With a handful of new players mixing things up and championing all things Tasmanian, there’s never been a better time to eat your way around Australia’s southernmost capital.

While the pace of life elsewhere on the Apple Isle might still (mercifully) be as sleepy as ever, the Hobart food scene has kicked up a gear in recent years, with hyper-seasonal produce at the forefront. Gone are the days when “Slowbart" only had a sprinkling of decent places to eat; today you’ll be struggling to tick off your culinary to-do list in just one weekend.

There are few other cities in Australia with such a glut of small-scale growers, makers and bakers on their doorstep. Forget food miles; from whiskey to wagyu, saffron to sparkling wine, it’s all made or grown right here.

So, organise your flights and get ready to savour the good stuff. Tassie’s capital will have you dreaming of open fires, harbour views, briny oysters and cosy pasta bars until you plot your return. Read on for our picks of the best places to eat in Hobart right now.

The shortlist

Hottest new opening: Omotenashi
Best farm-to-table: The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery & Store
Budget-friendly: Suzie Luck’s
Most Instagrammable: The Source Restaurant, Mona
Best date spot: Ogee

1. Dier Makr

Atmospheric Dier Makr (run by Melbourne expats Kobi Ruzicka and Sarah Fitzsimmons) has won a legion of fans for its serious cocktails, low-intervention wine list, and boundary-pushing, produce-driven seasonal tasting menu. The Hobart restaurant’s vintage tunes and lo-fi fit-out win points too.

Expect dishes like lightly cured mackerel with ‘tomato water’ and a smoked tomato paste; sweetcorn gelato; and duck liver crullers.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Inviting

Location: 123 Collins Street

2. Fico

This much loved Italian-accented bistro is headed up by ex-Vue de Monde chef Oskar Rossi and his partner Frederica Andrisani. You’ll find exemplary pasta and contemporary takes on traditional Italian ideas at Fico, plus outstanding Tassie produce at every turn.

It’s a set menu only establishment, with a choice of a lead-in nine-course ‘classic menu’, or a more extravagant ‘gourmand menu’ that adds on oysters, caviar, truffle (when available) and a cheese course.

Cuisine: European

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Warm and welcoming

Location: 151 Macquarie Street

3. The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery & Store

While not strictly within Hobart’s confines, Rodney Dunn’s The Agrarian Kitchen Eatery & Store is only a short drive out of town in New Norfolk, and well worth the detour. Allowing his lovingly raised produce to speak for itself (more than 90% of the restaurant’s ingredients are sourced onsite), simplicity rules here. Everything is done in-house, from growing to curing, fermenting and smoking, which means you’ll get a true taste of Tassie terroir.

Beyond the award-winning restaurant, the grounds here also feature a more budget-friendly kiosk, open for weekend lunch service only, as well as a cookery school.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Scandi-chic

Location: 11a The Avenue, New Norfolk

4. Frank

Fancy a Latin American meat fix? Say hola to buzzy waterside hotspot Frank, where you can snack on pork and chipotle empanadas or fresh Tassie oysters topped with chorizo and salsa dressing before moving on to a charry skirt steak from the charcoal grill.

Cuisine: Latin American

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Stylish

Location: 1 Franklin Wharf

5. Aloft

A little further along Franklin Wharf you’ll find Aloft, a minimal and sophisticated attic space where local produce gets a deft mod-Asian touch. Equally suited for drinks and snacks as it is for a long, slow dinner, Aloft’s uninterrupted harbour-side views offer a fine excuse to switch your operating speed to ‘slow’.

