From Southeast-Asian-inspired brunches to aesthetically pleasing cafes with a wholefoods ethos, there’s something for everyone among these 12 Hobart cafes and bakeries.
Home to perhaps Australia’s highest concentration of bakeries per capita, Hobart cafes are a testament to the city’s deep appreciation for buttery carbs. From breakfast through to brunch and lunch you won’t struggle to sate an appetite piqued by Tassie’s famously cool clean air given the glut of great patisseries and cafes on offer here.
Whether you’re after wholesome paddock-to-plate fare, inventively reimagined brekkie classics, the city’s finest almond croissant, or an espresso for the road, these Hobart cafes should be added to your itinerary.
The shortlist
Hottest new opening: Leoht
Best for vegetarians: Straight Up Coffee and Food
Best pastries: Pigeon Whole Bakers
Best for brunch: Bumi Coffee
1. Pigeon Hole Cafe
Fresh seasonal produce from paddock to plate at Pigeon Hole Cafe.
Local carb lovers know to make a beeline for Pigeon Hole, which has long been recognised as one of the best cafes in Hobart. This quaint and homely fave does solid coffee, wholesome comfort food and delicious pastries. Much of the Hobart cafe’s produce (from award-winning smoked paprika to apricot jam) comes from owners Richard and Belinda Weston’s farm in Saltwater River, a 100-kilometre drive away.
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Farmhouse chic
Location: 93 Goulburn Street
2. Born In Brunswick
This neighbourhood cafe is famed for its Scandi-chic space. (Image: Natalie Mendham)
If it’s cold, order the porridge, and always get a pastry to go. At fresh-faced North Hobart cafe Born in Brunswick you can forget the fatty fry-up; here you’ll brunch on the likes of koji-marinated pork shoulder with soba noodles and a ginger shiitake broth, or house-smoked Huon salmon with black sesame and Tasmanian wasabi.
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Hipster
Location: 410 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart
3. Sweet Envy
Up on the hill in NoHo (North Hobart), Alastair Wise’s Sweet Envy is like all your sugar-laced childhood fantasies made a reality. Wise, a classically trained pastry chef, churns out next-level cookies, cake, ice-cream and pies. Our tip? Don’t get paralysed by choice, just order more (you can always eat it on the flight home).
Average price: $
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 58 Chapel St, Glenorchy
4. Queens Pastry
Try their mofo special doughnuts. (Image: Queens Pastry)
Sweet-toothed Queens Pastry keeps the brief tight: just pastries and specialty coffee. If Instagram pics aren’t reasoning enough to get you there, you should probably check your pulse.
Average price: $
Atmosphere: Fun and modern
Location: 144 Harrington Street
5. Straight Up Coffee and Food
Order barista-made brew at Straight Up Coffee and Food.
When all that sugar is making your teeth ache, there’s Straight Up Coffee and Food, where #cleaneats are the order of the day. Think miso marinated pumpkin with cauliflower ‘couscous’ and tahini yoghurt along with house-roasted coffee and fresh juices. Everything you’ll find here is 100% gluten-free and vegetarian.
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Rustic/Bohemian
Location: 202 Liverpool Street
6. Pigeon Whole Bakers
This CBD bakery stocks tasty baked goods. (Image: Pigeon Whole Bakers)
You’re not wrong for thinking that the name of this CBD bakery sounds strangely familiar… Chef Jay Patey co-founded the aforementioned Pigeon Hole Cafe with partner Emma Choraziak before devoting himself to the craft of sourdough and opening this cult favourite joint. Don’t leave without bagging one of the Pigeon Whole Baker’s famed croissants.
Average price: $
Atmosphere: Scandi-chic, hole-in-the-wall
Location: 32 Argyle Street
7. Little Missy Patisserie
Little Miss Patisserie exudes a rustic French provincial vibe. (Image: Little Missy Patisserie)
Unlike the city’s many other temples to pastry, the selection at Little Missy Patisserie gives equal billing to savoury, and it does the job oh so well. There’s a deliciously rustic air to this Hobart cafe, which has a provincial French influence and specialises in vegetarian baked goods.
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Rustic French provincial
Location: 151-153 Argyle Street
8. Bumi Coffee
Turning the conventional Aussie brunch on its head, Bumi Coffee is a breath of fresh air. This Hobart CBD cafe offers a Southeast-Asian-inspired all-day menu.
A roti eggs benedict with chilli, five-spiced pulled pork and calamansi hollandaise and a breakfast udon number among its most tempting (and satiating) fusion dishes. You’ll also find more classic Asian dishes like kaya toast and chicken rice on the menu.
End on a high with a sweet drink for dessert, such as Thai milk tea with condensed milk, or an ice cendol (pandan jelly, sweet jackfruit, palm sugar and coconut milk).
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Casual
Location: 71 Bathurst Street
9. Rosie In My Midnight Dreams
Wine lovers collide at this light-filled cafe.
Bridging that all-important gap between breakfast and wine, this bohemian, light-drenched cafe dabbles in a little bit of everything. Custom-made cakes to order? Tick. Occasional evening pop-ups from local chefs? Yep. A delightfully eclectic yet accessible and appealing menu? Mmhmm.
Dishes you might find scrawled on Rosie In My Midnight Dreams’ blackboard include Olasagasti anchovies with fresh ricotta on toast, braised French lentils with sausage and a fried egg, or a corned beef sandwich. You’ll also find a stellar lineup of local wines.
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Smart casual
Location: Brooke Street Pier
10. Leoht
Chill on the alfresco deck with a delicious continental breakfast at Leoht.
The menu at Leoht is in-keeping with the current culinary zeitgeist: refreshingly pared-back and with a heavy focus on wholefoods, quality produce and provenance. Think steel cut oats with stewed blueberries and cream; a continental breakfast plate of pasture-raised capocollo with jammy eggs, raw milk cheese and pickled veg; and smoked kippers with spiced rice, green lentils and a poached egg.
The vibe at this Battery Point eatery aligns with its food philosophy, too. There’s a minimalist design ethos that allows the details to sing: beautiful blonde hardwood furniture and flooring, a simple brick bar counter and ample natural light.
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Refined
Location: 46A Hampden Rd
11. Westside Laundry
Slinging sangas since 2024, this laundrette turned New-York-style diner is the place to go for all your carb cravings. The breakfast and lunch menu at Westside runs the gamut from a classic grilled cheese or pastrami with pickles through to a brunch bagel with sardines and a more refined ‘prosciutto papi bagel’ with cured ham, parmesan cream and tomato and basil.
Stake out a spot at the counter with a coffee, bagel and the morning papers as the morning light streams in through the blinds. Or pop back when the sun sinks, cosying into the banquette seating and dine on potato latkes and caviar with a frozen mini martini in hand.
Average price: $$
Atmosphere: Cosy and welcoming
Location: 87 Goulburn Street
12. Erda
Dine on comforting classics at Erda. (Image: Andrew Cottier)
Two dishes have become something of a signature at the new Hobart cafe, Erda: the omurice (tomato fried koshihikari rice with scrambled eggs and beef demi-glace) and the galette complète (a buckwheat crepe with a fried egg, gruyere and a truffle bechamel).
The drinks list is just as much of a drawcard at this neighbourhood go-to. Aside from drinks made with ceremonial grade cacao, you’ll find the wildly Instagrammable ‘Blue Sky’ — a striking concoction of marbled blue, white and green made with banana matcha, coconut yoghurt, Blue Majik oat milk, and a dash of Tasmanian leatherwood honey.
Average price: $$$
Atmosphere: Sleek
Location: 167A Harrington St
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