TasWeekend: Workman works wonders

PEACOCK and Jones is the Federal Group’s revamp of the Timeless Way cafe, part of the Henry Jones complex.

TasWeekend Indulge Review Peacock & Jones

PEACOCK and Jones is the Federal Group’s revamp of the Timeless Way cafe, part of the Henry Jones complex. With exposed rubble and convict-brick walls, original ceiling beams, stout timber uprights and mellow music, the rustic, cellar-like space has the ideal wine bar ambience.

The seating arrangement at Peacock and Jones invites customers to get comfortable and stay a while. Pictures: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

And it serves even better as a restaurant, with an open kitchen along one wall of the elongated space and tables and chairs along the other, from which to watch the chefs at work, as well as a wall of wine and a short passage leading to more tables and chairs in the more open Henry Jones Atrium.

Despite the great space, I’m not sure how it works as a wine bar. There is no bar as such; simply the row of small tables along one wall. But as a restaurant it has a lovely, cosseting atmosphere that makes you want to relax, take your time and eat well. And eat well we did on a midweek evening last week, about a month after its opening.

The chef is Jeff Workman who, after training in Sydney, spent the past three years working with the wonderfully talented Hugh Whitehouse in the kitchens at Saffire. You can see some of Whitehouse’s influence in the style, composition and presentation of Workman’s otherwise original dishes.

We started with some excellent bread, accompanied by a pat of butter topped with leek ash, an unusual ingredient, the purpose of which was lost on me.

This was followed by a deliciously smooth and creamy chicken liver parfait with toasted brioche, the richness of the parfait nicely cut by finely sliced radish and pickles.

Then came what the menu listed simply as “raw fish, daily garnishes”, which turned out to be a beautifully presented mix of nori-cured salmon and ripe avocado on a lovely Japanese-inspired, sauce-like amalgam of toasted nori, rice wine vinegar and mirin.

Next were some crisp and creamy croquette-like salted ling fritters with radicchio and an unusual but tasty anchovy emulsion.

The “raw fish, daily garnishes” meal.

Also unusual but excellent was Workman’s take on steak tartare with organic egg yolk and a wonderfully thin, crisp potato and native pepperberry wafer, which also served as an edible spoon.

The restaurant’s salted ling fritters with radicchio.

Less convincing was a Huon Valley sirloin on the bone, showing that even with expert grilling, a chef can’t do much with inferior raw material. This came with radicchio, braised leek and delicious charred onions not, to my mind, helped by a melt of smoked eel butter.

Like the menu’s wide use of local ingredients, the extensive and slightly expensive wine list is a knowledgeable selection of mainly Tasmanian wines with a few mainland, French, Spanish and Italian interlopers, with a good range of 20 available by the glass. We chose a 2014 Tempranillo from Spain at $59.

For dessert, there’s a small choice ranging from macaron to ice-cream, strawberries and cream and gingerbread brulee.

Oysters $3.50; small dishes $10-$20; sirloin $37; desserts $4-$15

PEACOCK AND JONES RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR: 33 Hunter Street, Hobart. Licensed. Open daily noon to 10pm. 1800 375 692