Hobart’s exclusive rooftop eatery, Seven and a Half, delivers

A former garagiste chef’s take on Tokyo private dining has just popped up at what was formerly the Avalon City Retreat and the offerings are mouth-wateringly delicious. MENU + A LOOK INSIDE >>

SEVEN AND A HALF

7/152 Macquarie St, Hobart

Opening hours: Sunday lunch, Bookings essential

ON THE MENU

Angasi oysters with quince vinegar; rooster broth with root vegetables and a pullet’s egg; calamari in a tomato sauce; 30-day dry-aged rib eye with lion’s mane mushrooms; blood orange sorbet with aged mascarpone.

* These dishes are just a selection of a set menu, which is priced at $260 for food and drinks.

The amazing view of the sunrise and Hobart waterfront from Luke Burgess’s new eatery Seven and a Half. Picture: Luke Burgess

Step inside an anonymous office building and take the lift to the seventh floor. Walk up a flight of stairs, past a medical office, an unmarked door and a gargantuan timber bust of Pablo Picasso. Make your way through a timber-slatted corridor, then into a rooftop courtyard and suddenly, a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass spreads Hobart at your feet. Welcome to Seven and a Half, chef Luke Burgess’s take on a Tokyo private dining club that’s just popped up for 12 months at what was formerly Avalon City Retreat. Not so much a restaurant as an intimate dining experience, Burgess serves just 10 people at each sitting and tells us to make ourselves at home in the modern rooftop eyrie. There’s a stack of vinyl by the record player, a comfy sunbed in the courtyard and an air of conviviality that soon has strangers chatting across the table.

Former Garagiste chef Luke Burgess has just opened his take on a Tokyo private dining club – Seven and a Half – in Hobart’s pod in the sky. Photo: Bob Barker

Lunch is a set menu ($260 including drinks) and no written menu is provided, so each course is a surprise as it arrives. The dishes vary each week depending on the availability of produce and Burgess’s mood. “The food is very much a reflection of the idea of taking your time,” he says. “It’s a leisurely way of engaging with the food – some of it is traditional, some more modern. It’s also based on working with suppliers I’ve been dealing with for a long time. I like seeing how their products have changed and evolved.”

We begin with plump Angasi oysters, served on the shell and drizzled with a little quince vinegar. They’re briny, with a hint of tangy sweetness from the vinegar and pair perfectly with the sake that’s placed on the table. Wines are matched to each course and include a selection from France and Tasmania, with a comprehensive introduction to each from Burgess – music to any oenophile’s ears (and palate).

The briny, Angasi oysters, topped with tangy, sweet quince vinegar pairs perfectly with the sake that’s placed on the table; at Luke Burgess's Seven and a Half pop-up. Picture: Arwen Genge

Bay trumpeter is served sashimi-style in a spherical container and we’re encouraged to help ourselves to chunks of turnip that have been fermented in beetroot – their vivid hue and crisp bite both punctuate the table.

As much attention has been paid to the table setting as the food, with delicate water glasses imported from Japan and custom-made earthenware dishes from Ian Clare’s studio at Cygnet.

The rooster broth, with kohlrabi and hemp. Picture: Arwen Genge

It all adds up to creating an occasion that is both relaxed and sophisticated. While the table seats 10, you can book for a couple and on the day we attended there was a group of four as well as two couples from interstate (much to the locals’ excitement!). “From my perspective, it’s great that people have trust in me,” says Burgess, who’s using the venture as a road test for some future plans as well as creating Tasmania-based work for himself. “It’s like, ‘here’s my money, let’s see what happens’. There’s an element of familiarity as well as the unknown. It really feels energising. It doesn’t feel like work and I’m really, really enjoying it.”

The Calamari Alla Romana, is complemented with rich tomato sauce, and a flurry of parmesan. Picture: Arwen Genge

The hibachi (a traditional Japanese charcoal grill) set up in the courtyard is used to grill chunks of blackback salmon that have been marinated in koji and miso for a week, as well as ribbons of abalone braised in a pressure cooker before being threaded on to skewers and charred to finish. Served with a crunchy radish slaw and a Coal River riesling it’s a tasty take on a mollusc that can easily fall flat in the wrong hands.

Last year, Burgess teamed up with Lilly Trewartha for a once-a-week pop-up at Templo and in the next 12 months, he sees Seven and a Half evolving to perhaps include Saturday lunches as well as less elaborate midweek offerings. Reservations open a month in advance and the first release sold out almost immediately.

The blood orange sorbet with aged mascarpone. Picture: Arwen Genge

While there are Japanese elements to much of the menu, I certainly wouldn’t describe it as Japanese food – in fact, my favourite course took inspiration from one of Rome’s most famous dishes, trippa alla romana (tripe in tomato sauce). Burgess has replaced the tripe with calamari and, breaking every cheese-plus-seafood rule, we top the rich tomato sauce with a flurry of parmesan and then wipe the bowls clean with chunks of bread.

The table setting at Luke Burgess's new pop-up Seven and a Half. Picture: Luke Burgess

As the shadows begin to lengthen and the volume of laughter and chat increases, we finish with a palate-cleansing dessert of blood orange sorbet and an aged mascarpone with the texture of dense ice cream. Some guests slip away quietly, while others stay to enjoy Burgess’s hospitality and the bright lights of this wonderful little city as the sun sets.