Luxe new Hobart taphouse and bar well worth diving into
From its low-key exterior, sophisticated bar menu, the line-up of craft beers, to its witty take on 70s suburbia – I love everything about this ‘luxury dive bar’, writes TasWeekend’s Alix Davis
Food and Wine
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David Walsh, the founder of Hobart’s iconic Museum of Old and New Art, is known for his eccentricities and, true to form, he started a beer company after stumbling across a bottle he liked in Eastern Europe. Not a bottle of beer. An empty bottle. Now, 18 years later, Moo Brew is one of Tasmania’s largest independent craft brewers and Manky Sally’s (on Salamanca, geddit?) is their first taphouse – created to showcase their extensive range and bring a little taste of Mona quirk to the city.
The entrance off Salamanca Place is low-key and discreet but inside the vibe is laid-back and welcoming. Moo Brew’s full range is on tap and you can ask questions of the in-house brewer.
Locals drop in for after-work drinks, while visitors who’ve been immersed in Mona-world all day can keep that mood going after hopping off the nearby ferry.
In true Mona fashion, this nano-brewery (yes, there’s a micro microbrewery on site) is decorated with a mix of high and low style drawn from both the museum’s warehouses and Facebook Marketplace. Velvet and brass barstools make for comfy perching out front, where a reclaimed Axminster carpet (it came from Bernacchi House on Maria Island) brings old-school pub vibes. Towards the back, you’ll find 70s-style leather chairs for intimate lounging and an alcove lined with 2698 Moo Brew bottles that houses a ludicrously capacious (hello Tom Wambsgans’ fans) and stunningly veined marble table. Amber bar glass straight from my suburban childhood makes multiple appearances throughout the venue and, take a close look at the light fittings outside the bathrooms (Bunnings. Plumbing. Aisle).
Beer is the main event here – after all, Moo Brew is one of Australia’s oldest craft brewers and still independently owned. There are 14 beers on tap – Moo Brew’s full range plus a couple of experimental brews that head brewer Jack Viney plays with in the nano brewery within the venue. Some of these might turn into a regular beer, while others will forever be taphouse-only offerings. The Moo Brew range includes classics like lager, ale, pilsener, stout and IPA as well as quirkier styles such as farmhouse ale, a sour and hefeweizen. A tasting flight of four beers is presented on a table tennis paddle in homage to owner David Walsh’s love of the game.
Beer not your thing? There’s a selection of wines from Moorilla, Domaine A, Stoney Vineyard and friends available by the glass or bottle as well as non-alcoholic Tasmanian cider and middle and top-shelf local spirits. Check the specials board for the day’s cocktails.
Chef Sam Bray has created the menu specifically to pair well with beer, so everything is going to be packed with flavour as well as soak up a little alcohol. The line-up of Asian-leaning bar snacks range from easy-to-nibble tapioca crisps to more substantial offerings such as okonomiyaki ($18). This fluffy, savoury Japanese pancake is topped with local wild-shot venison – a product that’s become available only recently, in part thanks to the efforts of artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele, Walsh’s wife and a passionate supporter of sustainable food.
Kaechele and Walsh are both vegetarian, so there are plenty of meat-free options including a more-ish vegan banh mi slider ($10) featuring mushroom meat, sunflower pate, crunchy pickles and a just-the-right-amount-of-crunchy baguette (think “pleasingly crisp” rather than “knife sandwich”). A bowl of snapper ceviche ($21) is bright and citrusy with a side of tortilla chips for easy scooping.
Bray is a fan of street food so there are also plenty of grilled things on sticks (all $10) including Xinjiang-spiced wallaby, Taiwanese-esque calamari and mushrooms skewered with lotus root. Almost everything’s under $20, making this a wallet-pleasing night out.
Enjoy a few beers then make your excuses and use the bathrooms. If you’re facing the wall there’s a continuous loop of beer being poured to ah, get things flowing. If you’re seated, spend some time looking for the hidden words on the walls entirely covered with utilitarian letter stickers - painstakingly applied by the Moo Brew team.
I love everything about this “luxury dive bar”, from its low-key exterior, to the sophisticated bar menu, the line-up of beers that will keep my husband happy for hours and the witty take on 70s suburbia. Pull me a beer, pass me a vintage ashtray of corn nuts and I’ll be happy to talk sex and death for hours.
MANKY SALLY’S
25 Salamanca Pl, Hobart
Opening hours: Monday - Sunday 11am - 11pm
On the menu: Okonomiyaki with wild venison, $18; banh mi slider, $10; seasonal fish ceviche, $21; tapioca crack crackers, $5; schooner $8-$11
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