Welcome to yet another of BH‘s signature city-based dining guides. This time around, we’re exploring the very best restaurants in Hobart.
From waterfront fine diners to characterful wine bars — bound even to give what’s on the Mainland a run for its money — there is no shortage of great dining options in the Tasmanian capital. Let’s dive in below.
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The Best Hobart Restaurants Right Now
The Agrarian Kitchen
Admittedly, The Agrarian Kitchen is about 40 minutes drive from Hobart. However, after claiming Gourmet Traveller’s “Restaurant of the Year” for 2024, it would be an oversight not to include it in this list of the best restaurants Hobart — and its surroundings — have to offer.
A dining destination unto itself, The Agrarian Kitchen is one of the few restaurants that can lay claim to the farm-to-table ethos. With a kitchen that sources over 90% of the menu ingredients offered from an on-site garden, the Head Chef Stephen Peak-led team also does its own “cheese-making, whole animal butchery, smoking, fermentation, wood-fired cooking, bread-baking and charcuterie”.
For an unforgettable dining experience that will make you appreciate what true “local sourcing” actually looks like, the set menu is $180 a head ($195 from October this year) with the option of a $90 wine pairing. After winning “Restaurant of the Year,” reservations are sure to be hard to come by.
Address: 11a The Avenue, New Norfolk TAS 7140
Contact: 03 6262 0011
Opening Hours: Friday — Sunday (11 AM — 2 PM)
Omotenashi
Omotenashi has been on the Hobart dining scene for less than two years, yet has already made its mark as one of the finest venues in the city.
With just ten seats inside, the Kaiseki-style restaurant is open just four nights a week and serves a 15-course set menu with accompanying sake and tea, with a price tag of $300. No, it’s not the most affordable restaurant in Hobart, but thanks to its fusion of Japanese culinary technique and locally sourced Tasmanian produce, it’s already proven popular for locals and tourists alike.
If you’re hunting for an unforgettable Japanese meal, this is where you’ll find it.
Address: Unit 4/160 Elizabeth St, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6234 7659
Opening Hours: Thursday (2:30 PM — 5:30 PM); Friday — Sunday (6:30 PM — 11:30 PM)
Templo
This diminutive 25-seat dining room has frequently been hailed the very best restaurant in Hobart. In fact, plenty of passionate diners would go so far as to call it the best restaurant in Australia.
We don’t necessarily know about all that noise, but it’s difficult to deny just how consistent Chef-Owner Matthew Breen’s output at Templo has been over the past decade.
A leading figure in Tasmania’s hyperlocal approach to cooking, Breen continues to whip up morsels worth the price of a short flight to Hobart. The seasonal veggies are wonderful, as are the ever-rotating pasta courses: cooked with warmth and an intuitive generosity that may well spur you to relocate.
Even with the hospitality industry’s mounting food costs and endemic staffing issues, Templo continues to offer some of the best value fine dining in Australia. Assuming you can finagle a reservation, the six-course set menu here will set you back $115 per head. Not too shabby.
Address: 98 Patrick St, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6234 7659
Opening Hours: Wednesday (6 PM — 11 PM); Thursday — Monday (12 PM — 3 PM, 6 PM — 11 PM)
Frank Restaurant & Bar
Squirrelled away on the ground floor of an unassuming waterfront building in Midtown, Frank is an often unsung hero in the panoply of excellent Hobart restaurants. Inspired by the flavours of South America, dishes here provide a serious bedrock for a similarly on-theme wine & cocktail list.
Although the kitchen at Frank mixes things up regularly, your best bet is to opt for carnivorous staples. There’s a strong Argentine culinary through-line: evident in dishes like the 800g entraña (“hanger steak”) or beef and cheese empanadas.
Whatever you do, be sure to save some room for the tres leches cake: an optimal way to end your meal.
Address: 1 Franklin Whrf, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6231 5005
Opening Hours: Monday — Thursday (12 PM — 10 PM); Friday — Saturday (12 PM — 10:30 PM); Sunday (12 PM — 10 PM)
Fico
Fico is another name that’s forever in the conversation when it comes to the “best restaurant in Hobart.” Located on a relatively quiet stretch of Macquarie Street, it specialises in comforting, quasi-fine European fare. There are risottos, en croûte preparations, and a wide range of pastas — all definitively delicious.
At $170, the ‘Let Us Cook For You’ menu is a touch pricier than what you’ll find at, say, Templo. Yet we still feel this offers a robust value proposition (especially considering Fico’s two-hat status).
Chef-owners Oskar Rossi and Federica Andrisani constantly find inventive ways to wring new joy from old classics. How about oysters with your carbonara instead of guanciale? Or a simple pudding of gelato —albeit made with local Tassie buffalo milk — garnished with hazelnut praline?
