High-end Hobart restaurant Landscape perfects the art of dining

Housed in Henry Jones’ former jam factory on Hobart’s waterfront, Landscape is one of the city’s best restaurants, and it well and truly lives up to its reputation for blending unpretentious luxury with finely honed hospitality, says TasWeekend food writer Alix Davis

Landscape’s 30 days dry-aged, Cape Grim grass-fed sirloin steak on the bone, duck-fat pink eyes with garlic and rosemary, house salad, baby spinach, radicchio and pickled fennel, wood-fired broccolini, almonds and pecorino with Bearnaise sauce. Picture: Mireille Merlet

LANDSCAPE

25 Hunter St, Hobart

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday from 5pm

ON THE MENU

Char-grilled octopus, $26; rice-crusted calamari, $24; spanner crab on brioche toast, $28; sirloin on the bone, $56; wagyu eye fillet ($90); wood-fired broccolini, $11; brussels sprouts, $11; duck fat pink eyes, $9; and coconut sorbet with rhubarb, $15.

Landscape restaurant manager David Newman next to one of celebrated Colonial artist John Glover’s classic Tasmanian landscape paintings. Picture: Mireille Merlet

There is a town in central France called Thiers. It is not blessed with an awe-inspiring cathedral, picturesque architecture or an impressive fortress. However, those for whom fine food is a calling know Thiers as the home of the world’s finest cutlery – a town of master blacksmiths who have been sharpening their knife-making skills for more than 700 years. They craft pocket knives, chef’s knives and table knives and, as I slice into a perfectly seared sirloin with a horn-handled Le Thiers steak knife while seated in a sandstone-walled dining room, I can feel history, expertise and fine produce colliding.

Landscape’s 30 days dry-aged, Cape Grim grass-fed sirloin steak on the bone, duck-fat pink eyes with garlic and rosemary, house salad, baby spinach, radicchio and pickled fennel, wood-fired broccolini, almonds and pecorino with Bearnaise sauce. Picture: Mireille Merlet

Housed in Henry Jones’ former jam factory on Hobart’s waterfront, Landscape is one of the city’s best restaurants, blending unpretentious luxury with finely honed hospitality. The dining room is busy but quiet enough for intimate conversation, while the staff move with well-orchestrated professionalism as a custom composition by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra provides the aural backdrop. Aged timber beams and roughly hewn sandstone walls contrast with the impressive collection of colonial artist John Glover’s landscapes and past winners of the Glover Prize that line the room. A successful artist and contemporary of Turner and Constable, Glover migrated to Tasmania in 1831 at the age of 64 and is known as the father of Australian landscape painting.

Landscape’s spanner crab on brioche toast with shellfish butter, pickled daikon and roe. Picture: Mireille Merlet

While art does feed the soul we are here for the food, and our entrees do not disappoint. Chargrilled baby octopus from Stanley ($26) is served in bite-sized pieces over a sweet potato puree with crunchy chickpeas and a spicy harissa sauce. The octopus is firm and flavourful, with a hint of char. Rice-crusted southern calamari ($24) is delicate with a lovely light coating. The yuzu aioli is pleasantly citrusy, with saved pickled ginger and charred spring onions. We gild the lily slightly by ordering a third entree of spanner crab ($28) on a slice of slightly sweet toasted brioche with a seafood butter. The shredded crabmeat is soft and sweet and contrasts nicely with the crunch of the toast.

Landscape’s char-grilled Stanley octopus, sweet potato, chickpea and harissa. Picture : Mireille Merlet

Restaurant manager David Newman is happy to answer any questions about the menu and advise on the best cut of steak to choose depending on how you like it cooked. He’s also on hand to recommend a wine from the extensive list that includes Tasmanian, Old and New World wines. A commitment to fine wine is also evident in the kitchen, where offcuts from sherry, bourbon and port barrels (imported from Europe and the US and used to make barrels for Tasmanian wineries by a local cooper) stoke the coals of the asado grill. Vegetables, as well as proteins, are seared over the coals and the fragrant smoke is intoxicating.

Landscape’s Robbins Island, grass-fed, wagyu eye fillet served with grilled baby gem lettuce. Picture: Mireille Merlet

My Cape Grim sirloin steak ($56) is served on the bone with a side of pepperberry cognac sauce and the deft hand of the grill chef has rendered it charred and medium rare. My husband’s Robbins Island wagyu eye fillet ($90) is as tender as butter and perfectly cooked to medium. Sides have also been touched by fire and smoke. Regular readers will know my love

The classy, stylish interior of Landscape Restaurant and Grill at the Henry Jones Art Hotel. Picture: Matt Thompson

for brussels sprouts and these are some of the best I’ve eaten – lightly charred and tossed with chilli, pancetta and parmesan ($11). If my steak wasn’t so good, I’d happily have had a meal of nothing but these. Broccolini tumbled with pecorino and sliced almonds ($11) is equally delicious. While the focus is on steaks at Landscape, there are plenty of choices for non-steak lovers, with local fish, lamb and pork as well as house-made gnocchi. The sides are also excellent vegetarian options.

Landscape’s creme caramel and coconut sorbet, roasted rhubarb and meringue. Picture: Mireille Merlet

Pre-Covid, Landscape was usually booked out months in advance by interstate and overseas visitors. In recent times, says Newman, “we’ve been welcoming more locals, which has been fantastic. We love supporting local producers as well as guests and we want everyone to feel comfortable here.”

While some of the diners tonight are Hobartians celebrating a significant birthday or anniversary, others are interstate visitors, or locals for whom the restaurant has become a regular experience. For those guests, there is a cabinet at the front door containing personally engraved Le Thiers steak knives that are for their exclusive use whenever they visit.

The cabinet containing the personally engraved Le Thiers steak knives, which are available for Landscape’s most regular diners’ exclusive use. Picture: Mireille Merlet

After a wander through the space to admire the art, dessert beckons and we share a coconut sorbet with meringue and a rhubarb compote ($15). The slightly tart ruby-hued rhubarb has some bite to it and is offset by the creamy sorbet and shards of crisp meringue. It’s a palate-cleansing finish to a truly enjoyable meal. Every element of the evening – from cutlery to soundscape, to, of course, the food – is synchronised perfectly to create an experience that would render any occasion special.