Two Days To Eat & Drink Your Way Through Launceston
Two days in Launceston are all it takes to see why Tasmania’s northern hub is a worthy recipient of UNESCO’s City of Gastronomy recognition.
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Since the Bridgewater Bridge reopened in June this year, the commute from Hobart to Launceston has never felt easier. Once a road trip reserved exclusively for unavoidable work purposes, the two-hour jaunt from the Tasmanian capital to its northern counterpart has found new appeal in its promise to deliver on some of the state’s best eats and drinks.
Hobartian local with a weekend to spare? Pack your elastic-waisted pants and hit the highway for two days of northern indulgence. Tasmanian tourist with limited time to tour the island? Hire a car from Tasmanian-owned Drive, and set aside just 36 hours to see why Launnie is Lutruwita’s new culinary hotspot.
From a craft brewery in an old camping goods store to Korean fried chicken in a Victorian terrace - and plenty in between - here’s a (non-exhaustive) hit list for your next one-night, gourmet-leaning Launceston itinerary.
Uncle Chicken
UNCLE CHICKEN
“It’s very simple: to provide the best fried chicken in Tasmania,” says Youngho Son of his vision as co-owner and chef at Uncle Chicken. And, if the scores of locals piling through the doors to get their hands on his seven-years-in-the-making (and counting) recipe are anything to go by, it’s a vision well and truly realised.
Youngho and wife and co-owner Hana Yu first came to Tasmania from Korea on a working holiday visa in 2013. One decade - and countless sessions of measuring, testing, and adjusting recipes - later, they launched Uncle Chicken as a travelling food van, more recently finding their feet in a brick-and-mortar shopfront on Launceston’s historic Brisbane Street.
“Growing up, we always ate fried chicken with our family on the weekends, as well as on birthdays and any kind of gathering with friends,” says Hana. “It was something that we really missed about home, so we decided to make it ourselves and share it with others.”
Boneless double-fried chicken is served by the basket-load, and laced with your choice of sauce, including traditional Korean yangnyeom in varying levels of heat. Golden-crusted and almost impossibly juicy, the same chicken is hero-ed in the rice bowl, whose other trimmings change seasonally, but regularly feature pungent house-made kimchi and slippery, chewy japchae.
Our tip: if the chicken sandwich is on special, run—don’t walk. Crispy chicken, cheddar, slaw, iceberg, mayo and yangnyeom between fluffy slices of house-baked milk loaf - a certain moustach-ed colonel has got nothing on this.
28 Brisbane Street, Launceston
Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-7pm
Du Cane Brewery & Dining Hall
DU CANE BREWERY & DINING HALL
When it opened in 2022, Du Cane Brewery & Dining Hall became an almost overnight local institution - and it hasn’t quit since. In the vast former home of Allgoods camping supplies store on Elizabeth Street, the venue can accommodate up to 400 visitors, but manages to feel communal rather than crowded.
“Creating a community space was always front of mind - our vision was for the venue to be a refuge for the like-minded, and a shelter from the outside world,” says owner Sam Reid.
At the bar, eight taps showcase Launnie local Will Horan’s Du Cane beer range, highlights of which include the stone fruit-noted Hut To Hut Walk Pale, and the dark chocolatey Curled Up Copperhead Dark Lager.
Perhaps surprisingly for a venue born from brewing the cold stuff, Du Cane’s food menu has amassed just as strong a fan base as its beverages. At the heart of the kitchen, an enormous woodfired oven churns out dozens of pizzas at a rate that belies the at least 24 (and up to 48) hours dedicated to the making, proofing and rising of their deliciously chewy bases. As for toppings, cop the umami smack of the Funghi (local mushrooms, truffle and mozzarella), or give your inner carnivore something different to talk about with the Good-Game (wallaby salami, oregano, mozzarella and parmesan).
“We’ve had some expert pizzaiolos work with us, and have perfected our pizzas by sticking true to the formula,” Sam says. “We proudly believe in less is more, and work with the finest quality ingredients, many of which you can find for yourself at Launceston’s Harvest Market on a Saturday morning.”
60-64 Elizabeth Street, Launceston
Sunday-Wednesday, midday-8pm
Thursday, midday-9pm
Friday-Saturday, midday-10pm
Food For Dudes (image: Instagram)
FOOD FOR DUDES
On an otherwise unassuming block on the main drag in South Launceston, some of Launnie’s best food trucks come together around a fire pit, string lights and party beats. For unadulterated indulgence, join the line at Food For Dudes (and Dudettes), where an always-on burger menu is rivalled only by weekly specials that might feature anything from hot honey-doused Nashville fried chicken to waffle fries to Sizzler cheese toast (nostalgia, anyone?) … or all three at once if Hot Joe's Box is on.
