A new addition to Mona art gallery is the contemporary Australian restaurant called Faro.
Entry is via the museum but it is open out of hours and the entry is
from the car park.
I really like the space and openness of the restaurant.
In the middle of the room is an art exhibit which is in keeping with the randomness of Mona. You can sit and have a funky cocktail or dine by the water.
On the first day I dine with my sister and we score the table
overlooking the water. It is a gift.
The food is very good, a little pricey but it is 5 star dining. I have the seafood extravaganza which is perfect for a snack for two.
The service is OK. It could be better with just a smile or two. For
those of us mere mortals traveling through Mona this is a radical experience
for us, help us enjoy it.
The second time I visit here is for an afternoon cocktail. They are
delicious – very pricey ($20 and up) but extremely delicious. I would suggest
ordering some nibbles, such as the olives, as the cocktails can go down too
easily.
My over all rating is 4/5 and it only loses out because of the staff
and pricing. Otherwise a world class venue.
For years I have been traveling to Richmond just outside of Hobart and have passed by the Pooleys Wine Sign. I was pleasantly surprised to find a world class facility offering world class wines when I ventured in the other day.
The vineyard has been around for years and the grapes are sourced from 2 of their vineyards.
On the wall by the tasting bar is a cool cross section of the
terraine of the different properties which are vastly different even though
they are only 20 minutes away.
The wines themselves are great – pricey but worth it.
I particularly like the subtle flavours of the reisling and
chardonnay.
Tastings are $5 pp but if you purchase a wine this is waivered. I
highly recommend popping in on the way into or out of Richmond and if you go on
the weekends they can be very busy with their woodfire cafe outside.
I know from growing up in Hobart that the night scene is excellent.
Live bands, old fashioned pubs and clubs are in abundance.
Many pubs while looking a bit “uneventful” on the outside will be pumping on the inside. Let your teenage inquisitive self take control and explore.
These are a couple to try out… no doubt there are more that I haven’t been to in awhile.
Cargo
Cargo has be the local go to for a beer or boogey for a few years now. I have had many a late night here with great music, vibes and drinks.
Jack Greene
Next door to Cargo is Jack Greene an awesome bar done up how I would design my underground, bar at home! We went on Friday night and caught the tail end of a duet playing excellent 80s tracks that had people dancing and swaying.
The bar also offers great Tassie gins! Ask the staff for their recommendation and don’t stop at one… (NB The Usual clause of drink responsibly etc)
Wine and Grape
We headed here on Friday night and it is a younger scene but great fun and excellent for a dance. It goes late… Grape Bar is open until 2am Friday and Saturday nights and a fun place for a dance.
Republic Bar in North Hobart is well known for housing live bands. It has a large out door area with a big smokers area if you need. And inside a large dance space to let your inner teenager express itself on the dance floor.
Heading towards the other side of the wharf are a few quintessential bars and great meets and drinks places.
Custom’s House
Built in … and restored a few moons ago, Customs is a wonderful pub where you can sit inside or outside under heat lamps. You can watch life go past with a locally brewed beer or delicious pinot noir. This is the go-to pub when the Sydney to Hobart is on. The food is also excellent. It is situated at the docks and the views of the Derwent River are great.
The Telegraph Hotel
This used to be the place to go to on a Friday night. Telegraph still is worth of including in a pub crawl around the water front.
The Lower House
This hidden bar is a newish addition to the Tassie pub scene being around for maybe 10 years. The Lower House is worth a sneaky peak on a Friday. Also a younger scene. It is the next block up from Custom’s House.
Wine Bars
The Henry James in the old Jam Factory offers incredible Tassie wines and a wonderful ambience.
Tavern 42 degrees – great atmosphere and upstairs turns into a night club friday and Saturday.
You will find James and his boutique bar under Salamanca Galleria, in the walk way beside Retro Cafe, Salamanca. A definite must if you like wines. Oh and gins!
All in all, Hobart has some of the best wine bars in Australia, and a healthy, active night scene that has never wavered. The locals are friendly and there are plenty of live bands on around town. Venture out, even if the night is cold, and you will find your mood catered for!
When we grew up in Hobart, The Duke of Wellington, now known as “The Duke” was a funky drinking hole. I believe it still is but today I decided to try out their counter meals.