Cuisine: Modern Asian fusion

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Bright and minimalist

Location: Pier one, Brooke Street

6. The Source Restaurant, Mona

This ritzy, lunch-only Hobart restaurant has some curious touches befitting of its museum home (think ‘living’ tables made of moss), but its seasonal menu is anything but gimmicky. There’s a definite seafood lean at The Source, although fresh produce plays the starring role.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Glamorous

Location: Ether Building, 655 Main Rd, Berriedale

7. Ti ama

It always pays to have a good local pizzeria up your sleeve, so we suggest you put Ti Ama on speed dial pronto. Whether you’re just looking to smuggle a wood-fired dough haul back into your hotel room, or you’re hoping for a pizza pie and a cocktail in an upbeat atmosphere, this Battery Point restaurant has got your back.

Choose from one of the classics (margherita, pepperoni) or opt for something a little more outlandish, such as the likes of the King Kofta (a smoky capsicum base with lamb sausage, herb yoghurt and zaatar); either way, this tried and true local delivers.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Fun

Location: 13 Castray Esplanade, Battery Point

8. Templo

A surefire selection of housemade pasta is always on offer at this humble 20-seat establishment, which has quietly become one of Hobart’s best Italian restaurants. Don’t miss chef Matt Breen’s gnocchetti, which has become something of a signature. And beyond its consistently delicious plates of pasta, at Templo you can also expect an expertly curated wine list that heroes all things lo-fi.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Homely

Location: 98 Patrick Street

9. Landscape Restaurant and Grill

The defining feature of this Hobart restaurant apart is not the ‘what’ but the ‘how’. Many of Landscape’s dishes are imbued with the heady smokiness of its wood-fired asado grill, though its Cape Grim steaks are arguably the belles of the ball. Part of the Henry Jones Art Hotel, this thoroughly upscale eatery is ground zero for fancy dinners in the city.

Cuisine: Steak and seafood

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Snug and historic

Location: 23 Hunter Street

10. Restaurant Maria

The Mediterranean serves as the inspiration for this Brooke Street Pier eatery. Among the more glamorous members of the local restaurant scene, Restaurant Maria aims to transport you to the sun-licked shores of Greece, Spain and southern Italy with its whitewashed, lime plastered walls.

Gorge on harbour views and a heady array of briny, creamy, piquant and lemon-infused dishes, such as crudo with Campari, citrus and chilli; tirokafteri (a feta dip laced with chilli and fire-roasted red capsicum) with grilled octopus; and seared scallops with burnt lemon, taramasalata and mountain pepper.

It’s the latest venture from the team at high-flying Aloft.

Cuisine: European

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Chic

Location: Brooke Street Pier

11. Omotenashi

Taking out the crown for Hobart’s most unconventional/unexpected restaurant location, Omotenashi is housed within a Lexus showroom. This 10-seat kaiseki restaurant worships at the altar of simplicity and seasonality, allowing the wildly fresh produce to do the talking, the deftly executed dishes all grounded in traditional Japanese techniques.

No two weeks are the same here, but diners may enjoy dishes such as steamed chestnuts bathed in warm shoyu and sake, blanched white asparagus with black lip abalone, grilled yellow eye mullet with shiitake daikon and citrus, or zunda mochi (a glutinous rice cake made with sweet, mashed edamame).

Given the intimate, chef’s table nature of the experience, where diners are tended to by the restaurant’s chef-patrons Lachlan Colwill and Sophie Pope, the restaurant’s name (meaning ‘wholehearted hospitality’) truly comes to life.

Cuisine: Japanese

Average price: $$$$$

Atmosphere: Zen-like

Location: 4/160 Elizabeth Street

12. Ogee

Giving sultry yet convivial vibes, this relative newcomer was brought to life by Chef Matt Breen, who’s also the brains behind much-loved wine bar Sonny (and a Templo restaurant alum). So it’s perhaps little surprise that this No-Ho haunt is a culinary firecracker.

Expect Continental influences at Ogee, where small plates reign supreme and lo-fi wines dominate. Like any good neighbourhood wine bar, the menu here changes frequently, though flavour-packed gildas and handmade pastas are a mainstay.

