🏙️ City Guide: Hobart to Launceston by Analiese Gregory
Name: Analiese Gregory
Living: Hobart
Drinking: Fuck Trump and His Stupid Fucking Wall
Welcome to our inaugural City Guide. Please, pull up a crate. Grab a glass. Get ready to cruise skyscanner.com. If you’re going places soon (probably not further than our Australian borders right now, cos, you know) consider this series your extensive but not exhaustive guide to natural wine and other things in cities across Australia and the World. Each instalment is 💅 lovingly curated💅 by our friends—chefs/winemakers/brewers/writers who live in these places and know things about what to eat, drink and do.
First up is Analiese Gregory. If you already follow this chef/author on Instagram you’ve probably seen her cooking over an open fire in some stupidly breathtaking place and been like, ok wow. She originally ended up moving to Hobart in 2017 for a gig at the no-longer Franklin restaurant (RIP). And she’s basically been there ever since abalone diving, fishing, foraging, drinking, cooking and eating her way across the state. So yes, while we are aware “Tassie” is not a city, we wanted Analiese to go all out on Hobart, Launceston and everything in between, because she has been around and knows what’s up. Gloves on, let’s go.
Where to stay so you can sleep in and get decent room service?
Stillwater Seven in Launceston has the best room/room service situation. In Hobart, I reckon you’re better off ordering from Tom McHugo’s, picking it up and enjoying it in your hotel room.
Best bakery—fancy vibes and also good old-school country town vibes.
Hobart: Pigeon Whole bakery. And if you’re heading for the west coast on a Sunday, drop into The Kiosk at Agrarian Kitchen Eatery for bread.
Launceston: Apiece bakery, especially at the farmers market. Also, Bread and Butter.
Ranelagh: Summer Kitchen
Devonport: Pigeon Whole at Hill St
Bicheno: Little Bay Patisserie
Best coffee
Ross: Dinki for pour-over only
Launceston: Off Center Coffee
Hobart: Shake a Leg Jr, Straight Up (also roast coffee and sell it), Capulus Espresso, Pigeon Whole, Yellow Bernard, Vilicia, Pilgrim Coffee, Agent Cooper
Cygnet: Beansmith at The Cannery on Saturdays only
Devonport: Fundamental Espresso
Scamander: Swims in an old shipping container set back from the beach. A road trip essential.
Burnie: Mabel and George
Best day trip in a car
Anywhere. But a trip up the Derwent to the Agrarian Kitchen Eatery, antique shopping at the Drillhall, beers at Two Metre Tall and Kitchen Accoutrement shopping at Miss Arthur is pretty hard to beat.
Top three places to eat and one has to be a pub
Lucinda/Dier Makr
Tom McHugo’s
Fico
Things to do on a freezing day, which I guess is kind of most days…
Mona, Tmag, Savoy day spa. Or just stake out a window seat at Tom McHugo’s, make friends with Tasmanians and invite yourself to someone’s house. Light a fire and cook great produce.
Top three places to drink and one has to be a pub
Tom McHugo’s, Lucinda, Sonny, or Havilah if you’re in Launceston.
A weekend in fresh produce
Launceston: Harvest Launceston for Felds farm, Seven Springs and Tasmanian natural garlic and tomato.
Hobart and the south: Saturday morning at Salamanca for provenance growers. Sunday morning Farm Gate market especially Little Red Hen, Elgaar farm, Strelleyfield, Eumarrah for great organic produce and dried goods. Hill St has a great stock of produce and cheeses for packing for road trips.
Cygnet: Cygnet market on a Sunday for fresh produce and Cygnet Garden larder.
Where to go for fresh seafood (fisheries, oyster farms, cray etc)
Bicheno: Tasmanian Coastal Seafoods, The Lobster Shack, Melshell Oysters
Launceston: Kyeema Seafoods
Hobart: Ashmores Seafoods, Tas Live Abalone
Margate: Tony Garth Seafoods, Margate pier crayfish straight from the boats
Bruny Island: Get Shucked oysters
Smithton: Tarkine Fresh oysters
St Helens: Lease 65 oysters
Where to get some culture that isn’t paid for by a gambling don
Tmag, Tas Symphony Orchestra, Dirk’s house, Sue’s house, The Botanical Gardens, Bett Gallery
Most underrated walks that are achievable when hungover
Hobart: The rivulet, Knocklofty, North south track, very easy Mt Field waterfall tracks, a stroll around Battery Point or just drive to the top of the mountain and take a pet nat. Or the Botanical Gardens.
Launceston: The Gorge
Snug: Snug Falls
Fern tree: The Pipeline track
Where to learn about Palawa history
Tasmania Museum and Gallery
piyura kitina (Risdon Cove)
The Longhouse Hobart
Don’t leave without:
Trying the honey, visiting the cold but spectacular beaches, visiting a waterfall, visiting an island off Tasmania (like Bruny or Satellite), doing a drive, spending time in the country.
Where to shop
LUC Design
Fullers Bookshop
The Drillhall Emporium
Miss Arthur Home Goods
Design Tasmania in Launceston
The Maker
The Kudelka Shop
Ridgeline Pottery
Ian Clare Pottery Studio
Cygnet Garden Larder
Teros
Gould’s Natural Medicine
The Hobart Bookshop
Favourite local brands
Miellerie honey
Felds Farm
Two Metre Tall beer
R. D’meure wines
Zimmah coffee
Tongola cheese
Bruny Island Co cheese
Smitten
Indeco
Ridgeline Pottery
Zsolt Faludi pottery
Ian Clare studio potter