Driving and Eating In the Midlands of Tasmania

I recently had yet another beautiful friend visit. Queenslanders seem to love coming down in the winter. I imagine for some REAL winter (it's early spring as I write this and I can still see snow on the peaks out of my lounge room window). We love it because it breaks up what we find can be a long, dark and dreary time of the year. 

It's also really the only opportunity I get to go and eat out. We live a pretty frugal lifestyle and don't eat out very often at all, so it's a real treat when I do.

*I get the irony of having a food and dining blog and hardly eating out. But this is the path we chose and I wouldn't change it for the world.

My lovely guest had planned a trip to Campbell Town and I volunteered to come for a drive. It's maybe 1 and a half to 2 hours to Campbell Town from my place not far from New Norfolk and I have decided to include a map for my many readers who aren't all that familiar with Tasmania.

We decided to stop at Ross for a bite to eat. Ross is a beautiful historic town almost half way between Hobart and Launceston. We stopped in firstly at Convict Coffee and Bakery 31. It was warm and homely and lovely. And we would have one of Tasmania's local delicacies, Scallop Pie. As a general rule, most scallop pies are sea scallops in a curry sauce. I prefer it in a bechamel (white) sauce and low and behold, we managed to track one down. And it was excellent. Great pastry,  a generous amount of good sized scallops and a delicious and well seasoned béchamel.

We wandered up and down the main street of Ross after our pie to admire the early season daffodils starting to emerge, indicating the end of winter, but many of the stores were closed (off season, this is very normal). 

One place that was not closed and looked too adorable to skip, was Rossco's Deli. It was so charming inside and we were greeted by the friendliest woman. Her made-on-site sweets stopped me in my tracks and the kind and wonderful woman said she'd happily cut the vanilla slice in half (so I could take half home to Gudge) because it was HUGE. It was a 10 out of 10 vanilla slice too and one I'd drive all the way to Ross for in a heart beat.

10/10 vanilla slice.

The lovely Town of Ross.

Campbell Town was actually a lovely destination. I had only ever stopped there as a loo stop on trips to or from the North of the Island, but it had a variety of lovely shops that we spent the afternoon perusing before journeying back.

Convict paving on the main street of Campbell Town

A day or two after we spent the day in my local town of New Norfolk and stopped into the Agrarian Kitchen Kiosk for a light lunch. You may have read my previous posts or heard of the Agrarian Kitchen as having won Tasmanian and Australian Restaurant of the year in 2025 and 2024 respectively. The kiosk on a sunny day is one of the nicest places to have lunch. Snacks, light meals and sweets mostly under $20. I had the chard and cheese danish and a hot chocolate and both were just wonderful. The most buttery, crispy pastry with a warm savoury filling. It was perfect.

Perfect blue skies, green grass and rosemary, firepit on the lawns at Agrarian Kitchen
in the Grounds of Willow Court.

And the last of my Midlands (and Derwent Valley) eats was an old favourite and local cafe, The Possum Shed at Westerway. Consistently good food and drinks, always an outstanding view over Tyenna River and more often than not, a pup or two to gush over. My standard order: Possum Shed BLT and an Earl Grey (T2) Tea.

And that was a brief trip around the middle parts of our lovely island. I hope you enjoyed.

The Shed at Derwent Estate

July in Tasmania: Cold, cloudy dreary. But... not this weekend. The first weekend of July this year was quite special for me as it was my 40th birthday. Doubly special as I had my two best girlfriends visiting from Brisbane to celebrate with me.

I had decided to try the newest restaurant in the Derwent Valley, The Shed. A new project from the Winery 'Derwent Estate'. 

We were met with an absolutely perfect day, actually the whole weekend was lovely blue skies, and still days with maximums around 15 deg C.

