Hobart’s best places to eat and drink

5 days ago 4

Andrew Bain

Updated October 2, 2025 — 3:08pm, first published April 11, 2023 — 10:27am

For a little city, Hobart deals in big tastes. Tasmanian produce, fresh from the soil and seas, is at the forefront of its ever-evolving dining scene, from tiny neighbourhood eateries to dock-front seafood direct from the boats, and a host of options and cuisines between.

Fico

The art of food
Handmade and homely are hallmarks of this Italian-accented fine-dining nook often touted as Tasmania’s best restaurant. The city hurries past the windows but time stills over its weekly-changing menu that celebrates small Tasmanian producers, be it petite piadina with muttonbird, line-caught kingfish, or a Tongola Cheese panna cotta. The art is in the details, but also on the walls, with paintings by celebrated Tasmanian artist, the late Tom Samek, the father of Fico’s chef-owner Oskar Rossi. If you can’t get a table, try your luck at Fico’s terrific pasta bar sibling Pitzi for sublime grazing alongside Tasmanian and Italian drops.
151 Macquarie St, Hobart. Phone (03) 6245 3391. See ficofico.net

Wunderbar

A Tassie taste of France
Opened in April 2025, the glass-fronted Wunderbar brings a taste of France – albeit guided by Tasmanian produce – to a previously quiet Hobart corner. Set inside a one-time bakery, the beautifully converted brasserie is the brainchild of former MONA chef Julian Volkmer, with a classically French menu that might feature the likes of gruyere souffle, boeuf bourguignon and steak frites, coupled with a fine selection of French and local wines. A breakfast and lunch venue through the week, it opens for dinner Friday and Saturday nights, with plans to develop into an afternoon wine bar.
45 Goulburn Street, Hobart. Phone (03) 6251 3040. See wunderbar.au

Mures

Fishy icon
Waterfront cities need waterfront seafood dining, and Mures has been the apex predator among Hobart fish restaurants since 1973. The daily catch comes straight from Mures’ own fishing boat, Diana, working the deep waters around Tasmania, and the trademark green restaurant, sitting into the middle of the docks beside Hobart’s floating fish vans, has twin options: casual on the Lower Deck, and fine dining on the freshly renovated Upper Deck with its prime water view.
Victoria Dock, Hobart. Phone (03) 6231 1999 (Upper Deck), (03) 6231 2009 (Lower Deck). See mures.com.au

Templo

Communal food worship
Intimate and immersive, this cosy neighbourhood restaurant on the city centre’s edge has just 25 seats and an ever-changing six-course chef’s set menu on offer. Simplicity and seasonality are key, with an Italian spin to the menu (and the bistro vibe), a Tasmanian touch to the produce, and minimum intervention on the wine selection. The main communal table, beneath the bare bricks and a chalkboard of wines, brings a festive feel to one of the city’s best dinner experiences.
98 Patrick Street, West Hobart. Phone (03) 6234 7659. See templo.com.au

Local Pizza

Mona’s tasty neighbour
When you’re done marvelling at Mona, stay local by eating at Local, the nearby suburban pizzeria that many Hobartians swear makes the city’s finest pizza. Run by Isabella Edwards, daughter of famed Hobart winemaker Stefano Lubiana, Local’s thin-crust, hand-stretched dough, slow fermented for 72 hours, is key to the quality of the pizzas, which are as creative as their names – Notorious P.I.G, Bubby G, Wild Child – and best devoured on the long communal tables out front. If you’re across the river, there’s now a second outlet in Bellerive.
52 Maroni Rd, Berriedale. Phone (03) 6249 3573. See localpizzatas.com.au

Ogee

European-style bistro
North Hobart – NoHo – has all but seized the mantle as Hobart’s best eating street, and sitting almost shyly apart from the main strip in this 28-seat Mediterranean-style bistro from chef Matt Breen, founder of Templo and perennially popular Sonny. The restaurant is intimate, warm and walk-in only, with a weekly changing menu that might feature the likes of sauteed gnocchi or white asparagus with mussel velouté.
374 Murray St, North Hobart. Phone: 0403 388 857. See ogeehobart.com.au

