Pure South

This riverside restaurant treats Tasmania as its larder and its inspiration, plucking the best of the island state's rich produce. There are plump Tasmanian Pacific oysters, Huon salmon and farmed venison. The sublime ingredients are treated well and the cooking is delicate, creative and meticulous. How about crackling-topped pork belly, from Winnaleah, with figs and walnut maple dressing; carpaccio of venison; char-grilled grass-fed Angus steaks; chicken ballotine; lamb double-rib cutlet? Desserts range from a simple but luscious apple tart to lemon-myrtle creme brulee to coconut meringue, and there's a handsome selection of Tassie cheeses. King Island triple cream brie, Roaring Forties blue, Bruny Island cheese, sweet and hard, all served with pickled walnuts and spiced pear. Take an outside table (it's sheltered and heated), and you are right by the promenade and the coffee-coloured river. Service is warm and knowledgeable and the table linen is crisp as a Tassie morning.