Hobart's Hidden Gem Restaurants (that you won’t find on any other list)

Often, the best meals are the ones you’re not actively looking for — unless you’re like me and always on the hunt. That’s where Seasoned Traveller comes in. This Hobart dining guide is for those who Eat Curiously; seeking meals that feel personal, cultural, or a little unexpected. 

These 14 under-the-radar gems are exactly that. Some are hidden in plain sight in the heart of Hobart CBD, while others are tucked away in quieter suburbs. The one thing they have in common is that they serve some of the most exciting food in the city. Each of these places is worth experiencing – and supporting – which is why this article isn’t paywalled. From the only venues offering their cuisine in Hobart, to others specialising in hand-pulled noodles and Malaysian kuih (sweets), every spot on this list brings something genuine to the table.

1. Shemroon Cafe

This unassuming family-run cafe with a neon “Persian Kebabs” sign in the window might just offer the best-value feed in Hobart. A steady stream of workers lines up for takeaway lamb sandwiches and kebabs, but those in the know stay for the $33 baghali polo ba mahiche, an ancient and aromatic Persian dish of fall-off-the-bone lamb shank served on rice laced with broad beans and dill. It’s a dish that would cost nearly twice as much in any other restaurant. Another solid traditional option is ghormeh sabzi, a comforting stew of lamb and kidney beans simmered in fresh herbs, with plenty of fenugreek and the distinctive tang of dried lime. With dishes served alongside saffron rice studded with sour barberries, Shemroon Cafe may be humble in appearance, but the flavours and hospitality are anything but.

100 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania, shemroon.com.au

2. Queen Sheba Injera Catering

The only place to eat Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine in Hobart is Queen Sheba, a food truck based permanently in a North Hobart car park. Run by couple Yodit Tafara and Zemenay Gebremichael, this is home-style East African cooking at its most soulful. Yodit makes everything herself, including the injera – a spongy, slightly sour flatbread that forms the foundation of each dish – while Zemenay, with his contagious smile, chats effortlessly about life around the table back home. They opened in 2023 and their following has grown steadily, mostly through word of mouth and occasional festival appearances, like at Dark Mofo. Don’t miss them but do call ahead to make sure they’re open – the hours listed online can be a bit iffy.

29 Lefroy Street, North Hobart, Tasmania, fb.com/QueenShebaCatering

3. Dayoon

Hobart’s first Filipino restaurant opened in May 2025 and is already receiving rave reviews for its generous, family-style feasts. The second-floor restaurant has views of Kunanyi (Mount Wellington) out the window, while inside the space is simple and warm with dark walls, timber tables, and traditional woven baskets adding a touch of the Philippines. The menu is built around bold, comforting Filipino classics: sizzling pork sisig made with chopped jowl, ear and belly, finished with a cracked egg and seasoned with calamansi; sour tamarind-based sinigang soup with your choice of protein; and the gloriously crunchy crispy pata, a whopping deep-fried pork hock. It wouldn’t be a Filipino restaurant without something to satisfy the sweet tooths: try halo halo, a joyful jumble of shaved ice, ube ice cream, beans and jellies; or go for the flaky buko pie filled with young coconut custard. Bring a group, and come hungry.

339 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart, Tasmania, instagram.com/dayoon.official

4. Sawak

This no-frills Malaysian cafe in the heart of Hobart CBD has been a local favourite since 2010. Owner-chef Zye Chong arrived in Tasmania nearly 20 years ago from his home in Sarawak. You’ll still find him in the kitchen, flipping hot woks over open flames to impart that elusive smoky wok hei into char kway teow. His laksa is rich and coconutty, jam-packed with vermicelli noodles, tofu puffs, and your choice of protein. For something different, swap traditional nasi lemak for the house specialty: nasi Hobart. It replaces coconut rice with ginger rice, adds a sambal-drenched boiled egg, swaps out ikan bilis (dried anchovies and peanuts) for house-made acar (pickles), and comes with either chicken rendang or satay.