Our former colleague, Chris Singh, visited the restaurant as late as July 2023; and if his review is any indication, expect Fico to remain a fixture of this Hobart restaurants list for many years to come.
Address: 151A Macquarie Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6245 3391
Opening Hours: Wednesday — Saturday (6 PM — 11:30 PM)
ALOFT
Hovering majestically above Brooke Street Pier, Aloft is among Hobart’s best-known fine diners. Reflecting Tasmania’s bounty of ever-changing natural and seasonal produce, there’s more than a whiff of Nordic sorcery suffused throughout this award-winning harbourside eatery.
The sleek, industrial space is undoubtedly a favourite of the content creator set, but it’s the food menu —particularly the $130 vegan degustation — that has won Aloft a legion of foodie fans from across the country.
Snacks, so often an afterthought in high-end kitchens, are a delightful interlude in every meal here. Lately, we’ve been enjoying the lamb ribs braised in black vinegar and the wallaby tartare — a load-bearing amuse that embraces Aloft’s ethos of local produce first.
Address: Pier One, Brooke Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6223 1619
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Saturday (5:30 PM — 10 PM)
Landscape Restaurant & Grill
Located inside the Henry Jones Art Hotel, Landscape Restaurant & Grill makes brilliant use of its setting, the former IXL Jam Factory, filling the space with reclaimed timber and the imposing works of John Glover — the “father of Australian landscape painting.”
A great big asado grill (fueled by a selection of wood cut from Tasmanian Cask Company barrels) is at the centre of the action, resulting in some of the best steaks in Hobart. Sample local MBS9+ Wagyu rump cap from Robbins Island, or alternatively, bone-in Cape Grim sirloin — aged for 30 days in-house.
Address: 23 Hunter Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6210 7712
Opening Hours: Monday — Sunday (6 PM — 9:30 PM)
Dier Makr
Somewhere between a friendly neighbourhood wine bar and Hobart’s best-catered house party, Dier Makr is “an odd little establishment” where produce is cooked out of an improvised kitchen and guests are invited to peruse their choice in beverages from a small purpose-built wine room.
The brainchild of Melbourne transplant Kobi Ruzicka, this intimate eating and drinking den specialises in turning unassuming foodstuffs into something sublime. Inventive morsels, like a gelato of sweet corn, served over a cookie made from the same maize staple, are “on until [they’re] not”; as are a range of courses that highlight whatever veggies are in season (it’s always a great time to visit whenever celeriac is on).
For visitors from the Mainland, there’s a good bet you could dine at Dier Makr multiple times per year and never eat the same thing twice. An essential pitstop on any gastronomic tour of Hobart.
Address:123 Collins Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6288 8910
Opening Hours: Thursday (6:45 PM — 11 PM); Friday — Saturday (6 PM — 11 PM)
Peppina
The flagship restaurant of The Tasman (far and away Hobart’s most luxurious new hotel), Peppina’s brief can more or less be boiled down to “big-hearted Italian hospitality.”
The venue serves a properly solid buffet breakfast seven days a week, but really, what you should be venturing down here for is the dinnertime service. The childhood table of Culinary Director Massimo Mele serves as inspiration: reflected in antipasti such as a satisfyingly simple tomato salad or Genovese-style paccheri — a variety of pasta, originating in Campania, resembling wide flattened tubes.
If staying in-house, a post-dinner tipple at Mary Mary (directly accessible via the restaurant’s main dining room) comes highly recommended.
Address: 2B Salamanca Place, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6240 6000
Opening Hours: Monday — Sunday (7 AM — 10:30 AM, 5 PM — 8:30 PM)
Bar Wa Izakaya
Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a surplus of high-quality Japanese dining in Hobart, yet Bar Wa — located in the city’s urban core — certainly fits that description.
Opened by brothers Richard and Julian Hensens back in 2017, this popular Hobart venue pays tribute to the archetypal izakaya of the Kantō region. Popular dishes include tataki, local oysters (naturally), and a range of fried morsels (e.g. karaage) that pair well with the various Japanese lagers served on tap.
If you’re visiting during the cooler months of the year, consider ducking in between noon and 3 PM. At lunchtime hours, the Hensens do a mean sideline in Japanese noodle soups; with creative fan favourites such as a green peppercorn duck ramen.
Address: 216-218 Elizabeth Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6288 7876
Opening Hours: Monday — Sunday (12 PM — 2 AM)
Sonny
Another exceptional opening from the team behind Templo, Sonny is a similarly intimate (yet noticeably more anarchic) venue — specialising in small plates and a smartly curated wine list.
Notwithstanding a handful of chairs perched up against the restaurant’s teeny tiny window, at Templo, most of the action unfolds across a central wooden countertop. Overhead, a pair of bone-crushingly powerful speakers (built bespoke by local audio firm Pitt & Giblin) blast a flurry of Motown, French disco, and old-school slow jams — piped from a turntable setup you’ll see co-owner Al Robertson lovingly attending to throughout the evening.
