|
|
|
Dev'Lish
|
|
|
Restaurant
|
Hobart
|
Reviewed By
Sue Dyson and Roger McShane
|
Phone Number:
+61 3 6223 4050
Address:
137 Macquarie Street
Hobart, Tasmania, 7000
Country:
Australia
|
With only five stools, Dev'Lish is Hobart's tiniest café. Given some unthinking customers sit with just a single coffee and the crossword for what seems like hours, it can be tricky to score a seat. Persevere though, provided there's only one, or at most, two of you, and you're not in the mood to linger. (We don't love anyone who occupies their stool for any longer than absolutely necessary - otherwise how are they ever to make a living? The answer is probably their takeaway coffee trade but it's the principle that matters here.) In another life, back in the distant 20th century, owner Annie Parmentier ran The Palisade Dining Room on the top floor of a classic Millers Point workers' pub (in part of Sydney's waterfront that was still almost a working port). We loved her food then and we still love it now. There's hardly a chef's palate in Hobart to rival her understanding of seasoning and texture. Her tiny lunchtime dishes are put together with just as much thought and effort as in those days at the Palisade. Every young chef in Hobart (and plenty of the older ones too) would do well to try the complex flavours in her bargain priced (under $10) green chicken curry (and to see what happens when you cook chicken on the bone) or to memorise the balance achieved in an Asian inspired cabbage salad, that has sweet, salty, sour and just a touch of chilli on song. The tarts - like this slice of tomato and ricotta tart - are also always great - with beautiful short pastry and intelligent fillings, and we look forward to the return of the macaroni cheese in winter.Could we love it any more than we do? Possibly just a bit if the bread used in the delicious sandwiches was a touch better - these fillings deserve to have Summer Kitchen sourdough, for example. We'd happily pay a little more for what's a bargain priced meal. And, if only there were a couple of extra seats so we didn't have to stare down slow moving customers to encourage them to leave.
|
|
|