131 Collins Street, Hobart, Tasmania, sawakcafe.com

5. Little Borneo

This North Hobart gem is the newer sister restaurant to Sawak in the CBD. It spotlights Nyonya, or Peranakan, cuisine. Born from the early intermarriages between Chinese migrants and local communities across Malaysia, Indonesia and South India, Nyonya food is a rich cuisine that balances sour, herbaceous and astringent notes (think ingredients like the earthy and bitter buah keluak nut, tamarind and galangal) with sweetness and depth (hello, candlenuts and palm sugar). The dishes honour their colourful origins, from handmade roti canai served with an array of curries and Hainanese chicken rice, to Sarawak specials such as laksa and kolok mee (barbecue chicken noodles with sliced fish cake). Time your visit for the weekend, when Nyonya kuih (sweets) appear. Look for seri muka, squares of pandan custard on sticky rice tinted blue with butterfly pea flower, and kuih dadar, pandan crepes rolled around sticky coconut floss.

322 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart, Tasmania, instagram.com/little_borneo_hobart

6. Ms Korea

If you have to choose just one Korean restaurant in Hobart, make it Ms Korean. The reason is simple: it goes far beyond fried chicken and bibimbap, offering the most extensive and interesting Korean menu in the city. It’s the only place that serves jokbal made from Tasmanian pork – hock, trotter and tail braised in spiced soy, then sliced for easy wrapping in lettuce along with condiments and pickles (serves two to three, available for dinner only). You’ll also find eomuk-guk (fish cake skewers in seafood broth), spicy chicken feet, jumeok-bap (seasoned rice and seaweed you shape into balls with gloved hands), and a wide range of hotpots and stews designed to feed up to three people. The lunch and dinner menus are different, so check online before heading in.

39 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania, mskorea.com.au

7. China Lanzhou Beef Noodle

This narrow shop in Hobart CBD draws crowds with the hypnotic rhythm of hand-pulled noodles being swung and slapped like skipping ropes; but it’s the generous, steaming bowls of spicy beef noodle soup that keep people coming back. There are a few variations on offer, but go for the brisket – it’s fatty, tender and full of flavour. For an extra $8.80, you can access the self-serve “Side Bar”, where you get one round to load up on cold dishes like marinated black fungus, seaweed ribbons, spiced potato, and tofu.

41 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania, no website

8. Turkish Tukka

Turkey meets Tassie at this Launceston hot spot, which opened a Hobart branch in early 2025. Owner Yusuf Karazor migrated from Olympos, a town on Turkey’s western Mediterranean coast, bringing with him his mother’s take on traditional Turkish cooking and warm hospitality. The fit-out is modest with blue accents throughout, from the banquette seating and ceiling, to the decorative tiles and Turkish light fittings. Chicken and lamb are cooked over charcoal and then shaved into kebabs, durum (wraps), and onto plates with sumac-dusted red onion. You’ll also find falafel, gözleme and halal snack packs. Settle in with a strong Turkish coffee and a piece of syrup-soaked baklava.

160 Sandy Bay Road, Sandy Bay, Tasmania, fb.com/turkishtukka

9. Chulesi Nepalese Resturant

In a Moonah car park off Main Road, Chulesi is widely considered one of Hobart’s best haunts for Nepalese food. Colourful prayer flags flutter inside and out, and a small shrine dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga greets you as you enter. The house specialty is momos: handmade dumplings filled with vegetables, chicken or buffalo mince. For a deeper dive into traditional Nepali cuisine, the sets are the way to go. The Khaja Set, for example, includes beaten rice, grilled goat choila, roasted soybeans (bhatmas sadheko), pickled potato (aloo achar), Bhutanese peas and black-eyed beans, an egg-topped lentil pancake (bara), and aloo tama, a hearty stew of fermented bamboo shoots, potatoes and legumes. Finish with a warming cup of milky, spiced Nepali tea.

