Australia

• Hobart, Tasmania

  Hobart has come a long way in recent years. Not even 10 years ago, if you mentioned Hobart as your destination of choice, you’d have encountered a range of reactions varying from mildly bemused to outright disbelief. The capital of the Australian state of Tasmania—a stunningly beautiful small island in the shadow of a larger island—it was largely known for, let’s see, potatoes, a dark convict history, and a real-life endangered carnivore turned cartoon superstar, the Tasmanian devil. Surely there had to be more!

  Of course, there was, and the city’s natural beauty, nestled as it is between the icy waters of the Derwent River and the soaring cliffs of Mount Wellington (Kunanyi), has long been a drawcard. But it took the unlikely partnership of an eccentric philanthropist-art collector-gambler named David Walsh (founder of the unconventional, wildly popular MONA art museum in 2011) and Tasmania’s main tourism body to get Hobart on the radar of more international travelers...and eventually turn Hobart into one of Australia’s hippest tourist destinations for food lovers. Now the city plays host to high-profile food festivals just about every season, but beyond that it’s embraced its own local “Tassie” bounty, from the top-quality produce, seafood, and meat to the award-winning wine and cheese—and its chefs and restaurateurs know well how to highlight such fantastic ingredients sourced from around the state. (If you’ve never tried wallaby or abalone, here is your chance!)

  Despite its dark past, Hobart today boasts a spirit of rejuvenation and hope: Young chefs, fed up with the lack of opportunity in Australia’s larger cities, have been crossing the Bass Strait in increasing numbers, with big dreams, outrageous visions, and the tenacity to make them a reality. Follow their lead, take the road less traveled—and seek out authentic Tasmanian food in Hobart. You won’t regret it.

  —Hobart text & photos by Andrew and Karen Strikis, except where indicated

  Hobart has come a long way in recent years. Not even 10 years ago, if you mentioned Hobart as your destination of choice, you’d have encountered a range of reactions varying from mildly bemused to outright disbelief. The capital of the Australian state of Tasmania—a stunningly beautiful small island in the shadow of a larger island—it was largely known for, let’s see, potatoes, a dark…   Read more

   

  Find local foods in Hobart, Tasmania.

  Curried scallop pie

  Local Tasmanian cheese

  Abalone

  Wallaby

  Local Tasmanian wine

• User Content

Below is user-submitted content for this region. Have something to contribute? Upload your regional-food photo or food memory.

• 

  Lobster Cake Sandwich

  Cervantes
  eblech
• 

  BBQ Lobster

  Cervantes
  eblech
• 

  Kangaroo Wrap

  Yulara
  jimmya
• 

  Tim Tam

  jlissy

• • Fish 'n Chips With My Baby

    eblech
    Cervantes, Western Australia
    For many Western Australians fish and chips on the beach is a well established ritual woven into many trips to the beach, particularly in the evening. This food that is common all over the world is…    Read more

  • A Bump on a Log

    michaelrosen
    Petermann, Northern Territory, Australia
    

    I ate a WITCHEDY GRUB!!!! What might that be? In the Australian Outback, which is mostly desert, it is very hot and very buggy. The Aborigines, native Australians, call it home. While on a tou…    Read more

• Blog Posts

• Little Car, Big Dreams: A Road Trip Through Australia

  A brief interlude to pay homage to a beloved car and that most freeing of pursuits: the road trip. “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.” –Douglas Adams Last…   Read more