Grapevines, sheep and lambs with Mt Dromedary in the background

My girls and the sheep and adorable lambs

The menu alone had been my reasoning for selecting The Shed for my birthday lunch. We have wonderful options in the Valley now for dining (see posts on Osteria Vista and Agrarian Kitchen) but I thought with the group of us dining, this menu would provide something for everyone including my slightly less adventurous Gudgeon.

But of course, we selected a bottle of Derwent Estate Sparking to begin with and it was delightful.

The Shed is set back from the cellar door and offers magnificent views of the Derwent River. The setting is casual and perfectly suited to a sunny day. I cant begin to imagine how spectacular it would be to lunch here on a summers day with those bistro blinds up and a breeze wafting across the river.

Stoneground beer bread with nasturtium butter

We order bread for the table. Absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure if it was the bread or the nasturtium butter but the saltiness that came through was gorgeous.

scallop, oyster, croquettte

For entrees we all choose a few bites from the snacks menu. I opted for the Raw scallop with mandarin and chives, the Bruny Island Oyster and the parmesan and leek croquette with lemon butter.

raw scallop, mandarin, chive

What a delight this scallop was. Texture was retained by the curing from the citrus and the sharp sweet and tartness of the mandarin was spectacular. This was one of my highlights of the meal. The croquette was crispy and crunchy and salty and potatoey and cheesey. Just great.

oyster, buttermilk, parsley oil

I love an oyster. I especially love a Tasmanian oyster: smaller but sweeter than many others. This oyster didn't do it for me though. Milk and oyster is not a combination I would recommend... ever. Very pretty though.

butter poached blue eye trevella, oyster and yuzu cream, kohlrabi

Ordering fish as a main.... I've said it before... it's risky business, I've found it will either be mediocre, not bad, but forgettable or it will be the best thing you ever had. I have found as a gambler, that the odds are 5-1 for a truly spectacular fish main, something you'll remember for a very long time, and today I backed a winner.

The texture was velvety smooth and flaked off beautifully. A lovely fresh fish flavour which was almost chicken-like. The oyster and yuzu cream was a gorgeous savoury accompaniment and the kohlrabi was a clean and fresh finish. This may have been THE best fish main I have ever had.

sides

To go with our mains, we ordered the octopus and raw tuna from the small plates menu and the charred cos and pinkeye potatoes from the sides menu.

octopus, black garlic, chimichurri

I first tried octopus in Barcelona and in both that dish and furthermore in Rome I found the octopus to be very strong in flavour. Not this dish however, very fresh and tender. I'm not sure if I would order it again but nonetheless, delicious.

charred cos lettuce, anchovie, prosciutto

This little side packed a punch, and with lettuce going to about $1000/kg at the moment, how could we not. I loved the POW of the anchovy in this dish. Lots of saltiness to contrast with the charred cos.

pinkeyes, creme fraise, saltbush

Oh Tassie, how are you so good at potatoes? These were crispy, beautifully seasoned and a great side.

raw tuna, ponzu, black sesame, wakame

The raw tuna dish was a favourite all round. When tuna can be caught so close, it makes perfect sense to serve it in it's purest form.

chicken breast, cauliflower puree, oyster mushroom, artichoke velute

All three of my guests had the chicken. It's very rare for me to order chicken when dining, it's hard to do magnificently or even 'not boringly', however when I tasted some off their plates I was utterly blown away. I think the photo shows how succulent that breast is, it was more than succulent, it had the texture of triple cream brie- it was mind blowing. The combination of cauliflower and artichoke was a revelation and the mushrooms were jewels in the crown. 

date pudding, kunzea butterscotch caramel, malt cream

We order a bottle of iced Riesling to have with dessert, a beautiful semi sweet chilled white wine and my favourite dessert of all time Sticky Date Pudding. Guest Anna described it as "probably the best sticky date she had tried" and it was certainly up there for me also... I do have to always compare it to the one that made me cry  and I reckon it was a solid second place after that one. Moist with crispy edges a slight almost whisky flavour, lightly whisked but beautifully flavoured cream. My goodness... what an end to a meal.