Shop 1, 73-75 Main Road, Moonah, Tasmania, Facebook  

10. Bravo Taiwanese Noodle & Grill Restaurant

This casual Taiwanese-Chinese restaurant is the place to come if you’re craving a filling, steaming bowl of noodle soup. If you're looking to heat up fast, go for the Sichuan-style spicy combo soup, a fiery bowl of slippery rice noodles, beef slices, tripe, omasum (aka book or leaf tripe), greens, pickled cabbage and cubes of duck blood. Other options allow you to pick your broth and noodle preferences. For a small restaurant, Bravo has a big menu: stir-fries, dry noodles, braises, a dedicated fried rice section, bentos and more. It’s also a solid choice for a quick snack and cheap drink – think Taiwanese sausage skewers, crispy fried chicken or dumplings, paired with $4 bottled beers.

129 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania, fb.com/BravoTaiwaneseRestaurant

11. Chache Hobart

This Vietnamese dessert cafe doubles as a savory snack bar, serving up hard-to-find regional rice paper dishes you won’t easily find elsewhere. There are fresh, dried, shredded and rolled options, featuring ingredients like dried shrimp, beef jerky, pork floss and quail eggs. Occasionally, Chache offers a special of chân gà sốt Thái: tangy and aromatic boneless chicken feet in a special Thai sauce. On the sweet side, you’ll get change from a tenner with every ché (Vietnamese dessert), with flans and puddings in a variety of flavours. Think coconut pandan, Vietnamese coffee caramel, Durian, mango sago, tofu and more, accompanied by various assortments of beans, jellies, fruits, tapioca and coconut milk. 

Shop 4, Mathers Lane, 109 Liverpool Street, Hobart, Tasmania, fb.com/cafenomnomhobart

12. Dumbo Dumplings

Those willing to cross the Tasman Bridge to the suburb of Warrane will be rewarded with some of Hobart’s best dumplings. Seating is limited in this humble little shop – it’s geared more toward delivery apps – but dumplings are always best freshly cooked. A dozen boiled or pan-fried beauties will set you back just $10.80 to $13.80, while the kelp salad is a delightfully slippery and spicy sensation. Dumbo also serves steamed buns and wonton soup, the latter of which comes teeming with seaweed for extra umami. You can even buy a jar of the homemade chilli oil for $10. Hot tip: it’s the perfect pit stop on your way into Hobart from the airport (or out).

Shop 1, 9 Dampier Street, Warrane, Tasmania, no website

13. The Wild by Tummy Thai

You’d be forgiven for walking straight past The Wild in Hobart’s Imperial Arcade. The modest signage and decor gives early naughties and suggests little more than a milky cappuccino and slice of cake. But judging a book by its cover could mean missing out on some of Hobart’s most legit Thai food. Come for breakfast and you might start with juay jub, a Thai-style rolled noodle soup with crispy pork in a fragrant five-spice broth. Stay for lunch and dig into dishes that taste like they’ve come straight from The Land of Smiles: khao soi curry noodle soup, slow-cooked Tasmanian beef massaman curry, pad kra pao pork and basil stir-fry, braised pork hock on rice with pickled mustard greens, and more. You’ll also spot Tummy Thai popping up at Farm Gate Market, Street Eats @ Franko (December to May), and Dark Mofo’s Winter Feast.

Imperial Arcade, shop 5, 138 Collins Street, Hobart, Tasmania, fb.com/thewildbytummythai

14. Tasty Buns

Never mind the quirky, slightly nonsensical slogans like “Dumpling made by human, each is weird in its own way” and “A Chinese restaurant pretending to be a Chinese restaurant” – Tasty Buns is exactly what the name promises. This hole-in-the-wall CBD spot is mostly geared for takeaway, with only a handful of seats and dependable lunchtime queue. It delivers comfort in the form of traditional dim sum and inventive originals, like the popular jumbo egg tart. Don’t miss slippery cheung fun (steamed rice noodle rolls), warming congee, or stewed beef brisket with radish on rice. While you wait, take in the playful puns and kitschy cartoon characters that dominate the walls – they’re all part of the charm.

152 Collins Street, Hobart, Tasmania, no website