Du Cane
First stop for a fabulous experience is the Du Cane Brewery and Dining Hall. Artisanal beers are experimental and fresh with raspberry beer, while not a favourite, certainly an experience. And it is this ‘have a go’ attitude that sets it apart with the owners always looking to fresh local ingredients for inspiration. Winning awards everywhere, the best result so far is arguably the German style Peak Pils from Du Dane described as ‘a pale straw colour, with slight aromas and flavours of malty sweetness and a light hop bitterness in body and finish’. Perfect for a mountain summit celebration.
The pizza is phenomenally good with fresh mozzarella and that slight bitter chewiness of a really good crust. The toppings are split into red or white with options for extra deliciousness, with The Earth, Funghi and The Forest on the white side and In Tents, Good Game and All The Goods in the red camp. The names make reference to Du Cane’s as an ex camping store, which the fabulous design runs with.
Not wanting an ordinary pizza place the design by Cumulus Studio incorporates all the tack of the original camping store including tent fabrics used as wall coverings. Park bench style seating, large wall maps and a kids’ climbing wall with beanbags and Astro-turf make this one of the most popular spots in Launceston and for good reason. It’s also the location for the local movie club and is pretty well always busy.
Cradle Mountain
If you are in Launceston, you are either on your way to, or just coming back from a hike or drive to Cradle Mountain. It is truly spectacular and can change from sun lit to cloud shrouded in the blink of an eye. It is however, always beautiful and with a gentle walk around the shore of Dove Lake, a great way to experience this magnificent part of Australia. The drive to the mountain is bucolic in the extreme with rolling green hills giving way to lush Australian bush that is as changeable as the mountain.
The Cradle Mountain Visitors Centre by Cumulus is a magnificent piece of architecture that pairs well with the Dove Lake Viewing Shelter, also by Cumulus. The Visitors Centre is informative and where you will find a Ranger, and need to register if you are hiking into the national park. Electric barbeques and picnic shelters are available, and this is where you leave your car before transferring to the Dove Lake shuttle bus.
The Dove Lake Viewing Shelter is another magnificent piece of architecture and where you will get the best views of Cradle Mountain is the weather is inclement. Designed to orchestrate the arrival experience of Dove Lake, the brutalist form is completely at home in the harsh mountainous landscape.
Stillwater Restaurant and Seven Rooms
The former mill, now boutique accommodation and restaurant, also by Cumulus, sits gently on the edge of the Cataract Gorge overlooking kanamaluka / the Tamar River with misty watery views from each of the seven rooms. Sage and grey velvet, ancient timbers and the still visible bones of the former 180 year old mill, make this one of the most unique and interesting places to stay at this calibre of luxury. Because, luxurious it is, though with absolutely nothing stuffy about it.
Designed to include the incredible cabinetry by Simon Anchor the aesthetic language is contemporary residential with possibly the hippest bathrooms in the district. Archer’s cabinets are a contemporary take on the wunderkammer with their streamlined closed expression of smooth timber completely changing to reveal a mirror-lined, discreetly lit, bar with drawers, fridge and a shelf full of goodies. It is also likely to contain some fabulous jam and butter for the early morning delivery of Bread & Butter croissants that will be hanging on the back of your door.
As with much of Tasmania, local produce is the foundational point for any restaurant, and Stillwater carries this tradition with great seafood and local produce. State regulations are keeping Tasmania as pure as possible with everything free range, with no hormones, genetic modification or any other nasty. Add to that the cleanest water in the world and you have the best produce anywhere.
At Stillwater, all this loveliness is touched by an Asian influence realised with élan and subtle shifts in the palette that are nuanced and refined with yuzu ponsu, wasabi oil and such adding, rather than detracting, from the fresh produce.
The wine room is arguably the best dining room in Launceston and if you have a group it is the one to book. It is also a chance to be immersed in a showcase of Tasmanian wines, and in particular, those from the Tamar Valley.
Bread & Butter
The aforementioned croissants are possibly the best croissants in Australia and are unabashedly French in their abundance of buttery goodness (100% cultured butter of course). So good in fact that a trip to Bread & Butter is almost mandatory for a visit to Launceston. Its larger than it looks with raw-ish rooms and simple furniture accommodating a constant stream if devotees. There are cakes (delicious), but pastry is the main game here with rich pies and sausage rolls, Danishes, pain au chocolate, pain aux raisin and the almond or plain croissants astoundingly good. Have two.
Design Tasmania
Housed in a repurposed colonial style building, Design Tasmania is the place to go for contemporary Tasmanian design. Effectively arranged as three parts, the left hall houses the Design Tasmania collection with great pieces from Brody Neill, Simon Ancher and Scott Van Tuil among many others. The main hall is a constantly changing exhibition space that is currently showing South Australian light artist Jessica Loughlin: Of Light. The touring exhibition from the Jam Factory will be on show until 12 January 2025 with talks and programs timed throughout the exhibition.
The Design Tasmania store is that rare find in a craft store, a well curated offering. Each piece is carefully selected, quality controlled and for the most part Tasmanian. With an online store they are well versed in shipping, so don’t be put off by size if a really great chair takes your heart. That said, the ceramics in particular are always exceptional.