In conclusion, I am so happy with The Shed; divine outlooks in a charmingly understated setting with beyond friendly staff that make you feel right at home. The food overall was excellent with some crazy high highlights and one or two experiments that I may avoid next time. 

I will happily be adding this to my 'will visit again' list and will be one for our future guests. I would say a definite must-do if venturing north of Hobart to our beautiful Derwent Valley.

photo courtesy of Derwent Estate facebook page

Derwent Estate Winery

Phone: (03) 6263 5802

Address: 329 Lyell Hwy, Granton TAS 7030

https://www.derwentestate.com.au/

Molto bene: Osteria Vista at Stefano Lubiana Wines

 

Not far from our house, heading towards the Bridgewater Bridge is a turnoff up a dirt road. You wouldn't know it unless you looked for it. Today we were looking for it as we had a lunch booked at the recently opened Osteria Vista located at Stefano Lubiana Winery.
I had been following their opening on social media and was very keen to try one of their set lunches. Joined by my beautiful friend Dee, we were overdue for a gossip and had arranged a ride so we could partake in matching wines.

We are greeted by our lovely waitress, Sarah, and sat at a table with a spectacular view over the Derwent.

It just feels so very Italy here. I am transported back to Tuscany and the aesthetics and mood just screams Buongiorno!

We are brought the set menu as well as the matching wines listing and it all sounds delightful.

To begin, we are brought a bubbling glass of Brut Rose which is a delightful start to the meal, It is beautiful and fresh, dry and slightly fruity.

To accompany this is our first course which consists of  Focaccia bread and ricotta, prosciutto and olives, soft cheese with tomatoes and olive oil and arancini balls.

Firstly, I have to say how stunning the olive oil was. I could have drunk it by the glass. Good olive oil is so different to supermarket olive oil, it's not even fair to compare them and I was dunking the beautiful focaccia into it with every mouthful of this smashing first course. The prosciutto (imported from Italy) and olives were a delight and the arancini as good as any you've ever tried. But for me the creamy, soft mozzarella style cheese with the spectacular olive oil and those gorgeous gems of perfectly in-season tomatoes really did it for me.

Next up, served with one of the most memorable Rieslings I've ever tried is our pasta dish. Dee mentions she is taken back by the squid-ink black. I have to admit, it is confronting. I found some interesting quotes on the psychology of colour and food.

“Colour is the single most important (...) sensory cue when it comes to setting people’s expectations regarding the likely taste and flavour of food and drink.”Charles Spence

‘Colour creates a psychological expectation for a certain flavour that is often impossible to dislodge.’

Harris G. in “Colorless food? We blanch.”
The New York Times 2011.https://forty8creates.com/colour-psychology-of-food-drink/

I have had squid ink pasta before, so fortunately I have very positive connotations of black pasta. The first thing we notice is the al-dente nature of the macaroni style pasta, something that I think can be a slight shock as I know I constantly overcook pasta as soft pasta is something I have become accustomed to. However I find the texture to be outstanding once I had gotten used to it. The next thing we notice is the wonderful savoury sausage flavour, it's delicious and an umami dream. The sauce is creamy from the cheese and I found this to just be heavenly. My only qualm was the little stab of fennel I got in one mouthful, but that's only because I have never gotten used to aniseed in savoury cooking, especially when I'm not expecting it.

PORK BELLY! Delicious twinning of wonderful salty pork flesh and porky fat topped with crispy, crunchy crackling. What's not to love? Served here with salsa verde and a wonderful vegetable with the flavour of broccoli in a leafy green. Baby, herbed potatoes and a simple green salad of lettuce and cucumber to cut through the heaviness. Something I discovered this season, the first that I have had a successful veg garden, is that lettuce has incredible flavour when freshy picked, it's really quite amazing.