While co-owner Ben Chapman got a start in the world of fast food at his local McDonalds as a teenager, his foray into business ownership has levelled up the burger game - big time.
“Our menu perfectly captures my love for the kind of hearty, meaty food that makes you ignore the calorie count,” he says. “We love to keep up-to-date with what’s new and exciting in the culinary takeout world, and get a lot of inspiration online, and from our team and customers.”
Maintain your modesty with the original Cheeseburger - a just-seared beef patty, American cheese, pickles, onion, mustard mayo and tomato sauce - or get the paper napkins at the ready for the ultimate cheat meal: the Dirty Double is loaded with beef, fried chicken and a potato cake, along with classic burger trimmings.
The 25-minute walk back into Launceston CBD suddenly doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.
246 Wellington St, South Launceston
Wednesday-Sunday, 11am-8pm
REGGIE
Any experience of Brisbane Street’s Reggie bar is as dependent on the day of the week and time of day that you visit as it is on the inclinations that you bring. Offering up a fun diner-style menu, 70s-inspired cocktails, weekly trivia (Wednesdays), and a late-night club vibe, there’s something for every appetite, both literal and metaphorical.
“Before Reggie, there wasn’t a venue in Launnie where you could enjoy a quality dinner, then seamlessly transition into a night of dancing,” says co-owner Luke Tucker. “We wanted to bring together our passion for modern cocktail bars, hospitality and a nightlife atmosphere - Reggie is the product.”
If you’re still peckish after an afternoon of grazing, slide into a booth with friends and opt for share plates loaded with wings, haloumi fries, salt and pepper calamari, and crumbed mushrooms. Or embrace your foodie tour manifesto and smash a burger - you’ll land one with fries and a pot of beer for just $15 on Thursdays. Hit your solids limit? Lean into libations - the Calvin Klein is Reggie’s take on a peach negroni, with a Tasmanian Hellfire gin twist.
And, if you were clever enough to plan your one night in Launceston for a Saturday, this is where you’ll have the best chance at dancing off the day’s intake - no matter your demographic.
“On Saturdays, we shift gears into a late-night destination, with the energy of the bar transforming into a full club experience,” says Luke. “We’ve taken our inspiration from the legendary Studio 54 - it’s nostalgic for older generations, while giving younger crowds a retro, but fresh and stylish edge.”
63 Brisbane Street, Launceston
Wednesday-Saturday, 12pm-late
Tatler Lane by Sweetbrew
TATLER LANE BY SWEETBREW
When the OG Sweetbrew opened its tiny hole in the wall espresso bar on George Street in 2014, specialty coffee was a reasonably foreign concept to its local Launceston community. These days, an excellent cup of joe is as much a part of Launceston life as Cataract Gorge and the City Park monkeys - and much of the credit must go to the pioneering vision of Sweetbrew, which has now expanded to incorporate vast new digs on Citimiere Street, a midlands commute must-stop, and Tatler Lane - an architecturally reclaimed space down an inner-city laneway, roasting the collective’s own premium coffee, and serving up an all-day brunch menu.
Naturally, the coffee is exceptional, and you’ll be hard-pressed to beat a Tatler Lane latte anywhere but at one of its sibling venues, but consider venturing outside of your standard order - there’s a V60 pourover, 18-hour single origin cold brew, and a Tonic Espresso to extend your caffeine palate. Hot chocolate is also a serious business, harnessing the velvety goodness of Melbourne’s Ratio Cocoa Roasters in sweet 40% and rich 60% blends.
To eat? Even the dishes most guilty of breakfast menu repeat offender-ism get a serious glow-up here. A generous bowl of housemade granola is loaded with maple syrup-toasted nuts, seeds and puffed grains, and arrives at the table looking pretty as a picture with dried berries, silky vanilla yoghurt and fresh seasonal fruits. The savoury-inclined face a toss-up between (amongst other options) a breakfast butty decked out with double-fried egg, panko-crumbed eggplant, potato rosti bites, crispy jalapeno and smokey aioli, or smashed avocado on sourdough from local bakery Sweet Wheat, with cashew dukkha, capsicum pesto and Westhaven feta.
Oh, and if you’re about on a Friday or Saturday evening (and still hungry), step into Tatlers Bar: same venue, dimmer lights, and a sexier atmosphere - and a cocktail menu to match.