The hotel has a welcoming vibe, great art on the walls and a fire side for winter. I really like it.
Built in 1846, the interior still displays the old sandstone bricks and grand arch ways. Long wooden beams help bring the old rustic design to be compatible with a modern hotel style.
Not over worked, not hundreds of choices, just something in each area.
I have the Scottsdale Pork Belly, which is slow cooked with a delicious glaze (chocolate maple glaze). It is served with four Tasmanian scallops nestled in pumpkin mash and Artichoke puree. The dish works really well and is a perfect lunch before we head to the cinema just down the road.
Accompanying my yummy meal is a Tassie pinot grigio, Devil’s Corner.
My son has a wood fired cooked pizza we he said was amazing – and judging by the pace that he hoovered it in, I imagine it was amazing.
The kids and I love the festivities over New Years, as the Sydney to Hobart yacht race is on, ex pats fly home for Christmas and the Taste of Tasmania is on!
It’s a great vibe!
Finding accommodation can be a drama though and prices can soar.
We like staying central for a few days over the Taste and stumbled across this newly opened gem. It’s called Galleria Salamanca.
Located right in the heart of Salamanca, access to the surrounding wharfs, town and Battery Point is a cynch.
I love our room, clean, new and open.
The bed is heavenly and the pillows bulky but soft. Lying in bed last night, I make a note to get similar for home. With air conditioning to cool or heating the place is weather proof.
We have a lovely living space with separate bedroom.
Perfect for the kids and I.
I can highly recommend this hotel for your stay in Hobart.
Often I reflect fondly on town and place because of the restaurant experience.
Atmosphere, food, service and views are all aspects that go into making the restaurants below some of my favs world wide.
These are a few of the restaurants that ignite my taste buds and sensations :
La Rose Des Vents on Larvotto Beach, Monaco
La Rose Des Vents, Monaco
The great appeal of this restaurant for me is the fact it is on a beach in Monaco. It is accommodating (I have turned up straight from the beach) and or as glitzy as you want.
Seafood at La Rose Des Vents Monaco
The food is delicious and I only have seafood when I go there. Terrains, kebabs, fresh seafood. It is all devine and delish! Check it out here.
2. Frogmore’s Creek, Tasmania, Australia
Chess piece ice cream from Frogmore’s Creek Restaurant
Set outside of Hobart in Tasmania on a vineyard is a wonderful restaurant called Frogmore’s. I have had the pleasure of eating there twice and each time has been mind blowing. This is a more extensive blog about it and their website here. Fly down to Hobart just for lunch!
3. Rae’s on Wategos, Byron Bay, Australia
Julian Rocks off Wategos
Overlooking arguably one of the best beaches in the world is Rae’s on Wategos.
It’s a perfect for a long lunch with a great conversationalist or friend. You will be served scrumptious delights, not overly large which is good, and fantastic wines.
4. The African Queen, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France
Desserts from The African Queen
The day we turned up here was a story in itself. Winding down the steep curved road cut into the French coast line, overlooking the vast ocean and cote’d azure we stumbled across The African Queen.
Chilled Champagne, delicate cerviche and the most amazing desserts, The African Queen could win alone on food. But it also has a magestic out look and relaxed atmosphere.
This definitely goes on one of my favorite restaurant’s list.
5. Chez Gado Gado, Bali, Indonesia
A simple, comfortable restaurant by the ocean in Seminyak. The food is great, abundant and refreshing breeze is worth traveling for. I have had a few meals at Chez Gado Gado and all have been worthy. If you go on a Friday or Saturday night you should book in advance.
Let me know your favourite restaurants in the comments and I will try to visit them 🙂
For a few years now, my dear friends Rachel and Pete have been creating a living art space in the Tassie wilderness (secret address) which they have affectionately called Coopers Hill.
Sculpture Coopers
The adventure begins as one passes through the gates which is like entering an enlarged outdoor art amphitheatre.
Visiting the land is an opportunity to discover and uncover all sorts of things – Pete’s art, Rachel’s natural ability to create welcoming and zone out spaces and eat some amazing Tassie Tucker! I love it.
Scuba diver sculpture
This short trip didn’t disappoint in re-charging my “buzzy city battery”.
Fresh air, heavy drops of rain, animal noises and nature immersion 101!
