Vita: Nature + Culture - Hobart

Ash and besters, hobarts choice for the demanding trinker. the perfect start and end, every night.

What a great restaurant with amazing food. We loved every minute of it. The staff are just brilliant. We had a most delicious meal and couldn't fault it. We arrived about 6.30 for an early granny booking and the staff were happy and helpful. We had oysters (delicious and the best I've had for a long time) freshly shucked, a terrine (I want the recipe) with sherries prunes (delicious), lovely bread and butter. We both had steaks which was only a mistake as I would have liked to try another dish. The steak frites was brilliantly cooked and the iceberg lettuce with Anchovy was amazing. Each course was perfectly cooked to get maximum flavor. Go, Go, Go, and I'll be back.

We had the pleasure of attending Etties for a set menu wine dinner and it was magnificent. We had visited several times previously for drinks but this was the first time we had been for dinner.The restaurant and bar area has a nice ambience, the atmosphere is relaxed and casual but the table settings are fine dining and the staff on the night couldn't have been better.We started with fresh oysters & Andre Clouet champagne in the lounge area before moving to the tables. First course was rabbit pithiviers which were perfection accompanied by more, but different, Clouet champagne - a great match.Main course was spit roasted pork with vegetables that had been cooked in parcels in the ashes. Three local Pinot Noirs, Dr Edge, Chatto & Holyman were served with the pork and all were different but strong matches for the food. The spit in the open courtyard created some wonderful theatre before dinner and the carving and serving from a bench at the front of the kitchen was a great touch.Cheese and a very special Clouet champagne concluded the evening admirably. Between course Andre Clouet entertained with his family history and background to his winery and the ch ampagnes served. Andre was an absolute delight moving among the guests both before the dinner and while at the table.If you see another "special dinner" advertised at Etties do yourself a favour and book early. We can't wait for the next opportunity to visit.

Tuesday night, 7 of us booked for a birthday dinner. Very busy, every table full, including a group of 32 in the back room who were very noisy. .The dishes are small, but very good, the red wine, blue cheese and radiccio risotto was outstanding, as are the 3 desserts on offer. Service was exceedingly slow, we arrived at 6.30, unfortunately 3 in our group decided against an entree (which are all only basic prepared dishes such as a parfait, a terrine, oysters and plate of cold meats), and we did not get the main course until after 8pm. Even the wine service was very slow, and several times we had to clutch at a passing waiter to beg for a water refill (fancy jugs served by the staff are all very well, but water on the table is far more practical, and reliable). At $150 a couple just not worth it. There were not enough staff to cope with 60 diners.

Etties is on the site of Ethos - a much-loved venue for Hobartians. Much of the ambience has been retained which is pleasing in itself.Etties is new and after a solid review in The Australian newspaper it should do well but i have a experienced a number of niggling aspects to do both with the food and the service.Foremost, the place cant decide if it is a great venue and bar that serves food on the side or a proper restaurant. I'm thinking the former because the wine selection is terrific and there's something here to cater to all drinking needs. I had dinner here with 4 other people so the size of our table is not what you would call a difficult one to master.Some dishes were excellent including the gnocchi, the mussels and the chicken. Some were near misses - the creme caramel, especially, we had for dessert was so bland and devoid of any rich caramel for instance.Other things continued to annoy me throughout the evening. Despite being specific about dietary preferences (1 in the group doesn't eat red meat and another cannot eat oysters) this was not accommodated in the set menu selection ($65 per head). The first selection was oysters so one of us had to hold his nose and had nothing to eat for 20 minutes. Not even a piece of bread even for this poor person who paid the same amount as the others. The amazing mussels that were cooked with the right amount of chilli were also prepared with some salami and again, no alternative was provided. Worse still, the waiter did not even mention the salami when the dish was presented.The chicken pate was delicious but again presenting this dish with only 4 pieces of crispy bread and 4 cornichons (i kid you not) at a table for five is just miserly! The chicken in cream at the end of the meal was delicious, although the pear did not make sense when accompanied with slices of turnips and potatoes. Service could certainly improve - serving sparkling water to someone who specifically asked for flat is inexcusable for a venue that needs to establish itself as a Hobart institution as was its predecessorOverall, there is lot to do here to make the evening a more memorable one for the diners.