“We have a great admiration for the environment we cook in, and we pride ourselves on serving the best Tasmanian game, seafood, and handmade pasta in a warm environment with great wine and good music.”

Pigeon with swede, liver, confit onion, and bay; spaghetti with turnip tops and aged Parmesan; and bee pollen gelato with white balsamic meringue and hibiscus.

Part of the new wave of neo-bistros making Hobart great again, Fico has fast become the southern capital’s one to watch, thanks to the combined talents of Oskar Rossi and Federica Andrisani.

There’s no pretension in this simple dining room, just a whole lot of heart. The house-made duck ravioli del plin has achieved cult status, but there’s so much more on this tight Euro-Japanese menu bedded in Tasmanian produce. A roasted half pigeon in a stocky sauce of its own bones with sautéed slippery jack mushrooms sings of autumn; a simple ricotta-stuffed courgette flower with tomato and basil is the taste of summer. Fish will be lesser-known species (bastard trumpeter, anyone?) thanks to Fico’s maverick fish supplier, who often pulls up outside in his boat in the middle of service.

“There’s classic European technique at work, but also a distinct Japanese influence in many dishes. Combined with a fanatical devotion to great local ingredients, it makes for exciting eating.” –Michael Harden, Gourmet Traveller