Josef Chromy Wines — Restaurant in Launceston

Just left this place with a hungry and disappointed stomach. Wines - unless you are tasting a wine from 2011 to 2012, then prepare yourself for an investment in a young wine that will need at least another 7-10 years of aging. They specialise in whites and Chardonnay from 2012 which can be bought by a glass is truly delicious for $20 per glass, $50 per carafe or $80 a bottle. Chardonnay from 2017 is way too young and hasn't developed the texture and maturity a good chardonnay has. Their pinot noir is ok, but again it needs aging to get the aroma fully developed. My pallet felt it was too acidic and too young, but to someone who just like red wine, it may be as good as any vintage. Let's move to the restaurant bit now as this was what I've found more disappointing. We kept hearing about this being the best restaurant in Launceston so we settled down for 4 course degustation. Degustation without wines is $75 per person. It started with the beetroot salad which came with pecans, blue cheese, cranberries and blue cheese cream. Now, the blue cheese cream offset the sweetness of the beetroot, but overall, it was at best, an average beetroot salad with a little bit too much beetroot. Second meal was duck with lentils and brussel sprouts. The duck was beautifully cooked and brussel sprouts were delicious, but lentils were bland and too much in otherwise delicious meal which was treated as an entree. Next was eye fillet and slowly cooked beef cheek (yum and yum) with a cold potato salad which had 3 pieces of eggplant. Meat was great and tender and that beef cheek was simply beautiful. It was falling apart. But cold potato salad pretty much brought the memories of high school's canteen and their pre-purchased potato cold salad from Woolworths or Coles or one of the local supermarkets. Apart from some of the baby boomers, I'm yet to meet someone of a younger age who eagerly orders cold potato salad. Now we are at the end of our 4 course bonanza and at this stage I strongly believe that there's nothing bad you can throw at me as a surprise, but chef here goes out on a limb to prove me wrong. I never turned the dessert down, ever. Well, today was the day. Blue cheese parfait with apple and pear. Apple and pear were not a part of frozen parfait to be clear, but rather poured on top of the parfait. The strength of blue cheese easily overpowered the fruit laying around and it should have been served with cheese crackers and not as a sweet dessert. Highly disappointing and very bold of chef to serve blue cheese as a dessert on a 4 course surprise degustation menu considering blue cheese is acquired taste for many. I prefer it on my cheese platter, not in my parfait so it's a no for me. Overall $75 4 course menu per person + carafe of chardonnay from 2012 + a glass of pinot noir + 2 coffees = $220. I'm still hungry considering I left potato salad and dessert on the plate and I got my partner to eat the lentils. One thing that was good was the service. The lady that served us was fantastic and single handedly tried to rescue couple of dishes with a kind word, but has sympathise on the cold potato salad. If you respect and value good wine and you really want to come here, focus on vintage, not recent releases. Food, it all depends on your pallet, but I'd skip chef's 4 meal degustation and pick my own meals as there were some other things worth exploring on the menu like oysters, lamb, fries, chocolate...

We visited Josef Chromy as two families with young kids (1, 4, and 8 years old). The grounds are beautiful and great for kids to explore, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, the overall experience—especially the wine tasting and restaurant—was disappointing.

The wine tasting felt very impersonal. After a short intro, we were left with four glasses and a printed sheet. No real interaction, which made it feel more like a transaction than an experience. It came across as commercial and lacking warmth.

The restaurant was a bigger letdown. Yes, the views are lovely but service was far from what you'd expect from a place calling itself ‘fine dining’. We poured our own wine, had part of our order forgotten, and the food was hit or miss—the cheese board was the highlight.

What really soured the visit was an interaction with the restaurant manager. As we were finishing our wine, our toddler—fresh from a nap—was stretching his legs near the back of the room (well away from other diners or glassware). The manager spoke to us in a harsh, rude tone asking him to be seated. We understand the need for children to be supervised in restaurants, but the delivery was unnecessarily unpleasant. It left us feeling unwelcome and rushed out.

Josef Chromy seems to be trying to present itself as a fine dining destination, but it simply doesn’t deliver on that promise. The service lacks refinement, the experience feels transactional, and the overall atmosphere doesn’t match the standards expected from a venue positioning itself at that level.

We’ve visited wineries around the world, and sadly, Josef Chromy ranks near the bottom for us. Despite the beautiful setting, the overall experience lacked the warmth and quality we’ve come to expect. We’re visiting a few more wineries in Tasmania and hope for a better experience ahead.

If you're just after a quick wine tasting and some scenic photos, this place might be fine. But if you're seeking a warm, high-quality experience with genuine hospitality, this probably isn't it.

For contrast, we dined at Stillwater the night before and had an exceptional experience—amazing food, professional staff who were great with kids, and a true fine dining atmosphere without the pretension. In hindsight, we wish we’d chosen Timbre Kitchen instead, which looked much...

We have been dining at Josef Chromy for 5+ years. It was our go to restaurant for special occasions and entertaining visitors from interstate and overseas. Yesterday was the first time we have dined at the restaurant since the change in management and sadly it will probably be the last. We purchased the let’s do lunch package which we also did with interstate visitors in Oct 2023. There was no comparison between the two visits,(except the increase in price). The wine tasting in Oct 2023 was excellent with one staff member allotted to each table to explain the wines over a 30-45 min period. In Nov 2024 you now are presented with 4 glasses on a piece of paper with explanatory tasting notes. There is now little interaction with any of the cellar door staff and subsequently the tasting room is full of self guided tasters. After the tasting room it was off to the restaurant and the experience continued to disappoint. The waiting staff although very friendly and polite were inexperienced and insufficiently trained. The food was well presented, but the timing of the mains, sides and desserts was unacceptable. The adjacent table’s mains were finished before the salad turned up and then the salad was finished before the next side turned up!! The diners were too nice to complain! I waited over an hour to be served a cheese platter for dessert, unfortunately my paired wine was served almost 30 mins prior and out of principle I didn’t order another. When the bill was paid we commented on the above, no apologies just given the response ‘ we will tell the kitchen ‘ . Finally, the mark up on the wines from cellar door to the restaurant use to be very reasonable, not so now. Josef Chromy use to be an iconic venue that showcased the best of Tasmanian produce and hospitality , sadly this is no...