Tasmania's world-class produce and the MONA effect have created a dining scene of national standing.
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Hobart's restaurant scene punches far above its population weight, driven by the quality of Tasmanian produce — the oysters, the abalone, the salmon, the wagyu, the truffles, the stone fruit — and the culinary ambition that the MONA effect has brought to a city where creative risk-taking has become culturally normal.
David Moyle's Franklin on Argyle Street is the most important restaurant in Tasmania — an open-fire restaurant that celebrates Tasmanian produce with a directness and skill that has earned it a reputation far beyond the island. The sourdough bread, the wood-roasted vegetables, and the locally sourced proteins treated with minimal interference are as good as Australian cooking gets.
Oskar Rossi and Federica Andrisani's Italian restaurant in Molle Street is the most purely joyful dining experience in Hobart — the hand-rolled pasta, the Italian wine list curated with the obsessiveness of people who have actually lived in Italy, and the warm room that manages to feel like it's always been there make Fico essential.
The seasonal tasting menu restaurant at the Henry Jones Art Hotel is Hobart's most formally accomplished fine dining experience — the view of the waterfront cranes, the extraordinary Tasmanian producer relationships, and the cooking that makes sense of where you are make it the booking for significant occasions in the city.
The natural wine bar and small plates restaurant in Criterion Street is the Hobart evening that food professionals choose when they're off-duty — the wine list is extraordinary, the food is precisely as good as it needs to be, and the room has the relaxed confidence of a place that has found its audience and committed to serving it well.
The tiny restaurant in Patrick Street seats 30 people and has been one of Hobart's most consistent and individual dining experiences for years. The Italian-inflected cooking, the natural wine focus, and the chef's counter seats create an intimacy that makes every meal feel like a private event.
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