Elizabeth St Food + Wine

The North Hobart sister of Castray Food + Wine, Elizabeth St presides at the lower end of the «entertainment precinct» section of the street. Open seven days for breakfast and lunch, with a fancy menu boasting a wine suggestion for (almost) every meal (I don’t think there’s one for the bread – but there IS one for the choc chip biscuit sandwich dessert option).
Kimberly nailed it with her review though… the idea’s a little better than the reality, sadly. I’ve been a couple of times now to sit down and eat, and it feels a little bit like an upmarket cafeteria with the long bench tables and polished floor and stark lighting. I do love the big red typeface attack at the end of the space, and the big map of Tassie chalkboard covered in scribbles showing where everything in the store is from, but I don’t love paying an extra three dollars for bread with my soup, and I don’t love feeling kinda overlooked, and I just don’t really dig the vibe in the way I really, really WANT to dig the vibe.
Because I so very want to dig your vibe, EStF+W. I do.
I think I may stick to the market side of this place for the time being, when I’m feeling like treating myself because it’s still definitely upper-​end grocery as far as my wallet’s concerned. But I’ll keep an eye on the menu, and I’ll keep a wish in my heart.

I love the idea of this place; part café, part market sourced with fresh, local, sustainable fruit/​veg/​meat/​oils/​cheese/​and wines.
I read the soup du jour upon walking in, and made up my mind before I sat down. When I ordered, the server said he would check to see if there was any left (ie: it was yesterday’s soup, but they hadn’t updated the board). I was about to change my order, as I’d prefer not to have ‘cooler soup’ but he went off and placed the order anyways. The cauliflower soup was so bland and watery, I had to add about a tsp of seasoning. It would have been fabulous if it came with a bit of crusty bread. Sadly, no…
The server suggested a wine, which was really nice, and I ordered a pear and apple tart for dessert, which was ridiculous. The caramel sauce will forever be on my mind…
I would have ordered a coffee, but no one came around, so I left.
It ended up being more money than I thought it was worth overall, but perhaps the other soups are nicer?
Also the crowd was a bit uppity. Note your average hipster café.