This taphouse and restaurant overlooking the mighty Huon River celebrates Tasmania’s best with a standout menu, superb brews, solid wine list and cocktails showcasing local ingredients.
The main town in Tasmania’s Huon Valley leans towards the utilitarian, servicing locals with the essentials for rural life. Despite it being a major food bowl, with orchards and vineyards seemingly everywhere you look, it has had few notable places to dine or drink. So Lost Captain, a lively taphouse and restaurant, was an instant hit when it debuted in a forgotten corner building in Huonville in late 2022.
The new owners have completely reimagined the interiors, creating a bright, open space with cosy booths, long tables, and a generous L-shaped bar. Outside, a new undercover seating area, lush front lawn and surrounding greenery make a compelling case to pull up a locally made timber pew and enjoy glimpses of the mighty Huon River while pondering the extensive and impressive menu.
The taphouse celebrates standout brews from around the state, ranging from Deep South Brewing Co’s malty Pedra Pale to Welcome Swallow’s sour beer made from local blackberries and blueberries. Launceston’s Du Cane Pilsner, meanwhile, is rich and spicy and comes into its own in the cooler months. A handful of beers from further afield round out the list, such as Guinness on tap, Little Dragon’s Ginger Beer from New South Wales, and Hop Stopper from Victoria’s Stomping Ground. And if you ask the friendly staff, they’ll give you the intel on the non-alcoholic drinks on offer.
Wines by the glass are almost exclusively Tasmanian, and it’s hard to put a foot wrong. From the Arras sparkling to the Hughes & Hughes Chardonnay or Stoney Rise Pinot Noir, they are all deserving of a place on the front page of the menu. Wines by the bottle are again mostly local, with a few standout showings from other states.
Drawing inspiration from the surroundings, the cocktail list showcases local ingredients such as pepperberries, apples and cherries. A list of cocktails by the jug features Tasmanian Pepperberry Margarita, a Huon Valley Bellini and the Lost Captain Michelada – essentially a jug of beer spiked with Bloody Mary flavours.
During dinner service, Lost Captain’s food turns heads. To see the suckling pig, served with sauerkraut, apple sauce, yams and pink-eye potatoes, carried to a table by two staff is a theatrical way to start the night (recommended for at least 10 people, it needs to be ordered four days ahead). The whole crisp Peking duck, meanwhile, is carved at the table and comes with pancakes, pickles and sweet bean sauce. “If I’ve done my job,” says chef Dayal Patel, “this should just fall apart.” And it does. For more table theatre, the scorched wagyu is blowtorched in front of you and served with toast to soak up the drippings.
Lunch runs from the likes of a ploughman’s board with terrine, local cheese, pickles and cured meats, and a winning chicken burger to more share dishes such as slow-cooked lamb with braised white beans, kipfler potatoes and macadamia sauce.
