EAT > Fico, Hobart (19/20)

Fico means fig in Italian, but in Italian slang it also mean cool and that is a very good definition for Fico it is definitely cool. To start it is not a typically Italian restaurant but the food is obviously heavily influenced with Italian techniques and flavours. The chef co-owners Federica Andriasani and Oskar Rossi met while working in the kitchen of a Michelin starred restaurant ‘El Coq’ in Vicenza Italy. Federica (Italian) and Oskar (Tasmanian) returned to Australia initially working at Vue De Monde before settling back in Hobart and opening Fico as a pop up restaurant. Today it is a permanent fixture (well as permanent as anything can be in the current economy for hospitality) and it is quite outstanding.

Giving a restaurant a 19 or 20 score does not happen very often. It is normally only a couple that we are lucky enough to visit in any year and when you do, it is clear that this is a venue with the very highest standards of making for a brilliant dining experience.

FOOD >

It is a set menu degustation that changes with fresh ingredients of the season, every morsel delicious, each dish inventive with out the need for ‘fancy foams, smoke or dry ice’.

Starting with a carrot gazpacho, a cold dish that had a sting of caper across the top. A fresh and lively start to the meal, followed by homemade sourdough with a caraway and honey oil for dipping the bread. I don’t know how they made the sourdough quite so light and fluffy while still maintaining the delicious chewy texture in the crust – the two aspects in tension with each other and a generous amount of bread (I shouldn’t have eaten it all but no one was going to stop me). The final ‘starter’ was scallops with macadamia and horseradish, served with celeriac cut into a shape like pappardelle and with the consistency of a silky pasta. This was sensational the horseradish and macadamia lifted the scallop and celeriac was an illusion of being both pasta and salad at the same time, a wonderful dish.

The next bracket of dishes titled ‘Proseguendo’ meaning to resume or carry on is part of the playful nature of the food. Much like the wonderful Tedesca Osteria in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, there is no rushing here, food is meant to be enjoyed, time should be taken over a meal and there is no rush, the experience is all wonderful.

The pasta was tagliolini served with sea urchin and bread crumbs, a perfect combination of umami and crunch. From there it was a dish called the Flathead Royale which I would describe as a seafood mousse, a delicious custard with little green wrap that I think was spinach (but I can’t be certain). A muscovy duck pappardella was presented almost like a huge steamed dumpling, with the meat wrapped inside the pasta. A green sauce on the base was cut by a cream sauce over the dish and our dish had the option of fresh Tasmanian truffle shaved over it (of course).

The final main course dish was hare. Caught wild in Tasmania and served with a leg, sauce and a sausage roll. It works perfectly

Dolci offered an additional cheese course before the sweet, a crisp base shaped like a rowing skiff and filled with delicious shaved cheese which was amazing.

Mandarin mousse cake covered with milk gelato and sabayon was delightful slippery balance of sweet and acid. The final course was choux pastry filled with praline and Grand Marnier, perfect to finish.

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Image Credit | Crispy Almanak

WINE >

There is an extensive wine list with lots of European options especially Italian and French, with some excellent Burgundy and Barolo options. Australian wines were largely from Tasmania but there were some excellent choices available. If you were really picky you might have wanted slightly more representation from other parts of Australia but I found that wonderful sommelier made sure we understood options and had fabulous recommendations that was a perfect fit for our meal.

We ended up selecting an excellent Nebbiolo d’Alba from Lange, premium but not Barolo and finishing with a lovely glass of sauterne with the desert.

CONCLUSION >

Fabulous food, exceptional service, an excellent wine list, all in a very smart room that is not too crowded, not too loud. Music is engaging but not overwhelming, warm but not too hot. Its great. Food 5.0/5, Service 5/5, Wine 4.5/5, Room 4.5/5 = 19/20.

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