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Catch of the Day: The Best Seafood Restaurants in Hobart
Enjoy the freshest fare at some of the best seafood restaurants in Hobart.
Hobart is a dreamscape for seafood devotees, where the ocean delivers daily and chefs let its bounty shine. Once a whaling port, this waterfront city has transformed into the beating heart of Australia’s most valuable seafood industry. Here, freshly shucked oysters glisten on ice, the catch of the day is plated with imagination, and every dish speaks of the sea’s immediacy.
From laid-back harbourside feasts to refined dining rooms with knockout views, Hobart’s seafood scene is as unforgettable as its setting. We’ve cast our nets wide to reel in the very best for you.
Sylvie
At Hobart’s intimate Sylvie, the sea and soil share equal billing. This pescatarian restaurant and cocktail bar is a love letter to Tasmania’s bounty, with a menu that shifts with the tides and seasons. Expect pristine local seafood reimagined with finesse — dry-aged boarfish with seaweed purée, just-caught trevally in ginger pepperberry — alongside produce plucked from nearby farms. Drinks are curated with the same thoughtfulness. Sylvie is about chasing that fleeting, perfect bite: simple, honest, and utterly unforgettable.
9 – 11 Murray Street, Hobart
Oirthir
About 45 minutes from Hobart, in a paddock overlooking Marion Bay, lies Oirthir — Scots-Gaelic for “coast.” Married chefs Bob Piechniczek and Jillian McInnes blend Michelin-trained French technique with Scottish soul, riffing on Tasmania’s pristine sea produce across a set menu you’ll chase home. Start with Golden Oysters and wood-fired soda bread, followed by blue-lip mussels dressed in zucchini kimchi and beurre blanc, and finish with venison haggis or Cranachan reimagined. Each course is a quiet revelation; the views alone justify the voyage.
357 Marion Bay Road, Bream Creek
Institut Polaire
Sleek, intimate, and impossibly stylish, Institut Polaire channels a southern-ocean cool that’s pure Hobart. The menu leans into the harbour’s daily harvest — briny oysters lifted with elderflower, scallops sliced fine and bright with citrus, market fish dressed with alpine herbs. Every plate feels restrained yet confident, matched to a wine list that’s won national acclaim for its sharp curation. Slide into a dove-grey banquette, order their signature Antarctic martini, and discover a seafood experience that’s as polished as it is distinctively Tasmanian.
Unit 1/7 Murray Street, Hobart
Restaurant Maria
In Salamanca’s historic sandstone heart, Restaurant Maria casts its spell with a seafood-led menu that’s as artful as it is indulgent. Octopus arrives draped in tirokafteri and nasturtium, scallops glow with burnt lemon and mountain pepper, and oysters sparkle under a fennel pollen mignonette. The ocean leads, but land still plays its part — lamb shoulder with tzatziki, nduja croquettes with jamon and manchego. Add waterfront views and a wine list with serious taste, and Maria delivers a feast worth lingering over.
Brooke Street Pier, Hobart
Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventures
This could be Tasmania’s most unforgettable dining experience — a “deep-to-dish” journey where the ocean is both kitchen and stage. Aboard a sleek catamaran, guests cruise Southern Tasmania’s glittering waters, past sheer cliffs and secret coves, before the freshest catch is prepared on deck. Abalone, rock lobster, oysters, and sea urchins are hauled straight from the sea and plated with finesse, poured alongside local wines. It’s part feast, part adventure, and wholly unique — seafood dining in Tasmania doesn’t get closer to the source.
Elizabeth Street Pier, Hobart
Old Wharf Restaurant
Hobart’s waterfront doesn’t get more cinematic than The Old Wharf Restaurant at MACq 01 Hotel, where Tasmania’s maritime past meets a menu brimming with ocean-fresh drama. Bruny Island oysters arrive three ways — briny and bare, smoky with bacon, or bright with finger lime. Charred octopus sings with nduja and lemon, while smoked trout croquettes hide a wasabi kick. For a richer indulgence, the seafood chowder is a velvet bowl of scallops, mussels and smoked salmon. It’s Hobart dining, anchored in elegance.
MACq 01, 18 Hunter Street, Hobart
Aloft
Suspended above Hobart’s waterfront, Aloft delivers a dining experience as captivating as its River Derwent views. The restaurant’s ethos is simple yet refined: celebrate Tasmania’s seasons with produce drawn from sea and soil, prepared with quiet mastery. Bruny Island oysters arrive brightened with house mignonette; scallops are paired with cucumber and shallot so delicately they almost shimmer; while the day’s market fish is elevated with accompaniments like goat’s curd and brassica. Each plate is matched with local wines that sing in harmony, creating an evening of pure Tasmanian elegance.
Brooke Street Pier, Hobart
Dier Makr
Not strictly a seafood restaurant, but Hobart’s Dier Makr could fool you with its ocean-leaning brilliance. The ever-shifting tasting menu revels in what’s freshest: Southern Rock lobster with apple emulsion, albacore with eggplant escabeche, octopus threaded with miso and leek. Then there’s the Cradle Mountain rainbow trout, hay-smoked and dressed with toasted walnut and crisp leaves — a dish that borders on art. Minimalist, magnetic and endlessly inventive, Dier Makr delivers seafood that feels both primal and impossibly refined.
