces. Grab a cone to go or sit…

  • Daci & Daci

    Hobart

    A 2018 refurb has this stylish bakery-cafe looking all leather and latte, and suitably slick for the steady flow of public servants and parliamentary folk…

  • Brisbane Street Bistro

    Launceston

    Contemporary French dishes, romantic vibes, knowledgeable staff…what's not to like? Claim a candlelit table in the intimate dining room and order from the…