The Tasmania Bush is something else. So much wild life, so many noises and so wholesome.
Bush fire
Rach and Pete have a vision to bring the land to it’s climactic best. Where the land is thriving and tip top condition.
This is in keeping with nature’s rules – such as when a fire goes through, which is a natural 20 year phenomena – they are simply supporting the natural process of the land and helping it thrive – shifting wood piles, so birds can come and peck, bringing in the grubs, sapplings can grow and new life can begins.
I had a ride on their ride on escavator and found my altered bushman ego LOVED it. Moving dead logs, chomping up clumps of bramble seemed very empowering from my drivers seat.
What I love most about Cooper’s are Pete’s sculptures. Sprinkled throughout the land are art pieces, little sculptures and characters.
Coopie
Coopsy is a fictious character that pops up here and there. He governs and protects that land and occasionally you can see his handy work, maybe some chopped wood, maybe a new path and if you are lucky enough, you might get to have a beer with him!
I must mention the loo.
Coopers innovation
Ingenious in it’s design, and fully functional the toilet is eco friendly. Pete and Rachel have given the dunny lots of thought.
Not wanting unwanted aromas to filter back to the camp site, the loo faces the northern sun.
It is ventilated well, operates perfectly, with 2 cups of charcoal (from the fire) and 2 cups of sawdust (from the wood cuttings) then Kobota excavator buries the excrement. The way loos should be – open aired, relaxing with the “business” going back to the soil.
The big fires of Christmas 2013 decimating the Peninsula also ripped through Coopers (burning 90% of it). But from old life, new life begins and in the morning the drops of dew on the leaves danced like disco balls around the property. The bush seems to cover in the scars of the bush fires only a few years back!
morning sun
The morning autumn sun seems to have a different light frequency.
Last night I stayed in the guest’s suite, AKA the Place du Cafe, falling asleep in the bush, waking to birds and gentle sunlight seeping through the fly screens.
The guests room
Waking with nature, feeling chilled out, Rach is making a gluten free (hearty) breakfast. Fresh brewed fair trade coffee brewed on the fire and a dash of last nights Tassie liquor port start my Sunday off just nicely.
Thanks guys, I love catching up with both of you and as you say ” its the impression that is left that matters most”.
The Tassie black pepper is still exploding on my tongue as I pass through the “hugs now” security check at the Hobart Airport. But nothing, can compare with the magic afternoon of pure taste delight I have been privvie to at Frogmore’s Creek.
The vines at Frogmores Tasmania
What an experience – what a delight – what a treat.
Ruben Kopens the head chef is a rival for World Famous chef Heston Blumenthal made famous by his TV shows and eclectic food creations.
Ruben, friends with infamous Heston, will exceed your expectations. That self limiting belief line where one’s internal chatter says “I am not worthy of such grand fan fare”, well sit down sista, you are!
Born in Holland he understands the EXPRESSION of food as an experience, a place in time … a memory.
If you have ever fantasized about how YOU can become a Heston excipient, then look no further, come to Frogmore and be treated to a world class dining experience.
Frogmore Creek Wines and it’s restaurant are located outside of Hobart between the towns of Cambridge and Richmond. The winery offers a few labels, many with awards. Personally I have always loved their Meadowbank Mardi , and their 2007 Frogmore Creek Evermore Pinot Noir is a must for any cellar.
Today, however, I am here for the degustation experience by Ruben and his staff. It is to be a special Sunday afternoon.
Between each course, one is tantilised with palate cleansers, taste experiences and art pieces.
Today’s fare was as follows:
Delicious pre-dinner apertif
Prawn crackers with miso sprinkles and wasabi mayo
Then a morsel of panna cotta cauliflower jus and noodle, and olive tapenade just because.
Entree – an art piece
To be served the best venison, followed by Whisky froth and desert.
Whisky infused meat. YUM
Desert what can I say… an experience, an adventure, a food orgasm.
Unbelievably decadent
Fruit lego sagos
What can I say. It is by far the BEST eclectic meal I have part taken in.
The wines : Frogmore Creek pinot noir, then reisling and I would highly recommend the desert.
I look forward to visiting this enclave of elegance and fine dining not surpassed anywhere else in this grand land again.
Accolades Ruben and team (noteably Tristan and Meredith) – fine star dining at its TRUE best. Merci
