It’s up, up and away at this sleek waterfront restaurant, serving up one of the most exceptional degustation menus in Australia. Aløft, meaning ‘attic’ or ‘high place in the sky’, is perched on the top floor of Hobart’s award-winning Brooke Street Pier – which also houses the MONA ferry wharf, casual café Rosie in my Midnight Dreams, and the restaurant’s stylish new sibling Restaurant Maria.
Diners lucky enough to score a table right by the vaulted floor-to-ceiling windows are in for a treat – and we’re not just talking about the food. From these seats, you can soak in sparkling views over the River Derwent and might even catch a glimpse of the odd dolphin or seal swimming around before sunset. But for the ultimate experience, we’d fight for one of the prized bar seats overlooking the open kitchen. Here, you can watch head chef Christian Ryan and his team transform seasonal produce, local seafood and small-farm poultry into an extravagant nine-course degustation with a pan-Asian flair.
Aløft’s ever-changing chef’s tasting menu could begin with Bruny Island oysters immersed in peppery nasturtium mignonette; wild-caught wallaby tartare balanced on a crisp tapioca cracker with Sichuan sauce; and 18-hour braised lamb rib dressed in a bold black vinaigrette. Each menu item is quite the mouthful, but you’ll be guided through every detail – from the origins of the ingredients to their punchy flavour pairings – by their warm and passionate staff (or directly by the chefs, if you’re sitting front-row at the bar).
Your second trio of snacks at Aløft will (almost) always feature the crowd-favourite tempura eggplant, lightly tossed in chilli sauce; and if you’re lucky, Bass Strait bluefin tuna sashimi in charred onion dashi with pickled fennel and radish for crunch; plus a delicate duck dumpling with spicy gochujang sauce. And that’s not even to mention the mains – one part seafood, one part protein – which are followed by a refreshing palate cleanser and capped off with a light and seasonal dessert.
Vegetarians and vegans are in good hands at Aløft with a dedicated tasting menu that impresses with tempura saltbush, wood ear mushroom dumplings, and silken tofu in Sichuan sauce.
Pair your degustation with matching wines from renowned Tasmanian producers, like Anim Wine, Bubb and Pooley, and Willie Smiths. For a more laid-back option, try the Electric Boogaloo cocktail, a refreshing mix of gin, kunzea blossom and Aløft Yerba Mate soda, or enjoy the house berry lemonade.