Cuisine: European

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Intimate

Location: 374 Murray Street

13. Pitzi

This petite pasta bar is a younger, more casual sibling to the aforementioned Fico, with a decidedly more playful and carefree menu but an upmarket twist: think cassata (Sicilian cake) ice cream sandwiches, fried cubes of spaghetti carbonara, pasta alfredo with Tassie truffles, devilled eggs and a vanilla yogurt sundae with strawberry sorbet. And in true Fico style, all the pasta are, of course, handmade.

Linger over a long Friday lunch at Pitzi’s communal table, a glass of Tamar Valley’s pet nat in hand, or drop in for date night, pulling up a pew at the cosy bar counter.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Warm and Welcoming

Location: 4 Victoria Street

14. Suzie Luck’s

When you’re hankering for some Asian-inspired comfort food in a warm, bright and lively setting that doesn’t break the bank, Suzie Luck’s is the place.

Running the gamut from spring rolls to satay, som tum salad, pad Thai, and slow-cooked curries, the menu is a hit list of Asian classics.

For a true steal, take the three-course Lotus Banquet ($59), which includes smacked cucumber, roast pork roll-ups, tempura eggplant, panang curry, roasted pumpkin and more.

Cuisine: Asian fusion

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Buzzy

Location: 2 Salamanca Square, Battery Point

15. Peppina

Housed within Hobart’s most luxurious hotel, it’s perhaps a given that the standards for food, presentation and service at Peppina would be high. But since its opening in late 2021, culinary director, Massimo Mele, has raised the bar for hotel restaurants across the country.

The cosy, dimly lit dining room features an open kitchen at its heart – a wood-fired oven and open firepit taking centre stage. But while the vibe is nothing but smart, Mele’s menu draws on comforting, familiar recipes plucked from the kitchens of his mamma and nonna: polpette al forno (wood-fired meatballs with mozzarella and sugo), arrosticini (grilled lamb skewers with parsley dressing), patate arrosto (woodfired roasted potatoes with rosemary and garlic aioli) and tiramisu.

Cuisine: Italian

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Smart casual

Location: 2b Salamanca Place

16. Institut Polaire

You’ll find a cool change at waterfront restaurant Institut Polaire: a sleek, minimalist space, all Carrara marble, snow-white walls and dove grey leather seating.

Both the interiors and the menus here pay homage to Tassie’s status as ‘the gateway to Antarctica’. You’ll find cool climate drops lining the wine list and a seafood-leaning menu (think scallop sashimi with lemon-infused verjus, snapper served atop sauce vierge, whipped bottarga toasts, oysters with an elderflower mignonette, and full caviar service).

While this Hobart brasserie’s wine cellar has achieved national recognition, don’t leave without trying the signature cocktail: the Süd Polaire Antarctic dry martini. Quite the scene stealer, the concoction is served in a stainless steel goblet with a twist of lemon and wisps of juniper mist. It’s made with the small-batch house gin, which just so happens to be the creation of co-owner (and gin distiller) Louise Radman, and is vapour-infused with 10 organic botanicals.

Cuisine: Seafood

Average price: $$$$

Atmosphere: Cool

Location: 1 / 7 Murray Street

17. Pearl + Co

If there’s one thing that’s synonymous with Tassie and its clean, cool waters, it’s the seafood; and perhaps no creature of the deep more so than the oyster.

At wharfside Pearl + Co, locally sourced seafood is the order of the day, with Tasmanian pacific oysters taking pride of place on the menu. You’ll find the local molluscs served three different ways: au naturel, with a pearl mignonette, or a la kilpatrick. Once you’ve knocked back a dozen or so, sate an appetite piqued by Tassie’s blustery and cool climes with the house seafood platter (more oysters plus chilled prawns, raw and cured wild fish, pan-fried wild fish, scallops and more).

Drink up the waterfront views from a perch on the deck come summer, or cosy up inside a glass of Coal River Valley red in winter.

Cuisine: Seafood

Average price: $$$

Atmosphere: Rustic elegance

Location: Mures Building Victoria Dock, Franklin Wharf

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