Landscape

The art of steak
Tucked inside the waterfront Henry Jones Art Hotel, the fine-dining Landscape is an art gallery as much as a restaurant and grill. The interior design is framed around the restaurant’s collection of 11 paintings by John Glover, the so-called ‘father of Australian landscape’, while a second private dining room contains works from the acquisitive annual John Glover Prize, Australia’s richest award for landscape art. The menu is driven by an asado grill, with steak from the local likes of Cape Grim and Robbins Island wagyu charred over wood from port, sherry and bourbon casks.
23 Hunter Street, Hobart. Phone: (03) 6210 7712. See landscaperestaurant.com.au

Institut Polaire

Cool by nature
It makes sense that you can almost see the icebreaker Antarctic ship from Institut Polaire’s near-waterfront tables. Hobart’s ties to Antarctica are celebrated in the cold tones of this intimate inner-city wine bar, which delivers a seasonal set menu alongside small-plate offerings. The stars of the show are just as likely to be in glasses, be it the bar’s own Süd Polaire Antarctic dry gin, or something from the wine list that was named the best in Australia in 2022.
1/7 Murray Street, Hobart. Phone 0432 925 895. See institutpolaire.com.au

Dier Makr

Enter past Dier Makr’s sister wine bar, Lucinda, to discover one of Hobart’s finest eating experiences. Simple ingredients are turned into stunning flavours from the bare-bones kitchen – think a couple of hot plates and a hibachi – fuelling a tasting menu with well-considered wine (or non-alcoholic) pairings. It’s a journey as interesting as it is tasty, from duck leg escargot to persimmon sorbet. When you’re done, round the evening out back in Lucinda.
123 Collins St, Hobart. Phone (03) 6288 8910. See diermakr.com

In the Hanging Garden

Hidden within the city’s folds, and yet filling an entire block, this kid-friendly, dog-friendly green space puzzles together a quintet of eateries – Korean barbecue from Anju, the cantina-like Mother Mexico, Pizzeria’s continent-crossing Italian and American-style pizzas, Slow’s comfort food and St J’s Deli’s mighty sandwiches – with a garden bar. The tiered design includes the sunny, sunken 18-metre-high glass Cathedral dining space, and a literal hanging garden on the deck above. DJs get spinning on Friday and Saturday nights.
112 Murray St, Hobart. See inthehanginggarden.com.au

Peppina

What’s old is new
Steered by stalwart Hobart chef Massimo Mele, the five-star Tasman’s sophisticated flagship restaurant brings old-world Italian traditions (the restaurant is named after Mele’s nonna, Giuseppina) to a colonial-age former hospital now encompassed by a new hotel. Unsurprisingly then, Peppina is a blend of Mele’s Neapolitan traditions and the freshest things from Tasmania’s earth and ocean, with a menu ranging from the classic Neapolitan street snack of pizza fritta to hand-made gnocchi and market fish.
2B Salamanca Place, Hobart. Phone (03) 6240 6000. See peppinarestaurant.com

The Agrarian Kitchen

School turned master
Skip the instruction and head straight to the eating at this tasty offspring of the famed Agrarian Kitchen Cooking School. Set inside a former ward at Tasmania’s first mental asylum in New Norfolk – check out the original pressed metal ceilings – the celebrated restaurant delivers a set menu from the adjoining one-acre kitchen garden and its whole-animal butchery. Book a garden tour to precede your feed or, if you’re in a rush, there’s always the kiosk and picnic tables on the lawn.
11A The Avenue, New Norfolk. Phone (03) 6262 0011. See theagrariankitchen.com

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Andrew Bain is a Hobart-based writer and author who has been writing about travel and adventure for more than 25 years, and is most at home in the outdoors and remote places.