Pubs and bars in Tasmania

Old pubs are being made over or reimagined in the best possible ways.

The secret’s out about Hobart’s hole-in-the-wall bars, defined by their sophisticated tastes in wines and small plates. Out of town you’ll find pubs with views over ocean and mountain, journeys back in time, and back-to-basics brewers capturing the island’s essence in a bottle.

Best pubs and bars

Midlands rising

Visionary licensees are breathing new life into the Midlands town of Oatlands, from an old dispensary reborn as a wine, cheese and spirit merchant (The Imbibers) to an 1830s pub restored to its former glory (The Kentish Tasmania). 

Old souls, young hearts

An 1842 Hobart hotel is now one of the country’s leading gastropubs showcasing regional produce (Tom McHugo’s). In the north, the colonial-era Clarendon Arms in Evandale is doing smart 21st century drinking and dining, surrounded by antlers.

Indie projects

City wine bars range from tiny hole-in-the-wall shopfronts with rare grooves (Sonny, Hobart) to local favourites with exceptional wines and liquor (Lucinda, Hobart; Bar Two, Launceston).

Crafty bars

Many of Tasmania’s craft brewers run their own taprooms, but for a wide selection of craft suds, head to Saint John Craft Beer (Launceston), with more than 170 international, Australian and Tasmanian craft beers to choose from, and Empress Craft Beer Bar (Devonport), with an ever-changing roster of 14 taps.

Back to nature

A beer-swilling pig in a paddock seems, somehow, so very Tasmanian. Priscilla loves a pint at the Pub in the Paddock as much as the locals do. If animal encounters aren’t your thing, head down the road to the Weldborough Hotel for all-Tasmanian craft beers, ciders and spirits in historic surrounds.

Living history

In the wild west there’s a grand hotel that’s been welcoming travellers for more than 120 years. For all its extravagance, including a heritage-listed blackwood staircase and the west coast’s largest bottle shop, the Empire Hotel is a boutique affair of just 20 character-filled rooms for overnight guests.

Brews with views 

Among the island’s most charming drinking spots are an early settler’s summer house with sweeping views over the D’Entrecasteaux Channel (Oyster Cove Inn), an historic hotel with private jetty over kanamaluka / River Tamar (Rosevears Hotel), and two Mole Creek taphouses (Wandering Trout, Mole Creek Hotel) with arresting views of the Great Western Tiers.