Best Cafes in Hobart

Lost Freight Cafe

Pinnacle Road, Wellington Park

A unique Hobart cafe experience, Lost Freight dishes out delicious sweet treats, hearty meals and rejuvenating hot drinks from a cool, converted shipping container situated halfway up Kunayi/Mount Wellington. Roasted locally by Zimmah, the quality coffee is joined by hot blackcurrant and decadently thick hot chocolate on the list of hearty and heartwarming hot drinks. These are ideal either to fuel up before a hike or enjoy in a relaxing, panoramic spot afterwards. Located right by the Springs, there are plenty of walking tracks to walk off the jaffa creams, sausage rolls, gingernut cookies, hot toasties, almond croissants and other delicious treats made fresh in-house.

Machine Laundry Cafe

12 Salamanca Square

It might seem an odd combination at first glance, but this coin laundromat/hipster cafe has become a smash hit on Hobart’s cafe scene. Located right by buzzing Salamanca Square, a stone’s throw from the popular Saturday Salamanca Market, the Machine Laundry Cafe is full of bright colours, quirky features, creative menu items, and arguably Hobart’s most generously oversized muffins, baked goods and bucket coffees. In addition to tasty eggs benedict and pancakes, not to mention more-than-decent coffee, it is actually also a working laundry service operator. So it’s a great place to kill several birds with one stone!

Ginger Brown 4

64 Macquarie Street, South Hobart

Surely South Hobart’s most popular brunch spot for the past decade, Ginger Brown strikes a fine balance between refined classics and innovative inventions. Brunch staples like poached eggs on sourdough with house-baked beans are done beautifully and generously, while an ever-changing specials board keeps things fresh with hot-smoked trout and pickled-ginger rice bowls, or caramelised banana-butter hot cakes with chocolate dukkah and cherry compote. There’s a good range of gluten- and dairy-free options, too, not to mention lovely views towards Kunayi (Mt. Wellington). 

Room for a Pony

338 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart

Cool cafe by day, buzzing bar by night, and with North Hobart’s coolest, quirkiest arthouse cinema right next door, it can be hard to leave this cool North Hobart cafe. Housed inside a disused former petrol station, the space has been fitted out with a cool, industrial-chic interior as well as an authentic wood-fired pizza oven, which keeps crowds coming long into the night. That said, breakfast offerings like a zingy fried-chilli Chinese omelette, house-spiced pear compote porridge, tomatoey sardines on toast, and silky scrambled tofu with a medley of mushrooms make sure this is a popular North Hobart spot long before then. Lucky it’s so spacious!

Born in Brunswick

410 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart

This place would be just as much at home on Sydney Road as it is on North Hobart’s coolest strip, Elizabeth Street – except that you won’t have to worry so much about the crowds. Anybody who knows anything about the world-famous, uber-popular, incredibly instagrammable brunch scene of Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs will know what to expect here. Born in Brunswick doesn’t disappoint, either: run by a former Masterchef contestant, Born in Brunswick features sleek, Nordic-inspired interiors, serious single-origin coffee nerdiness, and exquisite, Asian- and international-inspired dishes that look more suitable for fine-dining restaurants than cafes, somehow seeming to combine anything from black-sesame remoulade and caramelised coconut sorbet to spiced slow-cooked duck, sugarloaf slaw and locally foraged edible flowers into a delicious array of dishes. 

Sisterhood

48 King Street, Sandy Bay

A relative newcomer to Hobart’s cafe scene, Sisterhood has become a quick favourite for both locals and visitors to Hobart’s laid-back Sandy Bay district. Combining some of the city’s best eggs benedict and other brekkie staples with out-of-the-box creations like the zingy zucchini-and-ricotta breakfast pasta, the brunch menu at Sisterhood is certainly part of the attraction. However, the coffee is also top quality, and a number of healthy and nutritious smoothie options give it a more classic beachside vibe than its sleek, chic interior might initially suggest.

