The acclaimed fine-dining chef shares his list of go-to cafes, bars and restaurants, and why Tasmania has captured his heart.
Peter Gilmore, the acclaimed fine-dining chef behind two of Sydney’s most awarded restaurants – Quay at The Rocks, and Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House – has found a new source of inspiration in Tasmania.
A few years ago, he bought a holiday home on a small farm – 40 minutes’ drive from Hobart’s CBD – to help him unwind and reconnect with the land. He visits every six weeks to immerse himself in planting fruit trees and vegetables.
“It’s a perfect place to recharge and escape for now, and I’d like to move down here eventually,” Gilmore says.
He is particularly drawn to the island’s direct link between chef and farmer, noting that menus in Tasmania change more dramatically with the seasons than they do in larger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.
“You really see the four distinctive seasons in Tassie, as opposed to Sydney, which just gets cold for a couple of months, and then it’s hot,” he says. “You see this in the produce, and I love the way a lot of the younger chefs are adapting to what’s available on their doorstep.”
Gilmore is the chef behind the legendary “snow egg”, a dessert so famous it crashed the website at three-hatted Quay before it was retired from the menu in 2018. Here, he reveals his personal list of favourite places to eat and drink.
EATING OUT
My favourite home-town restaurant
My favourite place to eat in Sydney is Cafe Paci in Newtown. I always start with the potato and molasses bread, but every dish here is delicious.
My favourite home-town cafe and/or bar
Ante Bar in Newtown is my favourite bar. I love the sake list and the signature shiitake pasta.
I go to ONA Coffee in Marrickville for Dutch pancakes with crystallised pineapple. At Only Coffee Project in Crows Nest, I order a piccolo or sit down and have a filtered coffee. I tend to favour the gesha variety when I go there. They don’t do food – it’s only coffee, as the name suggests.
Other Sydney go-tos
Any of the pastries at A.P House in Surry Hills is fantastic. They make nice breakfast-type food, like hot pockets with cheese and a nice home-made tomato relish.
Bathers’ Pavilion in Balmoral is a beautiful spot for good food with a view. The tasting menu is really good. It includes excellent potato scallops and gnocchi fritto.
One of the best pizzas I’ve eaten recently was at Regina La Pizzeria in Redfern. I usually order the Diavolo (hot salami) or a simple margherita.
At Poly in Surry Hills, they do great sardines on toast, and the wagyu intercostal is very delicious.
What is your favourite place to eat in Australia?
The best meal I ate recently in Australia was five months ago at Vue de Monde in Melbourne under chef Hugh Allen. I loved the attention to detail in the dishes. He is opening a new restaurant called Yiaga towards the end of the year, and I’m looking forward to trying it.
ON THE ROAD
My favourite food city
Hobart, Tasmania. I have planted 60 fruit trees, including stone fruits, heritage apples and pears on my small farm. The growing conditions are ideal for vegetables. You get a long maturing process, and tomatoes don’t ripen until late summer.
What are your favourite places to eat there?
The Agrarian Kitchen in New Norfolk for interesting pastas, good, simply cooked seafood and fish. I visit Ogee wine bar in North Hobart three times a year. The menu changes with the seasons – when Tasmanian white asparagus is in season, I’ll eat that. Trophy Room in North Hobart is also good for a dish of poached white asparagus with a gorgeous salad. Other great spots are Six Russell Bakery and Six Russell Bistro next door, in Sandy Bay. I also like Scholé, a new restaurant on Liverpool Street by chef Luke Burgess.
Melbourne favourites
I enjoyed eating at Cibi in Collingwood – I like that it’s part of a larger Japanese handicraft store. The mix of craft and food appeals to me. Their pastry items are great.
Gimlet at Cavendish House by Andrew McConnell is in the heart of the CBD. It feels very Melbourne to me in the sense that it’s a very stylish dining room, and what they do really well there is seafood and caviar service.
I had a great lunch at Marmelo in Melbourne’s Russell Street, run by Ross and Sunny Lusted. Ross did a savoury take on the Portuguese tart with crab – it’s a must-try.
I’d also recommend Embla next door for the aged cheddar tart with puntarelle [a type of chicory], and the chickpea pancake. They’re both excellent dishes.
EATING IN
What’s your signature dish, and what is your go-to at home?
At Quay, my current favourite dish is wild abalone, sea cucumber, bamboo, vinegared seaweed and koshihikari rice. At Bennelong, my go-to is the Opera House pavlova with passionfruit curd.
At home, it’s pork and fennel sausage pasta. It has a high impact from a flavour point of view, without requiring too much preparation. It’s essential to buy good-quality Italian-style pork and fennel sausages.
My guilty pleasure
Gelato. I love the texture of a well-made gelato over a cream-based ice-cream. I would usually buy gelato from a speciality gelato shop, not a supermarket.
Best kitchen wisdom I cling to
You are only as good as the produce you’re using, and nature is the greatest source of creativity.
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Jane Rocca is a regular contributor to Sunday Life Magazine, Executive Style, The Age EG, columnist and features writer at Domain Review, Domain Living’s Personal Space page. She is a published author of four books.Connect via Twitter or email.
