Once a Waitress

After a very, very long wait, wunderkind Luke Burgess (along with partners Katrina Birchmier and Kirk Richardson) has opened the heavy floor-to-ceiling doors to a new Hobart wine bar/eatery, Garagistes. 

First up, it’s bloody gorgeous. Clean lines, concrete floors, large wooden share tables and loads of shiny black paneling… you’d think it would be a cold and unfeeling environment, but the set-up fills the space perfectly (unsurprisingly, it’s an old garage).  

Garagistes has a double meaning, as it also takes it’s name from the Garagistes – a group French winemakers who shook up the Burgundy wine scene in the early 90s – an easy concept to grasp when you browse through the elegant, yet heavy, wine list.  

The first wine list of it’s type  in Hobart – absolutely unparalleled in Tasmania – it’s a list to be envied, enjoyed and studied. I could sit at the bar for hours and pour over it, Stolzle glass in hand of course.  

Being a collection of hand-made organic and natural wines, most certainly a rapidly expanding market, there will be a few unfamilliar names there. Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance, the staff know their stuff and it’s a great opportunity to explore new territory.  

It’s sectioned not strictly by variety but by character: aromatic and textual, robust and rounded…left of centre…it’s unusual and it’s superb, this is a list that eases you into a suitable selection and pays homage to the handcrafted nature of the wines it contains.  

It does strongly favour the French, the obvious influence not only of Roger McShane and Sue Dyson’s natural-wine import business Terroir Wines (their review of Garagistes is here) but also to the lack of organic and natural wines being produced in Tasmania – although it is a growing trend. 

In a moment of rare criticism from me, there are other Australian offerings that could have made an appearance here, although a rare few do, including two personal favourites, Tasmania’s d’Meure and Victoria’s Luke Lambert wines.  

Like almost all venues with a no-bookings policy, the menu reads as a list of small plates for picking and choosing. As I  was only on-site long enough to nibble on these delicious fried, pork-stuffed olives (incredible) I’m not the authority on eating here. I’d check in with John Lethlean, his review of Garagistes being one of the most glowing I have seen from him in recent years. 

Sunday is certainly the day to go, with a four-course menu for $65 (you have to book for this) which simply must be the best value top quality meal in town. You might be lucky enough to eat braised Cape Grim short rib with salsify, glazed carrots, chicory and almond picada…or maybe even raw line-caught jack mackrel with pickled onion, radish and apple vinegar. On Sundays, it’s up to the Garagistes crew what you eat, but I think you can trust them. 

As I walked out of Garagistes I spied a wall of big-name cookbooks: Noma, Momofuku, Quay, and I thought…this place, it’s up there, these guys are really playing the game. There is a charcuterie room in the restaruant (althought currently empty – they’ve sold it all), this is not your run of the mill venue, this place is special. Lucky ‘ole Hobart, sometimes they do get to trail-blaze a little…book a plane ticket from wherever you are right now.

 Garagistes
103 Murray Street Hobart Tasmania
+61 3 6231 0558
info@garagistes.com.au
@garagistes 

 Open from 5pm Wed-Sat, no bookings. Sunday lunch by appointment.   

Tags: Garagistes, Hobart, restaurant

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 at 10:38 am and is filed under Hobart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.