Refined dining at The Lounge by Frogmore Creek

IF Hobart has a creative quarter, it must surely be in the Hunter St precinct. There’s the UTAS School of Creative Arts, the Mac Point home of Dark Mofo, and a culinary “living room” where plating up has been elevated to something of an art form.

IF Hobart has a creative quarter, it must surely be in the Hunter St precinct. There’s the UTAS School of Creative Arts, the Federation Concert Hall, the Mac Point home of Dark Mofo, which will soon cast its winter wonderment upon us, and a culinary “living room” where plating up has been elevated to something of an art form.

Under the expert eye of executive chef Ruben Koopman, The Lounge by Frogmore Creek opened late last year as a city companion to the winery’s impressive cellar door and restaurant in the Coal River grape-growing district.

The Lounge by Frogmore Creek 7/18 Hunter St, Hobart Licensed. 6274 5876 Open daily from 11.30am until late for snack menu; lunch noon–3pm; dinner 5.30–9pm; and Supper Club 9–10.30pm

When the eatery first appeared, it also provided a much more rarefied experience
in Atmosphere. Described by the TasWeekend reviewer at the time as a must for any serious foodie’s bucket list, it offered three degustation experiences — Stealth ($300
per person), which was up to 16 courses with matched wines; Gold ($160) and Bronze ($125), shorter gastronomic journeys sans the wine pairings.

The Atmosphere experience is now for groups and by appointment only and The Lounge has come to the Frogmore fore. Described as “an elegant, casual space designed as an extension of your living room”, it shares its prime harbourside site in Hunter St with MACq 01 Hotel. If only my own living room could be so swanky and well located.

The chargrilled chicken. Pictures: MATHEW FARRELL

The poached salmon.

Our party of five visits for lunch on a quiet Easter Tuesday, settling in on comfortable velvet wing-backed chairs around a circular table by the window looking out to Kings Pier Marina. A tugboat is tied up outside, with fishing boats, some stacked with craypots, bobbing about in nearby Victoria Dock. The weather is sunny and cloudy in equal measure.

Four impeccably dressed women with highly coiffured hair occupy the neighbouring table, sipping white wine as they chat about grandkids, travel plans and, strangely enough, parking meter money. They pause in unison when their beautifully composed plates land on the table, looking down with reverence before laying manicured hands on knives and forks and tucking in.

After a rather sombre conversation about family matters, we too turn our attention to the menu, ordering chicken liver parfait and charcuterie to share. The latter features four varieties of shaved meats, my favourite a salami spiked with fennel seeds, as well as pickled vegies and a blob of fig gel. Is there any fruit more textually satisfying than a fig?

On the menu Chicken liver parfait $19; charcuterie $36; chargrilled breast of chicken with parsnip puree, asparagus, fondant potato $31; 40 degrees poached salmon with potato salad, mini prawn omelet, salmon roe, egg SSU, miso, iced riesling and avruga caviar dressing $31; chocolate and Kahlua mousse with aero chocolate, crispy brittle shards and caramelised white chocolate ice-cream $19; express lunch, includes one shared plate, two small dishes and a glass of wine or beer for $49.

But it is the larger lunch dishes that really shine. I dine on the chargrilled chicken, which is served on an earthenware plate dotted with edible flowers. Bearing crisscross marks from the grill, the chicken is nestled on a creamy pillow of pureed parsnip and flanked by asparagus spears, perfectly round fondant potatoes and a Dijon mustard sauce. Strips of carrot, crispy kale and a light dusting of green pea powder complete the dish.

Two of our party opt for a cold dish – the poached salmon. Perched on avocado cream, the fish is interspersed with two small towers of potato salad — one topped with a quail egg sunny side up and the other with a delicate round of prawn omelet. Edible flowers and leaves really pop against the white oval plate. The youngest member at our table, a law student with a taste for the good life, takes a picture to post on Instagram while another remarks that it looks “too good to eat”. But he eats it anyway.

The litigious one and I share a dessert — rich chocolate and Kahlua mousse with aero chocolate, salty caramelised white chocolate ice-cream and orange cream, before I must turn my thoughts to returning to work after a most pleasant interlude that’s spanned more than two hours. When back at my desk I add ‘becoming a lady who lunches leisurely more regularly’ to my to-do list.

The chocolate and Kahlua mousse dessert. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL