Temple to Tassie dining is a Source of pure delight
A trip to Mona is already a sensory overload, adding lunch at its signature restaurant completes the experience with dishes that are pleasing to the eye and palate and champion sustainability.
Food and Wine
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It’s not often I get to dine with Picasso. Wait. Let me clarify. It’s not often (aka never) that I get to dine with an original Picasso artwork. In this case, it’s a ceramic platter (White owl on red ground) set into a table and I am separated from it by only a piece of glass, some cutlery and state-of-the-art security.
I’m dining at The Source – Mona’s signature restaurant – and every glass-topped table houses a piece of art or an item that is significant to the museum or its owner, David Walsh. At one table are the sensual gold bowls commissioned for his wedding to Kirsha Kaechele, at another are rabbit skins representing the restaurant’s approach to “eating the problem”, and at another is a feather necklace created by Tasmanian Aboriginal elder and artist Lola Greeno.
A visit to Mona is already a sensory overload, adding lunch at The Source completes the experience with dishes that are pleasing to the eye, the palate and an ethos of sustainability. Executive chef Vince Trim, who has been with the museum since before it opened, leads a kitchen team that draws on their multicultural background as well as the museum’s commitment to sourcing and preparing sustainable and invasive species. You won’t find a chicken breast or beef steak on the menu here – instead, it’s a vegetable-forward menu that uses sustainable protein like Tasmanian wild-harvested venison, wallaby and line-caught local fish to create dishes that are as gasp-inducing as some of the art.
We begin with a truffle cheese toastie ($25) and, quite frankly, my husband would be happy to end there too. Two generous slices of buttery brioche enclose perfectly melted Comte and are topped with paper-thin slices of black truffle whose dark, earthy aroma is impossible to ignore. It’s pretty much the platonic ideal of a toastie and I’ll be having stern words with my jaffle iron about new standards having been set.
A brioche doughnut is a perfectly formed bun that acts as a delivery vehicle for creamy stracciatella, tangy macadamia pesto and a slick of chilli oil. My usually chilli-averse husband is distracted by the corn custard and doesn’t raise an eyebrow.
Next up are pan-roasted sardines on a bed of wild rice ($30). Trim tells me that sardines (these come from Port Lincoln, SA) can be a little polarising but this dish, which features a nduja-spiced vinaigrette and the tang of an artichoke and lemon salsa has proven to be a customer favourite.
Another responsibly sourced seafood dish is the Scandinavian-inspired smorrebrod salad ($34) including pickled local fish, smoked eel and egg white pearls created by chef Leea Kallonen. There’s also a startling blue broth that has been coloured with Clitoria ternatea flower, an invasive species. It’s served with slices of heavily seeded bread and DIY sandwich-making is encouraged.
Given Walsh’s interests in beer and wine, the drinks list is almost exclusively Moorilla, Domaine A and Moo Brew with a splash of Hughes & Hughes Chardonnay and a Willie Smith’s cider or two. All the wines are available by the glass, making it easy to match the menu as you go.
Our main dish of venison ($48) is especially exciting as it’s only recently that wild Tasmanian venison has become commercially available – in part due to the efforts of Trim and Kaechele. Prior to that, it was served at The Source, but had to be imported from NSW or SA, while fallow deer that were shot here could only be eaten by the hunters themselves. Here, a tender fillet (cooked medium-rare) is served on a bed of celeriac mash with shallots and baby beetroots roasted until sweetly caramelised as well as juicy grilled grapes. It’s rich and flavoursome and I’m so pleased to be eating wild, sustainable meat.
The Source dining room is a glass-walled pavilion set amongst the trees with glimpses of the Derwent beyond. As we eat, a honeyeater lands on the sculptural native blooming nearby, delicately sipping nectar from the blooms before flitting away. The glass-topped tables, with their mirror-like finish are off-set by glowing gold seats and a rich teal carpet. The vibe is one of not-so-subtle luxury and it’s the perfect location for a special occasion. Or a Friday.
We manage to find room for dessert (obviously) and are not disappointed by the treacle tart or the pumpkin clafoutis (both $18). The rich treacle tart is accompanied by Moo Brew stout ice cream and a moreish vanilla parfait, while the clafoutis has wonderfully caramelised edges that have me scraping the bowl so as to not miss a skerrick.
The Source is one of the many reasons why Hobart is so fortunate to have Mona and I for one am already looking forward to my next lunch date with Picasso.
THE SOURCE
Mona, 655 Main Rd, Berriedale
Opening hours Fri-Mon, 12-4pm
On the menu
Truffle cheese toastie, $25; brioche doughnut, $28; sardines, $30; smorrebrod seafood salad, $34; seafood pot au feu, $48; venison, $48; treacle tart, $18.
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