7 Best Bars in Hobart, Tasmania

Break bread, drink, and gather in the garden, hidden in plain sight. Enjoy delicious food from their local kitchen collaborators, and drinks from all over Tasmania and the mainland, too. The menu and produce change with the seasons. Venture down from the garden and into the Cathedral, an unholy beer garden and live music venue. The 59-foot-tall structure is a sheltered meeting ground for garden gatherings.

This cute and cozy Heritage-listed cottage hides Hobart's best beer garden in its backyard, home to a full-size bus. Warm in winter, bright and breezy in summer, with good food, a great relaxed vibe, and a selection of local craft beers and ciders—Preachers ticks all the boxes, especially on a sunny day.

By day it's an alfresco restaurant offering café fare, and by night a bar and beer garden with shareable snacks and live music. This cool, converted gas station is a flexible and light-filled hot spot with bespoke wood furniture and room for several ponies. The name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a British '90s sitcom, Keeping Up Appearances, and the space is appropriately friendly with touches of quirk and humor.

Nestled between Hobart's CBD and the café strip of North Hobart, Shambles occupies a fond place in Hobartians' hearts for its excellent beer (brewed on-site), its relaxed, urbane atmosphere, and long benches for large groups or smaller nooks for a more intimate experience. Give their Dirty Copper amber ale a try.

The cool kids head to this raucous, art deco pub warmed by roaring log fires to watch nightly live music, including plenty of top Tasmanian and touring bands. The food on offer is excellent and good value.

Head to the Wrest Point Hotel to test your luck in Hobart's only—and Australia's first—casino, where you can try your hand at blackjack, American roulette, mini-baccarat, keno, mini-dice, craps, federal wheel, federal poker and poker, and Two-up. But don't expect the Vegas-style glamour and razzle-dazzle associated with other Australian casinos; this venue had its day in 1973, and that is quite apparent upon visiting. The table games are open from 2 pm onward.

This popular wine and tapas bar has a wonderful shop where you can browse among 300 types of Tasmanian wines and pick up a cheese platter for an impromptu picnic. Choose to sit outside and watch the world go by or enjoy the intimate, laid-back indoor space. Wines are served in trendy Reidel O tumblers. There's live music in the evening toward the end of the week.