Hearth Cafe and Restaurant — Restaurant in Hobart

One of the most deeply disappointing meals I've shared in a long time. The reviews looked good, the website showed small main portions of tasty treats. Given we had looked online first we knew the main portions weren't huge so we decided to grab a couple of entree's to start. At around $8-10 for an Entree and mid $30's for a main this seemed reasonable enough, a garlic flat bread and some potato wedges were ordered and the servings that came were huge. Cutlery and plates came out for the entree's around 7 minutes after they were served, we also received a free 'look' from the waiter because we'd been using our fingers for the finger food entree's. It must be finger food because there was no cutlery or plates. By the time we'd finished our $18 worth of entree's we were nearly full, the $70 worth of mains would be a struggle.

We need not have worried though, the mains arrived shortly after and were tiny, tiny and bland. My dish, a slow cooked pork belly with parsnip puree, wilted spinach and rhubarb I think it was. The pork belly meat was tender but underwhelming and it had been server upside down with the crackling laying in a pool of parsnip puree, the result, soggy chewy pigskin. A good salty crunchy crackling makes or breaks a piece of pork belly, turning it upside down with the crackling at the bottom going soggy should be a federal crime. Pork is an earthy flavour as is spinach and parsnip, they all need salt and some acid to wake them up and make a dish sing, this was left to a teaspoon of rhubarb. All in all, a good combination of ingredients put together badly with little care or attention. Our other main was a beef short rib, one of the best and hardiest cuts around, it's nearly impossible to screw up. Whilst the beef itself was cooked well enough, like the pork, the dish was let down by it's assembly. Rather than a thick lush glaze or rich sauce, the beef came with a thin watery broth that had so much vinegar in it that the dish was ruined.

It's almost like the chef was annoyed at the world, cooking the protein well and then deliberately making the customer suffer by actively sabotaging the assembly.

our $18 entee's without cutlery were the best bits...

Went in last night for a farewell dinner, well, well, well this place needs to bid Hobart farewell! We were there at 7pm, when we arrived there was 1 other table we had to wait 20 minutes to be seated. After we sat down we had to request water for the table, we then ordered some wine and were told that the waitress would return in “just a minute” 25 minutes later we are still waiting to order meals. We ordered the piri piri chicken with duck fat ‘potatoes’ I stress potatoes as that is what the menu reads - what we received was 2 tiny pieces of chicken, 3 spinach leaves and 1 POTATO. We also ordered the risotto which came with hazelnuts, the hazelnuts were no where to be found and had been replaced with petitas, the waitress informed us that they had sold out of hazelnuts- this would become all the more ridiculous later in the evening. We also had the gnocchi which was very uneventful. When we finally got the waitresses attention again we attempted to order another bottle of wine, there are 4 red wines on their menu and low and behold 3 out of 4 we sold out. A place that is not even busy sold out of 3/4 of the wines on offer. We had a chat to the waitress after our meals as she steered clear of our table throughout the evening and hid in the kitchen both our table and the one other in the restaurant had to go to the kitchen to get her attention. After we got her attention in the end we notified her of our subpar experience to which we were granted with a $3 discount. $3 off a $168 table? That was the icing on the cake! That is beyond insulting, no I am not in search of a free meal but as a general rule offer 10% when you cannot deliver what you advertise. Rest assured I will never return to Hearth again, and as a Hobart local who often eats out this has been my worst experience in Hobart thus far. Steer clear if you can (as most already have considering it...

We popped by for dinner after the reviews promised a cosy atmosphere and delicious gluten free pizza. To say this place did not disappoint is an understatement!

The fire was going and the vibe of this place is so inviting and relaxing. The owner Jay, I believe, is an absolute legend. So friendly, so accommodating and made us feel so welcome.

My partner and I shared 2 gluten free pizzas, and both were sensational. The bases are handmade to order, on site and are probably the best I've ever had.

We didn't get the chance to try anything else but we will definitely be back to work out way through the menu.

If you're reading this because you're thinking about going- this is your sign to just go! You will not be...