For eight years, mod-Italian eatery Fico has been one of the most highly coveted restaurant reservations in Hobart. This summer, co-owners Federica Andrisani and Oskar Rossi opened their own competition with Pitzi, an aperitivo bar just metres away.

They’ve partnered with Dana Gleeson (sous chef at Fico/ex-Templo and Aloft) on the new venue, a walk-in-friendly 30-seater decked out with retro orange tiles and works by Rossi’s father, the late Tom Samek. The a la carte-only menu puts Fico’s neglected pasta extruder to use and feature “heaps of stuff we don’t usually get to do”, Rossi says, including variations on focaccia.

4 Victoria Street, Hobart, pitzipitzi.com.au

Rose Tweeddale and James Latham started out selling doughnuts at Hobart’s Farm Gate Market. They now have a full kitchen at their disposal at restaurant-quality cafe Trophy Room in NoHo (North Hobart). The new kitchen includes a wood-fired stove that turns out the best toast in town, plus pizzettas topped with egg and guanciale, or zucchini and ricotta. A smart lunch menu centred around handmade pasta extends to Friday nights – the sole dinner service for now. Plan ahead. The small dining room packs out quickly.

342 Argyle Street, North Hobart, 0422 072 151

The Museum of Old and New Art’s flagship fine diner, Faro, is no stranger to reinvention – executive chef Vince Trim has dished up Spanish, Korean and Japanese-leaning fare in his time. Until April 2024, Faro goes French as “Nouveau Faux – Bordeaux to Berridale”. The rebrand coincides with the first Australian solo show by French artist Jean-Luc Mouléne and features the usual Mona wackiness dressed as bistro classics. Think artichoke and onion tart topped with comte ice-cream, and wild Tasmanian venison (Le Problème) on white miso and celeriac with kombu jus.

Mona, 655 Main Road, Berriedale, mona.net.au/eat-drink/faro-bar-plus-restaurant

Meanwhile, long-time fave Agrarian Kitchen, 40 minutes drive from Hobart, will add a garden course to its set menu from February – a change that involves commissioning new furniture.

For the first time, guests will be able to dine in the market garden that keeps Agrarian’s cooking school, kiosk and restaurant brimming with fresh fruit and veg. In the 1960s, when the site was a mental health facility, the walled 0.4-hectare patch was used as an exercise yard. Now, it’s staffed by three full-time gardeners and grows everything from tomatoes to experimental banana plants.

Some of the country’s top kitchen talent will be heading to Agrarian’s cooking school to share their wisdom. Among those on the 2024 line-up are Peter Gilmore (Quay), Natalie Paull (Beatrix Bakes), Andrew McConnell (Gimlet, Trader House) and Danielle Alvarez (Good Food writer and author).

Classes range from $440 for The Agrarian Experience to $990 for a two-day masterclass. Bookings are now open.

11A The Avenue, New Norfolk, theagrariankitchen.com