This 12-seat omakase-style dining experience is one of the most thrilling meals one can have in Hobart. Think of it as dinner and a show, albeit one set in a luxury car showroom with a ticket price of $300pp that only runs Friday and Saturday. “It takes us five days to prep for two nights,” says Lachlan Colwill, who runs the venue with partner Sophie Pope. The intricate 16-dish menu doesn’t hide its Japanese inspiration, though it’s quintessentially Aussie. Think milk bun fish sandwiches and kimchi-filled nasturtium dumplings. Rear of 160 Elizabeth St, Hobart; omotenashihobart.com.

Massimo Mele’s nostalgic Italian restaurant resides in Hobart’s newest luxury hotel, The Tasman. The acclaimed chef, who named the eatery after his grandmother, was born in Hobart and raised in Naples, a cross-cultural influence that guides Peppina’s modern Italian offering. The restaurant seats 200 diners, with generously spaced tables that centre around an open kitchen and bar area, wall-to-wall brickwork and olive trees lending a courtyard vibe. The menu is largely fire-based. Mains include char-grilled pork chops and whole fish alongside handmade gnocchi, and the antipasti section makes for filling bar snacks. 2B Salamanca Pl, Hobart; peppinarestaurant.com.

Ogee, a Euro-style bistro in the back streets of North Hobart, takes its name from an architectural term for an S-shaped moulding. “A meeting place,” says Rachelle Guastella, who runs Ogee’s 26-seat dining room with chef Matt Breen (of natural wine bar Sonny). Her minimal intervention wine list leans heavily on France and Italy, with a few well-known Aussies in the mix, complementing Breen’s now-signature octopus and anchovy gildas and superb hand-made pastas. You’ll need to show up early or late to skip the inevitable queue, but a pint at the adjacent Crescent Hotel while you wait isn’t the worst thing. Ogee is closed for February 2023, reopening March 2. 374 Murray St, Hobart; ogeehobart.com.au.

The new year brought a new menu for this cool-climate wine bar, with head chef Gabriela Macedo expanding the snack list to a full a la carte offering (on top of the seven-course set menu) showcasing the best seafood the Southern Ocean has to offer. Think hiramasa kingfish sashimi with white kimchi, whipped bottarga on brioche batons, and spanner crab linguini. Owners Louise Radman and Nav Singh also make Süd Polaire Gin and Domaine Simha wines, and the wine bar serves as an unofficial cellar door for both. Pull up a leather-backed bar stool and order a frosty Antarctic Dry Martini (served in a silver goblet, natch). You deserve it. 1/7 Murray St, Hobart; institutpolaire.com.au.

This degustation-only restaurant is dedicated to organic and wild-caught produce. “We’ll never use a farmed fish,” says Kobi Ruzicka, who also owns neighbouring wine bar Lucinda. It’s an ethos that also extends to the 800+ minimal intervention wines. Glenn Byrnes (ex-Aloft, Fico) came on as head chef in April 2022, though the 12-dish set menu is hugely collaborative and knowledgeable staff clearly do their homework. It’s nose-to-tail and individually plated, perhaps a single mussel draped in ‘master scrap’ aioli, which takes its pungent XO-like flavour from fermented vegie tops, or a puck of soft goat’s cheese made only for Dier Makr on Bruny Island. 123 Collins St, Hobart; diermakr.com.