5/74-82 St John St, Launceston
Monday-Friday, 7:30am-2:30pm (and 5:30pm-9:30pm on Fridays)
Saturday-Sunday, 7:30am-2pm (and 5:30pm-9:30pm on Saturdays)
LeKoh
LEKOH
For Thai-born Ikq Ouemphancharoen and Taiwan-born Jeremy Lee, a move to Tasmania represented the opportunity to benefit from its growing food scene and tight-knit community. Perhaps the luckiest beneficiaries of the move, though, are not Ikq and Jeremy themselves, but the Launceston locals who get to enjoy the fruits of their labour at their newish George Street café, LeKoh.
An Insta-worthy drinks list includes highlights like a honeycomb latte - the honeycomb to beverage ratio of which seems almost criminally generous - and a black sesame latte, crafted with a housemade sesame paste. They’re the ideal entrée to a brunch and lunch menu that eschews the usual suspects, instead taking inspiration from Ikq and Jeremy’s own backgrounds and experiences.
“Our menu is inspired by a mix of cultures, heritage, travels and flavours that we grew up with, blended with local Tasmanian produce,” says Ikq. “We like to keep things playful, balancing comfort with curiosity, so you’ll see familiar dishes with unexpected twists.”
Exhibit A: a pancake, but not the kind that comes stacked with maple syrup and berries. At LeKoh, it’s a savoury Taiwanese iteration, scattered with spring onions, and rolled around ham, egg and cheese, or glass noodles and a rainbow of seasonal vegetables.
Meanwhile, the sando savant is well and truly looked after, with similarly experimental fillings including slow-cooked beef cheek, cheese and chimichurri on sourdough (the Cheeky Melt), a vego-friendly potato rosti, romesco, caramelised onion and olive number (the Romesco Disco), and a mortadella and stracciatella-stuffed focaccia - the fluffy outsides of which are baked fresh daily using a four-year-old sourdough starter.
The TL;DR? You can’t go wrong with a menu this good, so order up. But, for the love of all that is sacred, please make sure to leave room for something from THAT sweets cabinet.
55 George Street, Launceston
Tuesday-Friday, 6am-2:30pm
Saturday, 9am-2:30pm
Bread + Butter
BREAD + BUTTER
You know you’re onto something good when a Launceston-born bakery opens its latest location in Los Angeles, and Bread + Butter is undeniably onto something very good. Long beloved in Tassie for its unabashedly heavy-handed use of house-cultured butter, the Bread + Butter franchise now encompasses three Launceston locations, and a recently-opened Santa Monica small-batch bakery.
Visit the Elizabeth Street flagship store for a full breakfast and lunch menu that includes house-made granola and yoghurt, sardines on toast, and a ficelle with mustard pickle and salami - and butter, of course - along with a hotbox selection of pies and sausage rolls, and plenty of pastries to boot.
At the main bakery on George Street, loaves of sourdough and experimental bread-based bites are the stars of the show, while the bakeshop - just three minutes’ walk around the corner - slings old-school favourites. Think glazed donuts, eclairs, choc-chip cookies and Saturday-only cinnamon buns, alongside Bread + Butter mainstays like big-as-your-head morning buns and painstakingly laminated patisserie.
“Our bakers start the lamination process in the early hours of every morning, to create the iconic layers of pastry in our croissants,” says Venue Manager and Head of Coffee Josh Boutcher. “We use the leftover croissants as the base for our walnut croissants, and the offcuts from the croissant pastry to make our cardamom pretzels. Both practices are part of our commitment to minimising wastage and reducing our overall environmental impact.”
Just be sure to arrive early if you want to snag one - they’re as limited in number as they are hot favourites amongst local regulars.
Bread + Butter
70 Elizabeth Street, Launceston
Monday-Saturday, 7am-2pm
Sunday and public holidays, 7am-1pm
Bread + Butter Bakery
20 George Street, Launceston
Monday-Saturday, 7am-2pm
Sunday and public holidays, 7am-1pm
Bread + Butter Bakeshop
65 Cimitiere Street, Launceston
Monday-Saturday, 7am-2pm
Hotel Verge
HOTEL VERGE
As for where to lay your head between supping? It doesn’t get much more comfortably appointed and centrally located than Hotel Verge. Designed by local architects Cumulus Studio and showcasing some of Tassie’s best artisans from brickwork to beds, the boutique hotel offers complimentary parking, Wi-Fi, its own on-site food and beverage offerings, and a fully-equipped gym - if working off your last meal is the only way you’ll make room for the next.
50 Tamar Street, Launceston
This feature was published in partnership with Drive Car Hire, with thanks to all of the venues listed for their generous hospitality.
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