Iluka Tavern, Coles Bay

31 Esplanade
Coles Bay
Tasmania 7215

The Iluka tavern in Coles Bay is an unprepossessing building, sat across the road from a waterside park amongst a small collection of businesses. Inside the modern furnishings and fit out gave it a more contemporary feel.

The menu included plenty of classic pub dishes...

...with a couple of less typical items.

The specials were more varied.

I went for the Aloo Gobi, a vegetarian mild Indian curry of cauliflower and potato, served with saffron rice, pappadums and raita. The dish was enjoyable and delivered on it's promise, whilst also feeling healthy and satisfying.

The Lamb curry from the specials board delivered pleasant flavours.

Whilst the best views of the sunset came from the park across the road, we could still enjoy some of the spectacular skies while we dined. The two meals came to $46 which felt like good value, and although there isn't too much competition in town the pub certainly didn't seem to be resting on its laurels.

Beachfront Bistro, Bicheno

232 Tasman Highway
Bicheno
Tasmania 7215

The Bistro at the 'Beachfront Bicheno' sits on the Tasman highway just to the north of the centre of town with stunning views across to Waub's Bay and the coast line.

It was busy on the late summer weeknight we dropped by, in fact we'd missed out at our intended destination as it was booked out! We got a window table which maximised our enjoyment of the vista.

The specials list was extensive and offered a variety of dishes to compliment the regular menu.

The Yellow fin Tuna came with roasted sweet potato, a rocket, olive and feta salad and lemon caper butter. The fish got a big thumbs up, although the other components weren't perhaps the ideal compliment.

I went for the Wallaby porterhouse which came with veggies, baked polenta and masala jus. Although I've had a fair bit of kangaroo before, wallaby was new to me, it was a similar meat and in this case maybe a little rarer than the medium advised on the menu. The two generous chunks of meat were lean and flavoursome which kept me happy, while the vegetables and polenta did the job.

The food came to $60 and were ordered at the counter, the service was fine. The atmosphere was fairly subdued even though it was busy. The sunset views made it a memorable meal and it is certainly worth checking out the specials list if you visit.