Cuccina Cafe, Launceston

57 Frederick Street

Launceston
Tasmania 7250

We were looking out for somewhere for a post parkrun brunch and our route fortuitously took us past on the corner of Frederick and Margaret streets where we spotted the Cuccina Cafe. It was busy with all the inside tables occupied, but we found  a spot outside with a view across the leafy Brickfields reserve.

I ordered the vegetarian breakfast with poached eggs. The fried halluomi , mushrooms, spinach and cherry tomatoes were all good quality, well prepared and worked together nicely.

The Scrambled eggs were plentiful and came with tomato relish and the requisite slice of toast.

The meal with a couple of good coffees was $32. The meal took a while to arrive, but it was busy and the staff were friendly and Cuccina Cafe is certainly worth a try.

Star of Siam, Launceston

111 Charles Street
Launceston
Tasmania 7250

We decided to try the Star of Siam on the corner of Charles and Peterson streets when we got to Launceston.We had a window seat, and were able to watch cars and utes seemingly doing laps of the town. Inside there were a few Thai touches. We visited on a Friday evening and it was pretty busy when we arrived.

I had the chicken green curry which was served in an interestingly shaped bowl. The flavours were all there, the chicken tender and plentiful and the veggies fresh.

The chicken pad thai also tocked the boxes .

The service was fine and the bill came in at $59.30 including a couple of drinks. Overall our meal was enjoyable, without being particularly memorable, but the Star of Siam is a reasonable option if you are in Launceston and looking for Thai food.

Devils Corner Cellar Door

1 Sherbourne Road
Apslawn
Tasmania 7190

Situated on a gentle hillside just off the A3 near Asplawn, between Bicheno and Swansea the Devils Corner Cellar Door commands stunning views of the Freycinet peninsular.

The site hosts a viewing tower as well as a cluster of former shipping containers housing the cellar door along with ‘The Fishers’ and the Tombolo Café offering seafood and pizza's respectively.

I headed to the Trombolo cafe and being a traditionalist, went for the Margherita. After ordering at the container my buzzer was soon going off, I returned to the counter to pick up the wooden board holding my meal and returned to our spot enjoying the sun on the lawn. There were some outdoor tables, but I'm not sure how things would work in less favourable weather. The pizza was a great, a thin crust, crisp at the edges, softer in the middle, topped with a good napoli sauce, plenty of mozzarella and fresh basil leaves.

The fish burger from The Fishers came stacked high with lots of asian 'slaw on top of the fish cake style patty inside the brioche bun. The fries came with an oyster shell full of mayo. It all got a tick of approal.

The two meals were $17 each, wine is available at the cellar door area. On a sunny summer afternoon Devil's corner seems to be very badly named, great views and a relaxed vibe, it is delightful spot for lunch.

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.

The Wharf Fish and Chips at Tasmanian Coast Seafoods, Bicheno

48 Waubs Esplanade
Bicheno
Tasmania 7215

The Wharf Fish and Chips is situated at the Gulch or harbour in Bicheno, which is a 10 minute walk from the main street. There was a queue at the small counter area on the road side of the building where we waited to place our order. After selecting the fish box I wandered down the path past the kitchen window to the decking area at the back. The area was fitted out with tables on a deck overlooking the water, another counter offering drinks (alcoholic and non) and a covered eating area with floor to ceiling windows.

The vista is pretty special with a few boats tied up at the jetty, so on a pleasant evening it was no chore to while away twenty minutes for our food to be prepared.

Our box was generously packed with both fish and chips, the shot was taken after a fair share had been removed! Oddly the batter was quite sweet, which was the only quibble with the meal.

The Greek salad featured all the usual content and provided a variation in colour, texture and flavours.

The spectacular views make this a perfect location for fish and chips and probably worth checking out for that reason alone. 

Lichen Restaurant, Binalong Bay, Tasmania

Main Road
Binalong Bay
Tasmania 7216

Our first attempt to book a table at Lichen Restaurant didn't work out, we'd left it too late on a late summer Saturday to get a spot and it turned out that a power cut meant that they were going to be late opening, apparently they made it rough in the end though.

We returned on the Sunday to find things humming along smoothly, including the open area of the kitchen with its wood fired pizza oven.

The views across Binalong Bay from our table on the deck were second to none!

The grilled local fish on spinach and a potato nori fritter with ponzu mayo and lemon butter looked great and went down very well.

I had the Bari pizza. The base was super thin in authentic Italian style with the wood oven helping puff up the crust. The prawns had been sliced in half, which given their size made sense and everything came together well.

The service was friendly and speedy, if slightly haphazard at times. With a glass of wine and pale ale the bill came to $83.60 including a 10% service charge, which came as a bit of a surprise. The restaurant is the only option in town and has a superb location, but doesn't rely on those factors alone and is certainly worth a visit.

The Bridport Cafe

97 Main Street
Bridport
Tasmania 7262

As a foodblogger I probably shouldn't admit that I hadn't known that the Bridport Cafe had won the Australian Cafe of the Year Award in 2014, or maybe we should just be happy that we sniffed it out anyway!

It is set up in an old cottage on the top end of the main street, with a tree emerging from the decking outside. It was pretty busy outside so we ended up inside on one of the eclectic mix of tables. The breakfast menu covered the standard offerings...

I went for the poached eggs on toasted sourdough which came topped with rocket. I was very happy with the eggs which had lovely runny yolks.

The scrambled eggs also turned out well along with a side of mushrooms.

The long black hit the spot and set us up for a stroll around town before hitting the road again!

From the deck the view extends to the beach through the trees.

The staff were friendly and efficient, with ours meals coming quickly enough to stave off our hunger. The bill came in at $37.40 with a couple of coffees, which seemed fair giving the quality of the meals. We could certainly see why it had won its award!