By our last course, we are jovial, flushed rosy with delicious wine and have befriended Sarah who was really quite a spectacular server. Food and atmosphere are not the only things that make a meal memorable, the staff are an integral part and can make or break a meal.The dessert, of zabaglione a custard is served with a dense, moist cake crumble, poached pear and summer berries and the Iced Sauvignon Blanc, a sweet dessert wine is not only a beautiful paring, but is an exceptional wine full stop.As our meal concludes, Sarah invites us to try a wine tasting next door or feel free to wander about the grounds. As I feel we'd had just about the right amount of wine already we take a quick look around the restaurant grounds before being collected to go home.

This was a truly memorable meal and a fantastic addition to Southern Tasmania. I look forward to visiting seasonally to see how the menu changes and to witness such a pleasurable lunch again.

Osteria Vista

Stefano Lubiana Wines
60 Rowbottoms Road, Granton
03 62637457
hello@osteriavista.com.au

Pauly's Pizza New Norfolk

I did a Google search of our local pizza place, Pauly's Pizza and discovered two interesting things: firstly in 2020, Pauly's won best pizza in Hobart. Impressive, no? The other wonderful thing I discovered was an amazing dude who goes by the name of Tas Daz Down Under. Tas Daz is a Tasmanian chap who I assume lives not far from me and does YouTube food reviews.

Courtesy of New Norfolk and Derwent Valley News:

Tas Daz, who was featured in the article, rated Pauly's very highly (he goes on to review several of Pauly's Pizzas). I think he's hilarious and also a metal head for bonus points. I also love that he reviews local restaurants. Not just fancy schmancy ones (like a certain blogger *loosens collar*) and it has inspired me. Now that I live in the small community of the Derwent Valley I want to support local and if my blog gets another customer through the door of a locally owned business than it will have been worth it, and thank you Tas Daz, as you have gotten me through two doors already and more to follow. (Burger review coming soon).

I'm going to link his video below, however be careful, I started watching and ended up still watching four hours later.

Pauly's Pizza - Lamb Souvlaki & Mega Meat Lover's Pizzas : Tas Daz Down Under

Let's get down to business... Pizza business!

So Gudge and I make the drive into New Norfolk to try a couple of Pauly's Pizzas.

It's very handy that they have the pizza sizes on the front windows, and with eyes as big as our stomachs we decide on a family each. I go for a Supreme (bacon, onion, pineapple, capsicum, mushroom, cheese) and Gudge opts for a Pepperoni (salami, pepperoni, capsicum, cheese) at $18 each or 2 for $35).

The store is clean, anything-but-fancy, however the staff are lovely and attentive. We place our order and are told it will be around fifteen minutes so go for a little wander through New Norfolk.

On our return an older gentleman is leaving the restaurant and holds the door for me. "Thank you, enjoy your pizza" I remark, "I will, and you will too, trust me" he responds.

We collect the two heavy boxes and take them down to the park for Pizza Picnic.

...I hope we do

I start with a piece of my Supreme, the very large, very hefty Supreme. It is absolutely delightful. The base is excellent, great crunch on the bottom and crust. Fantastic amount of toppings, and perfect balance of flavour. Overall a very excellent pizza.

I also try Gudge's Pepperoni. All the fantastic elements of mine with the punchy, spicy flavour of cured sausage.

It's so big it doesn't fit into a photo!

Okay, so I love Pauly's Pizza. They're not trying to be anything else, they're just doing pizza the way Domino's wishes it could do pizza and I enjoyed it a lot.

We have almost a whole pizza for leftovers (edit, I ate a cold piece while writing this and it was STILL amazing) so I think these are great value for money. Judging by the amount of people in the store early evening Wednesday, I believe Pauly's has proven themselves to the local community and has an obvious following. I applaud their award of Best Pizza and can certainly say these are the best pizzas I have had in some time.

Address: 34A Burnett St, New Norfolk TAS 7140

Phone: 1800 728 597