Criterion St Cafe

10 Criterion Street

A good respite from the hustle and bustle of the CBD, Criterion St Cafe feels somehow both secluded and right in the heart of the action between Liverpool and Elizabeth streets. They serve great coffee, so it’s a good spot to replenish caffeine levels if they’re getting low in the city. It’s also worth hanging around if you’re hungry, though, with many tantalising delights on the all-day menu – how does triple-cheese French toast served with pancetta, rocket and tomato sound for starters? It’s also fully licensed, so you can even grab a glass of wine, take a seat outside in the sun, and watch the people and the world go by.

Island Espresso

171 Elizabeth Street, Midtown

Seeming cosy, comforting and quirky from the outside, head inside at this Hobart stalwart and you’ll find that it opens up into a roomy, open space (even with an epic ‘breakfast loft’ upstairs!) that serves much more than the quality, consistent espresso it has made its name on. The dedication to coffee is still strong – with single-origin, cold drip, and other artisan offerings – but the food menu and tasty baked goods are also worth mentioning. Smashed avo with local chilli honey, fresh house-made focaccia or a hearty hot tomato soup to enjoy by the cute fireplace in winter, there’s something to suit every mood.

Imago

114 Elizabeth Street

Who would’ve thought of partnering pulled pork rendang with eggs benedict? These guys. That’s alongside other eye-catching dishes like a Balinese-style fried squid and couscous salad, or the smokey, caramelised-eggplant shakshouka. It’s not only an innovative fusion-brunch menu that keeps this cool, inner-city Hobart cafe and bakery humming, though. The coffee is stellar. Their bread and pastries are top shelf. The atmosphere is warm and friendly (while staying hip and laid-back). And the location – right in the humdrum of Elizabeth Street – all combine to make this one of the best coffee and food spots in the Hobart CBD. 

Queens Pastry

144 Harrington Street

Fresh pastries, exquisite dessert items, glazed donuts, and beautiful coffee sourced from St. Ali roasters, Queens Fine Bakery are pretty much a one-stop satisfaction shop in Hobart CBD. The space is stark and sleek, but surprisingly homely and wecoming enough to feel like one of those places that just feels like you’re getting a big warm hug along with your food and coffee. The main reason for that, though, may be the smell – with multiple batches of fresh pastries and patisseries items coming out of the oven throughout the day, the croissant-laden aromas wafting through the cafe can be utterly dreamy.

Jackman & McRoss

4 Victoria Street 

Already known to FLT blog readers who are hunting for the best pies in Tasmania, this Battery Point institution is best known for its fabulous cakes, pastries, scallop pies and fresh bread. However, it’s a shame that many visitors don’t hang around and take advantage of the beautiful, historic vintage setting and cosy atmosphere here. Especially because, when you sit down and take a look, there’s actually also a fantastic selection of light bites and cafe meals. Not to mention excellent coffee. So, as good as the pies and pastries may be, don’t skip on hanging around at one of central Hobart’s best cafes!

Straight Up Coffee & Food

202 Liverpool Street

It might seem obvious what to expect here, but not quite – this is all of Hobart’s busiest vegetarian and gluten-free cafe, a Hobart health-food hub, a specialty coffee roaster, and a kitschy venue (blending things somewhere between wholesome countryside chic and 90’s sit-com coffee house vibes) into one. This is undoubtedly the best place in Hobart city centre for delicious coeliac-friendly and gluten-free cafe meals. But their hearty, casual but elegant vegetarian and vegan dishes will impress even the carnivores and omnivores among us. Expect to be blown away by what you can do with pulses and grains! And did we mention the ever-present smell of coffee, freshly roasted on site, wafting around?

Ready to hit Hobart’s cafe scene?

Even if it’s just to mark down spots for refilling caffeine levels, or to line up a time to sit down and enjoy these coolest of Hobart cafes, it’s easy to start planning your Tasmanian getaway on First Light Travel’s website. They have a number of pre-organised Tasmanian self-drive tour itineraries (most of which include Hobart) to choose from. Or, you can contact FLT directly, for free, to get help in creating your own customised itinerary.