We asked our favourite triple threat exactly where to eat and drink in Tassie.

Tasmania is one of those places that’s beautiful year-round. Tassie may be small, but it’s mighty, meaning there’s a lot of ground to cover, especially when it comes to eating, drinking and taking home some of Australia’s best wines and whiskies. And packing everything into just a few days becomes even trickier when Dark Mofo rolls around – the annual winter fest from the people behind MONA (June 11 to 22, FYI) – so we needed an expert guide. We needed someone who’s scoured every corner of the state and knows exactly where to find the good stuff. That person is chef, hunter and forager Analiese Gregory.

Chef and Tasmanian resident Analise Gregory

Originally from New Zealand, Analiese made Tasmania her home in 2017. She had travelled the world cooking in places like London, Paris, Fez and San Sebastian, and then found herself in Tassie – she was supposed to be there for six months but says she just never left. You may know her from her hit SBS show A Girl's Guide to Hunting, Fishing and Wild Cooking, or you might have her cookbook, How Wild Things Are. These days, Analiese spends her time “cooking for people, foraging, diving, aurora chasing, looking after goats and chickens, and constantly searching for the perfect dog-friendly beach.” Sounds pretty ideal to us.

So, if you’re heading to the island state – whether you’re searching for the best bars in Tasmania, the top Tassie restaurants, the hidden gems or chasing the full Dark Mofo experience – you’ll love Analiese’s guide.

The brief is a park date, BYO. Where are you going and what are you bringing?

I recently had an amazing picnic in Stanley. We got a full selection of fish and chips, cold rock lobster salad and potato cakes from Hursey Seafood, and then ate it next to the ocean with tinned cocktails and ciders. Cold lobster on a potato cake was a time.

The perfect night out in Hobart. And… go.

I am a sucker for a Martini, so I’m starting at either Westside Laundry or Lucinda (pictured) for a half-size Dirty Martini to get things started. Dinner is at Ogee, an Italian-leaning wine bar and restaurant run by chef Matt Breen. I’ve liked his food since he was at Templo – it's delicious, exciting and comforting all at the same time. I’m here for the octopus Gildas, any handmade pasta they have, the chicken-fat oysters and the salted chocolate mousse. Plus, the space is cosy, dark, moody and sexy.

Late-night snacks can be hard in Tassie, apart from during Dark Mofo when late nights abound everywhere. I would head to Yummy Inn City for dry-fried green beans and mapo tofu on rice. If it's dessert that I’m after, then Peppina for a tiramisu.

If Tasmania was a cocktail…

I think it would be a variation on a Whiskey Sour that uses honey and apple juice. I’m not sure this exists, but we are the Apple Isle after all. Plus, the honey here is second to none, and I’ve developed a love for whiskey since residing in Tassie. It could be the cold that does it.

A range of food from Farmgate Market in Hobart

Best cheap thrill in Hobart?

Farmgate Market on Sundays (food pictured), where I can buy my produce for the week, catch up with farmers and locals. I grab breakfast from a market stall, which could look like sushi from Masaaki’s, hoppers from Lucky Sri-Lankan Kitchen or falafel pita from Elle's Pantry. Then I head to one of the local cafes like Somewhere Coffee Bar or Coffee Darling for a filter coffee.

Your mate’s visiting Tassie for one day, but wants the full experience. What’s on the itinerary?

One day is not enough, but I’m going to say it’s a Sunday so I get to go to Farmgate Market, walk down to the pier and have something to eat at Rosie in My Midnight Dreams. We’ll get the ferry to MONA, wander the museum and sit on the lawn for a while. Then we’ll head back to Hobart and find somewhere to eat a few oysters by the ocean before we bar- or restaurant-hop until the night is done. One of my favourite things about Hobart is its walkability. Also, if you can catch the sunrise or sunset from Kunanyi (Mount Wellington), it’s pretty special.

Analiese’s five things to try in Tasmania

1. Day drink: Filter coffee or batch brew. There’s a cold brew with coconut cream – the Coconut Cold Drip – at Tidal Coffee that’s perfect.

2. Best drink you’ve discovered: Nitro – a coffee and tequila blend from Westside Laundry that is incredibly niche but also delicious.

3. Best souvenir: Whiskey, Kunzea Honey (unpasteurised) and Rough Rice’s fermented condiments would be my top picks.

4. Most underrated dish: The rice bowl at Ranita Ramen Bar (pictured). The ramen is excellent, but there’s also an $11 rice bowl with daily toppings that rocks my world. It can be anything from Japanese curry with an egg yolk to diced albacore tuna with green onion.

5. The best seafood, and what you’re drinking with it: Buy it and cook it yourself! I go to The Dock in Hobart and Kyeema Seafoods in Launceston. I cook a lot of abalone, octopus, rock lobster and flounder at home, and I’m drinking it with a rich sparkling or textural white.