EAT > Ogee, North Hobart (16/20)

It is quite a solid walk up to Ogee in North Hobart from Sullivan’s Cove and downtown Hobart. It will take you about 30 minutes depending where you start and the incline gradually increases all the way up.

I note this because we chose to walk up, it is a Sunday morning and Ogee is highly recommended as an excellent place for a Sunday lunch, but we don’t have a booking. So we are walking up aiming to arrive right on 12 when they open and be first in line for a walk in table. There are always a few seats left aside for walk in’s but this is a small restaurant so we were extremely lucky

FOOD >

They offer a ‘let us feed you’ option for $95 a head but we had a plane to catch and while this absolutely felt like the place for a long lunch, our lucky walk in at 12 meant we had to vacate the table by 1.30pm so no feed me option. That said we sampled the best and it was fab.

Starting with the home made sourdough bread with roast garlic butter ($4.50) that is a yummy idea and got us going. We progressed to have prosciutto di san daniele sitting on fried polenta with a green sauce we estimated to be parsley, butter and garlic ($12). The fried polenta fresh out of the oven and prosciutto sliced fresh in front of us it was delicate and delicious.

Blue fin tuna crudo was served with a yoghurt dressing, cubes of sweet beetroot (I think) and bitter endives ($26). Gnocchetti sardi with a lamb ragu was very generous serve and really tasty ($34). Gnocchetti Sardi is a traditional pasta shape from Sardinia. Also known as ‘Malloreddus’ shaped like mini potato gnocchi with ridges, they are made with only semolina flour and water.

Finally we had a crispy pan fried snapper with puntarelle and oyster cream ($34). Puntarelle is a robust green vegetable that apparently needs a quite a bit of cooking to soften down. This is somewhat typical of Ogee who like to find interesting and somewhat unusual vegetables to cook.

Ogee is led by chef Matt Breen and front of house by Rachelle Guastella, it is smart modern and delicious, not pretentious, rather it is fun. The kind of place you want to sit, eat something substantial and watch the room.  The kitchen is open and you can sit on a table or at the bar, so there is plenty to watch. 

The Martini’s being delivered to one. of the tables looked very good but we stuck to wine a smart Chardonnay from Coal River.  With vinyl spinning on the turntable (It was the Buena Vista Social Club playing) and watching Matt and the team in the tiny kitchen it was a great place to drift into Sunday afternoon.

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Image Credit | Crispy Almanak

WINE >

The wine list is not extensive there were thirty five bottles on offer when we visited, nine of those available by the glass ranging from $15 to $25 a glass. The selection is eclectic with six orange wines and six chilled reds amongst the list which included some smart choices from Burgundy, Alsace, Piemonte and Rioja.

Given our short sitting we enjoyed a glass of Bubb & Pooley Chardonnay from Coal River, Tasmania ($25) which is very nicely made not a lot of oak, smooth with a hint of citrus.

CONCLUSION >

The kitchen is open and you can sit on a table or at the bar but there is plenty to watch. With vinyl on the turntable (It was the Buena Vista Social Club playing) and watching Matt and the team in the tiny kitchen a great place to drift into Sunday afternoon.

Lovely spot but don’t just walk in like us – make sure you book to be sure of a seat.
Food 4/5, Service 4/5, Wine 4/5, Room 4/5 = 16/20.

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