REVIEW
You could argue that Fico is the quintessential, box-ticking Hobart restaurant: a chef-run 40-seater in a dark-hued historic building, driven by produce and fond of listing local wines alongside the great and the funky European hits. Yet this is a place that dodges categorisation, to the point where chef and co-owner Federica Andrisani regularly works the floor as opposed to the pans. That desire to mix things up is embedded in the restaurant’s DNA and the reason there’s a waiting list to experience the 10-ish course dégustation. It’s there in toasted rice arancini stuffed with ‘nduja and sublime Tongola goat’s cheese panna cotta served with glistening onion jus. And in cross-cultural mashups like a cleanly flavoured corn and zucchini tart that’s more like a tostada, or white chocolate and yuzu sorbet with fig leaves and tangy hibiscus powder. More than anything, Fico is unfailingly itself – and perhaps more essential than quintessential as a result.
ABOUT
Fico
European
151 Macquarie St, Hobart
(03) 6245 3391
Chefs Federica Andrisani and Oskar Rossi
Price guide $$$
Bookings Essential
Wheelchair access No
Open Lunch Sun; Dinner Thu-Sat
This review was written independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way. To learn more about the process, head over here.
Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Guide
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot of the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national guide.
