The Hope and Anchor bills itself as the oldest licensed pub in Australia. It was located just…read morearound the corner from our Downtown Hobart Hotel, and was our first meal after landing in Australia (19 hour time difference). Fish and Chips and a local beer were on tap for our meal, and it was all very good. We ordered and paid for our meal at the bar, and enjoyed our time at a high table by the window. We were here early afternoon, so things were relatively quiet, vs. an more boisterous and crowded evening pub atmosphere. There's 3 rooms (including the one with the bar) downstairs and an upstairs, with the local Hobart Brewing Company running this historical establishment. It looks like they have some work ahead of them in terms of upkeep of this elderly building, but the food, clientele, and atmosphere all fit together well.

It was our first night in Hobart and we had heard about the Hope and Anchor Tavern so we decided to…read morego... We're glad we did! Here's what we noticed: - It was a Monday night and we came in around 6:30 PM, and the place was already packed. We didn't have a reservation and the wait was going to be about 45 minutes or more, so luckily we were able to find a couple of open spots at a table in the bar area, where you order at the bar and the food is delivered to your table. It worked great! - There are a lot of great beers on tap, including several from Hobart Brewing Company. - Based on prior reviews, my wife and I ordered the Fish and Chips and the Seafood Chowder to split both dishes between us. The Fish and Chips were excellent, not overly breaded and the fish was perfectly cooked, very juicy. And, it came with a little salad. The Seafood Chowder was really good, including the bread that came with it. - The vibe inside is really fun, just a bit loud as you would expect a pub to be. Bottom line: We're glad we spent our first night at the Hope and Anchor Tavern.

I was surprised the restaurant is not listed on Yelp. It is one of few adjacent but not affiliated…read morewith the MacQ 01 hotel. Although I had walked by the restaurant several times, I came here only after fellow travelers whom I met earlier in the day recommended not only the restaurant but also the chocolate dessert. The bar and the restaurant have their own menu. I was previously warned the bar has a nicer ambiance than the restaurant, but the restaurant menu is better than the bar. Whether it is the norm or not in Hobart restaurants, bread is not complimentary. Because I planned to have dessert, I chose not to order the bread or any sides to ensure room. For my main entree, the wallaby roast caught my attention. As it was my first time, I did not realize the meat would be a bit tough rather than being tender. The horseradish buttermilk accompanied the wallaby meat very well. Rather than being very pungent, the sauce only had the horseradish taste. When I was given this recommendation, I was under the impression there was one chocolate dessert. Unfortunately, there appears to be two, the Frogmore Cigar and the Snickers. My waitress considered the latter the restaurant's chocolate dessert because of the hot chocolate sauce poured over the peanut butter parfait. If this wasn't the chocolate dessert which I had been recommended, it is a very close second.

In our last night on the island, we hopped down to Peacock and Jones for dinner. It's on the…read moresection of town that Peacock and Jones (two separate individuals) apparently had jam empires located back in the day, so the decor when you step in is basically the same as it was in the past - lots of old brick structures with some concrete filled in here and there for repairs over the years. As such, it's got a bit of a cozy hipster vibe. Getting seated was pretty quick, and the service was also quite quick as well - we were done with our meal in a little over an hour. The drink selection isn't all that large; I ended up sticking with a glass of local red, which was alright but nothing too spectacular. As for the food...sadly, I came away pretty disappointed. We started out with a table salad and grilled octopus as the appetizer, both of which fell short of the mark. The salad was just lettuce in a bowl and nothing else - there was a faint whiff of vinaigrette, but that was it. The octopus, while it had a nice curry sauce with it, was cooked poorly - a rubbery, chewy texture that is what you try to avoid with this dish. The mains were a bit better; my dry-aged strip loin had pretty solid flavor (although it was a bit dry), and the slices were a bit on the thicker side. My wife's duck missed the mark a bit, IMO - while the flavor was pretty standard, the slice was way too thick, and each bite was pretty chewy. Perhaps I got my expectations up a bit high - Peacock & Jones showed up on some of the 'Best Of' lists when looking at where to dine in Hobart - but sadly, I don't think the cuisine would be worth another visit. I did enjoy the ambiance, and the waterfront / old industrial location is nice, but it doesn't offset the food missing the mark.

I would come back to Peacock and Jones again if just for the service. So many gorgeous, smiling…read morestaff members, introducing themselves by name and just being utterly charming with every interaction. Oh, stop! I'd made a booking for our group of four (super easy online) and didn't know much about the layout but was utterly delighted to be led through the small bar-style restaurant out the back to a little courtyard. After such a warm day, sitting out there was stunning (but I'm expecting it to get more than a little cooler out there over winter and will be interested to see how they handle it). The food itself was also kind of perfect. The menu isn't huge, but full of delicious bits and pieces that can change not just every night, but even by the hour. Our meal started with fresh bread and butter, and my only disappointment for the evening is that the profiterole entrees weren't available that night (it just means I'll have to go back, though, which can't be a bad thing). We ate the salt ling fritters, french fries, heirloom tomatoes, chicken liver parfait, and the meat for two, which was a lamb shoulder. I said the menu changes by the hour because there were a couple of lamb shoulders left by the time we got to ordering, or there were roast chickens (we quickly bagsed a shoulder). Everything was outstanding and capped off with the gingerbread creme brulee, because how could we not? Possibly the best brulee I've ever had, and served in a BOWL. No little plopped out brulee mould for Peacock and Jones diners, no sir! The four of us agreed we could easily come back just to eat the fries and the brulee any day... so that's ilkely exactly what we'll do. Treat yourselves! P.S. the "thank you" text message after we left for the evening was the cherry on top. You absolutely won me over, P&J. Nicely played.

Had a late lunch but wanted to grab a small bite to eat before flying out of Hobart back to…read moreMelbourne and was craving seafood so I stopped by Pearl + Co which was unfortunately disappointing. The oysters were fresh and the best part of the meal! The sashimi was just okay and definitely not worth the price they were charging. The dessert was not very good but the worst part was the squid. It was limp, not at all crunchy, and extremely plain. It came with a heavy white sauce so I asked if they had cocktail sauce instead. The server seemed confused so I explained what cocktail sauce was as I wasn't sure if it was a common condiment used in Tasmania. They brought me another creamy mayo based sauce even though I explained cocktail sauce is red.

Pearl and Co located right on the wharf in Hobart is a great seafood restaurant. Friendly and…read morehelpful staff and great seafood. We had the oysters, miso fish, scallops and the cheese course. Very good food and service in a pleasant environment