123 Collins Street, Hobart
Bar Wa Izakaya
Bar Wa Izakaya isn’t just one of Hobart’s best Japanese restaurants — it’s one of the city’s most beloved overall. With a buzzing atmosphere and a menu blending Tasmanian produce with Japanese tradition, it’s naturally a must-visit for seafood lovers. Highlights include Tasmanian bluefin sashimi, oysters with kimchi granita (half-price daily from 4–6pm), hibachi-grilled octopus with fermented chilli miso, and charcoal-grilled kingfish collar with teriyaki glaze.
216-218 Elizabeth Street, Hobart
Omotenashi
Hidden inside a Lexus showroom, Omotenashi is Hobart’s most thrilling seafood sanctuary — ten seats, one stone bench, and a 16-course journey that feels almost transcendent. Chefs Sophie Pope and Lachlan Colwill coax Tasmania’s waters into poetry: sake-steamed abalone, uni don that melts into silence, yellow-eye mullet sashimi like liquid light. Each dish is paired with sake, wine, or house-crafted elixirs, elevating every bite into revelation. Hard to book, impossible to forget — Omotenashi isn’t dinner, it’s Tasmanian seafood reimagined as art.
Unit 4/160 Elizabeth Street, Hobart
Mures
With more than 50 years under its belt, Mures is Hobart’s seafood institution — a family-run icon that champions sustainably sourced Australian catch, plated with finesse and paired to a proudly Tasmanian wine list. Fresh from a $3 million revamp, its Upper Deck gleams with harbour views as pristine as the dishes: oysters, line-caught fish, scallops and beyond. For something breezier, head downstairs to the Lower Deck — the home of Hobart’s ultimate fish and chips or a Fisherman’s Basket built for two.
Victoria Dock, Davey Street, Hobart
Pearl + Co
On Victoria Dock, Pearl + Co is where Hobart’s seafood obsession meets a glossy marina backdrop. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame bobbing boats while the menu dives headfirst into Tasmania’s waters: oysters shucked to order, wild fish ceviche bright with citrus, sashimi that melts on the tongue. Comfort arrives in the form of a curried scallop pot pie or bowls of steaming mussels begging to be mopped up with bread. Add sharp cocktails and a breezy buzz, and this is Hobart’s waterfront dining at its freshest.
Victoria Dock, Hobart
The Drunken Admiral
Step aboard The Drunken Admiral, Hobart’s most theatrical seafood haunt since 1979. Family-run and decked out like a sailor’s tavern, it hums with maritime spirit — all ropes, beams and salty character. The menu celebrates Tasmania’s ocean bounty with plates that are hearty yet fresh, but the legend is the Fish Market Chowder: creamy, briny, and unchanged since opening day. Locals return for nostalgia, visitors for the spectacle, and everyone leaves warmed by bowls of Hobart’s most iconic seafood.
17-19 Hunter Street, Old Wharf, Hobart
Blue Eye Seafood Restaurant
Anchored in Salamanca Place, Blue Eye is Hobart’s ode to the sea — a breezy, relaxed spot where the ocean lands straight on your plate. Oysters are the opening act, shucked to order and served simply with lemon, or dressed in tomato-chilli salsa or shallot vinaigrette. From there, it’s grilled Tasmanian fish, glossy fillets kissed by the grill, or the ultimate classic: crisp, golden fish and chips. Eat in, take away, or wander the waterfront with the freshest catch in hand.
1 Castray Esplanade, Salamanca Place, Hobart
Fish Frenzy
Renowned for serving some of Tasmania’s freshest seafood, Fish Frenzy pairs a breezy marina-side setting with a menu that celebrates the ocean. Surrounded by Antarctic vessels, tall ships and Hobart’s working fishing fleet, it’s the spot to dive into their famous seafood chowder or go all out with the Pier Platter — a decadent spread of tiger prawns, oysters, grilled octopus and more, designed for leisurely feasting by the water.
Elizabeth Street Pier, Sullivans Cove, Hobart
Must-Try: Tasmania’s Quintessential Scallop Pie
Scallop pies are Tasmania in a pastry shell — golden, buttery, and brimming with the sea. At Daci & Daci Bakers, the filling is rich with plump local scallops, tucked beneath a crust that shatters at first bite. Across town, Jackman & McRoss puts its own spin on the classic: layers of flaky pastry wrapped around a creamy, aromatic filling that tastes like the coast itself. And on Saturdays, Salamanca Market tempts with stalls like Smith’s Pies, serving no-frills, straight-from-the-oven scallop pies best eaten hot in hand as you wander the waterfront. To leave Tasmania without sampling one would be to miss its most delicious signature.
Loving our guide to the best seafood restaurants in Hobart and keen to reel in more fun things to do around the city? Pair your seafood lunch or dinner with a pint at one of the best breweries in Hobart or satisfy your sweet tooth at one of the city’s best bakeries.
