Address:  37 Montpelier Retreat, Battery Point, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Telephone number: (03) 6223 2511

Website: www.montys.com.au

Date of visit: 29 January 2011

Price guide: A$50 plus for 2 courses.

Comments on wine and beer: Very expensive list. Be prepared to pay $100 minimum for a bottle.

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Exchange rate: A$1 = £0.65

Summary:

This is another restaurant that is in several food guides.

The restaurant is housed in a bungalow on Montpelier Retreat – off Salamanca Place. They have bare wooden tables, strange paintings and dark ceiling with soft lights.

The menu is pseudo French using local ingredients.

Starters are all priced at $22 except the mussels at $28 and the mains around $35 plus.

I had the mussels to start with. It was 1kg of huge mussels – much bigger than the green lip mussels from New Zealand. It was cooked very nicely with dill, lemon, parsley and chardonnay wine. The bread that came with it was hot  ciabatta rolls.

I then had the narvin of lamb ($35) which was ok but in my view a con. It was lamb cooked 3 ways with a baby carrot, one new potato and one broccoli floret. The shoulder tasted of  slow cooked meat, the chop medium and the rolled loin also medium. The sauce a bit weak.

Narvin is supposed to be a stew cooked with spring vegetable.

I had a bottle of Parker 2004 Cabinet Sauvignon ($100) which was very good. However, it came as a screw top and had no sediment.

The cheese list was amazing but all the cheeses were kept in a cool cabinet which put me off – in my view, cheeses should be kept just below room temperature. There were over 30 types of cheeses, mainly local but they also had stilton, brie etc. It was $11 a portion and $30 if paired with wine.

This is the most expensive restaurant that I have eaten in – in Tasmania. The mussels were as good as I have ever eaten anywhere. The main course (for the price they charge ) was poor – only saved by the top ingredients that the chef used. By the way, service was excellent.

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Maldini

Address: Salamanca Place, Battery Point, Hobart, Australia

Price Guide: From $10

This is a great place for breakfast, coffee, lunch or even supper. The cooked breakfast is around $17 and is pricier than most cafes in Hobart. They do a wonderful beans on toast with poach egg for $17. The beans are home cooked with lots of vegetables (carrots, onions etc). I think that they use mirepoix and then blend tomatoes into it to make a chunky tomato sauce. Coffees are from $4, they are licensed and have outside table over looking Salmanca Place.

Salamanca Saturday Market

Address: Salamanca Place, Battery Point, Hobart

Special note: Saturday only.

This is a vast outdoor market and is probably the most interesting place to shop in Hobart – the town centre shopping is dire. Besides the usual bric-a brac, there are some very interesting stalls dispersed throughout the market (hundreds of stalls). There is a pie van, stalls that sell wine and olive oil, bread, vegetables (no butcher or fishmonger), Iranian and German fast food etc. The vegetables and fruits here are tip top. Absolute gem of a place.

There is also a Supermarket (Fresh Fruit) and a really good deli (Wursthaus) on Montpelier Retreat. Wursthaus offers a wide range of sausages and cure meats as well as cheeses etc.

The Fish Man

Address:  Constitution Dock, Hobart

Fishmonger on a boat (barge?). They are moored within Albert Docks and sell all sorts of fresh fish – mainly from their own trawler.

Flipper

Address: Constitution Dock, Hobart

Best fish and chip shop I have come across in a decade. Excellent crisp batter and chips – not dripping in oil. They serve it in a box so the fish and chips remain crisp and do not get steamed whilst you take it away. They offer a whole rang including prawns and calamari. There are also many combinations so you can have several different types of fish with your chips.

9/11

Address: Several Branches.

I went to the one on St George’s Terrace Not much to look at from the outside but upstairs holds the premium collection – from Penfold to Krug. Stay off the foreign stuff as they are sold at a premium in Australia. Go for bottles at $100+ that they don’t ship. Downstairs are some very good value Aussie at just under $20 a bottle.

Mako

Address: Constitution Dock, Hobart

Paul County – he wrote a book on Tasmanian Food (Tasmanian Table) – recommended this place for fresh fish. I met him at his stall (selling his books) on Salamanca Market.

AND IN LAUNCESTON

Delicious Bakery and Cafe Address: 12 York Town Square, Launceston, Tasmania (Between George St and Cameron Street)

Opening Time: From 7.30-16.00

Great cafe for breakfast and snacks. Excellent coffee. Pies a bit tasteless but cooked breakfast is great value at just over $10. Hot and cold sandwiches have thick fillings. Beers and wines available by the glass.

David Grand Central Address: 90 wellington Street, Launceston, Tasmania

This is the only 24/7 shop I came across in Tasmania. Well stocked with food items for a 24/7 shop. Most shops in Launceston close at 17.00 some even at 15.00!

Wursthaus at Olivers

Address: 16 Quadrant Mall, Launceston, Tasmania Branch of Wursthaus (Hobart).

Excellent range of deli goods.

Vineyards

Over 20 vineyards around the Tamar River. Most of them are on the east side – travel up the A7. Nearly all offer free tastings when open. Most are open Wednesday – Monday. Some are 7 days.Opening times generally are 10.00-17.00. Some have restaurants. Pick up a Tasmanian wine route guide for details (available in most hotels and tourist information offices)

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