Just Add Salt – Hobart’s Best Fish and Chips Revealed

Hobart might have a reputation for fine dining but it still dishes up a first-class dinner wrapped in paper. Here’s our pick for the top six fish and chips joints in town.

Tasmanian Gourmet Seafoods

Nothing frozen; all fresh. The raison d’etre of this shop in the shadow of Hobart Airport helped it take out the people’s choice at the 2017 National Seafood Awards and it’s easy to see why. The menu features mostly Tasmanian seafood, fried in rice bran oil changed daily and with either a crunchy batter or panko crumb. It’s topnotch produce all the way, from lemon-pepper squid to garlic prawn skewers but they’re not above the requisite dim sim – and you can file its signature battered southern rock lobster under “affordable luxury”.
50 Loop Road, Cambridge; (03) 6248 4086

Mures

It’s a two-speed F&C experience at this seafood specialist on Victoria Dock. Head to the Upper Deck restaurant for an elevated version featuring wild-caught white fish cooked in beer batter or a panko and almond crumb, served with a citrus and fennel salad and chips. Or, stay at water level to order still-excellent fish and chips with the very happy hoi polloi at the more relaxed Lower Deck space.
Victoria Dock, Hobart; (03) 6231 2009

Flippers Cooked Seafood

Constitution Dock is famous as the finish line of the annual Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and for its floating fish and chips shops. Flippers is the pick of the bunch, the choice of fish extending from trevalla to blue grenadier, flathead and flake, although it’s hard to go past the value of a classic fisherman’s basket. Hobart’s answer to Harry’s Café de Wheels in Sydney, all you have to do after taking delivery of your parcel is grab a waterfront bench and dine alfresco.
1 Constitution Wharf, Hobart; (03) 6234 3101

The Fish Bar

It’s a fact enjoyment of fish and chips increases exponentially when you’re sitting on sand and gazing at the ocean, and thus it is at the Fish Bar at Bellerive Beach. With a prime position on the city’s eastern shore, it’s an excellent place to soak up the salty Hobart air in the company of equally salty fried goods.
51 Queen Street, Bellerive; (03) 6244 1074

Fish Frenzy

Can you spot the stretched white umbrellas outside the revitalised historic warehouse near the Maritime Museum of Tasmania? That’s Fish Frenzy, a chippy overlooking the marina and the Hobart fishing fleet when it’s not at sea, and the fish and chips here are good enough to warrant the name. But it’s also worth dipping a buttered bread roll into the smoky seafood chowder, especially on days when a mean southerly is whipping off the water.
Elizabeth Street Pier, Sullivans Cove; (03) 6231 2134

Boardwalk Fish and Chips

Another hot contender for the fish and chip crown in the eastern suburb of Bellerive, Boardwalk pays homage to its waterfront location with a menu of Tassie fish, fried and salted to shattery perfection – and it’s scallops are a winner, too.
2b Cambridge Road, Bellerive; (03) 6281 9244

Top image: Flippers Cooked Seafood