We could wax at length about Templo’s excellent pizza fritti-style prosciutto toast, or the mouthwatering pasta courses you’ll spot being cooked — in real rock’n’rolla fashion — over portable stoves. But for the purpose of brevity, all we’ll say is that if you haven’t had the pleasure of quaffing an entire bottle of Loire Valley fizz, the sound of Do Yourself A Favour brimming into your ears, then make it a priority to dine here the next time you’re in Hobart.
Address: 120a Elizabeth Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Opening Hours: Monday (4 PM — 11:30 PM); Thursday — Sunday (4 PM — 11:30 PM)
Malik Restaurant
At Malik, widely billed as Hobart’s best Middle Eastern fusion restaurant, meze (a selection of small, snackable dishes) plays the starring role. Traditional Levantine preparations — kefta, homemade falafel — are given a contemporary twist; yielding dishes that work well with the restaurant’s tightly edited wine list.
Located at the NoHo end of Hobart, this venue has been a popular local haunt since it opened in 2018. A fantastic option if you’re after a weekend crowd-pleaser, Malik also traffics in one of the best value set menus ($65 per person) of any restaurant to grace our list.
Address: 277 Elizabeth Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 03 6288 7875
Opening Hours: Monday — Sunday (5:30 PM — 9:30 PM)
Born In Brunswick
Aptly described over the years as a brunch restaurant with “kind of a dinnertime vibe,” Born In Brunswick is one of a small handful of all-day venues we’ve chosen to include in our shortlist of the best Hobart restaurants.
Incorrigible foodie types come here for the bright, Scandi-inspired interiors. More importantly, owner-operator Con Vailas of Masterchef fame does a mean all-day food menu: positively jampacked with dishes for every hour of the day.
Nourishing brekky bowls sit alongside more inventive fare like the famous Tassie octopus with scrambled egg. Partial to a caffeinated beverage? Fortunately, Born In Brunswick has you covered on that front too: a range of classic white and black coffees are available, courtesy of Gold Coast roasters Paradox.
Address: 410 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart TAS 7000
Opening Hours: Monday — Sunday (8 AM — 2 PM)
Institut Polaire
Evidently, Institut Polaire owner Louis Radman knows a thing or two about worldbuilding. Her award-winning Hobart “wine bar & kitchen,” located at the perimeter of Salamanca Place, also shares its name with sleek, one-bedroom accommodations and a range of dry Tasmanian gin.
Digressions aside, Institut Polaire (the restaurant) provides an effective study in the synthesis between cool looks and warm personable service. True to its name, the interiors here — along the L-shape countertop and in the main dining area — are all arctic whites and cool industrial greys: fitting, considering the almost exclusive tilt toward cold climate wines and produce.
Originally conceived as a cityside tasting room for the wines of Domaine Simha (founded, coincidentally, by Radman’s partner Nav Singh) Polaire has since evolved into one of the most interesting proponents of Tasmania’s “alpine food traditions.” Seafood is sourced almost exclusively from the Southern Ocean, and cured/smoked food items are a constant presence on the menu.
Address: 1/7 Murray St, Hobart TAS 7000
Contact: 0432 925 895
Opening Hours: Thursday — Saturday (4 PM — 12 AM); Sunday (4 PM — 10 PM)
Pitzi
If the idea of fighting tooth and nail for a dinnertime slot at Fico doesn’t appeal, ducking into Pitzi is easily the next best thing.
Billed as a more casual alternative, focused around pasta and aperitives, this 2024 opening is already generating a heap of buzz from clued-in locals and the Australian food press. (It helps, to no end, that the venue is just across the street from Fico.)
As with all great neighbourhood haunts — sure to be what Pitzi becomes — the menu here is reassuringly compact. There’s an (absolutely luminous) spaghetti seasoned with Tassie uni; addicting slices of fennel ‘salami’; and pappa al pomodoro — traditionally, a Tuscan pantry-sweeper of a dish, enriched with the addition of tomatoes sourced from local legend Sulyn Lam’s garden.
On the wine front, co-owners Oskar Rossi and Federica Andrisani have opted for producers that buck the ‘local first’ groupthink of Hobart’s hospo community. Truly, there’s stuff here that would look equally chic on the back wall of wine rooms in Fitzroy or Newtown: think Nero D’Avola by award-winning Sicilian outfit COS, or a bottle of Abruzzo winemaker Emidio Pepe’s fantastic Trebbiano.
Address: 4 Victoria Street, Hobart TAS 7000
Opening Hours: Tuesday — Thursday (4 PM — 12 AM); Friday (12 PM — 12 AM); Saturday (4 PM — 12 AM)
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