Breakfast in Devonport: where to eat off the Spirit
Stepping off the Spirit of Tasmania in Devonport? Here’s where locals go for coffee and breakfast before the drive, whichever way you’re headed.
As the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries pull into Devonport shortly after 6am, the car engines aboard start to rumble to life, ready to hit the road. But for the travellers inside those cars, there’s one overriding thought: coffee… and where to find it fast!
Whether the plan is to enjoy breakfast in Devonport or immediately hit the highway south to Hobart, south-east to Launceston or head due west, these stops set up the day’s drive.
First stop: the best cafes in Devonport
Rolling off the ferry and over the Mersey River is the fastest way to get caffeine in hand. Follow those who need coffee as much as you. There’s good reason a healthy handful of paramedics are often lined up from 6am at Fundamental Espresso. It’s focused, consistently good coffee with an espresso bar set-up that gets travellers on the road swiftly. If hungry, grab a bagel to go. Expect combos like roast beef with whipped blue-cheese cream cheese, caramelised onion jam and candied walnuts, or peach and porchetta with hot honey drizzle.
If brekky with a view entices, Drift Cafe has outdoor seats overlooking Bass Strait. Long-time Devonport resident and former prima ballerina Jessie Vonk loves soaking up morning sunshine at Drift.
“They know Benny’s order the moment they see us,” says Vonk as her cavoodle awaits his puppuccino. “Here we meet friends and enjoy sweet potato chips and laughter. Just look at Bluff Beach and all the morning swimmers. How can this be better?”
Vonk happily finds a patch of grass beside Benny. After her famed music conductor husband passed away in Amsterdam, Vonk chose to live in Tasmania and created the Hans Vonk Music House in his honour, where she hosts international musicians and has a sprawling native garden punctuated by her own sculptures.
“North West Tasmania has everything I need. It’s so easy to explore from mountains to sea. I love Turners Beach and Latrobe for walks and Champagne Falls near Cradle Mountain is less touristy and very special,” she says.
“Then there is the Turners Beach Berry Patch, with the best wood-fired pizzas, ice-cream window and berries you can pick yourself in season when they open back up for this around November. And you can’t forget Corinna. I had a wonderful birthday surrounded by my Tasmanian family in the wilderness,” adds Vonk.
For long-time resident and former publican Greg Astell, Devonport is coastal living at its best. The avid cyclist rides three times a week and says, “There’s nothing better after a long ride with the crew to roll into Devonport’s Marion Storm Cafe or The Harbourmaster Cafe for a good coffee and chat.”
He recommends views from Braddons Lookout or exploring Penguin for road trippers. For travellers wanting foodie coastal stops, the Tasting Trail features a host of regional producers.
Credit: Supplied
Credit: Matthew Horspool
West Coast: into the rugged wilds
Many head south without discovering the lesser-known gems of the North West.
The curious traveller will find winding roads and memorable stops. If you can wait about 40 minutes for your first coffee, continue through to The Chapel Cafe in Burnie.
Housed in the 1890s Wesleyan chapel, the cafe serves coffee roasted onsite and a classic brekky: sous vide 63-degree poached eggs and Sharman’s Butchery smoked bacon from just up the road, served with house-made relish. This will keep you full for the two-plus hours onto perhaps Strahan’s reinvented Risby Cove or Corinna Wilderness Village.
“By the time guests arrive at Corinna, they can be a tad surprised by the remote feel,” says Corinna manager Matt Coxan. “So we like to make sure they’re well supported and ready to make the most of our untouched region. I often suggest one of my favourite walks, up Mount Donaldson with some of the most expansive Tarkine views. It’s only about 4km and great for those who might have already kayaked to Lovers Falls or cruised the Pieman River. Come evening, Tannin Restaurant is one of the island’s furthest outposts for dining on a Tasmanian Scotch fillet.”
Breakfast in Launceston, plus picnic supplies
Those heading south-east might first stop at the Tasmanian Food and Wine General Store in Devonport, a petite version of Parramatta Creek’s former Tasmanian Food and Wine Conservatory.
Owner Vonda Mason still has the island’s finest producers and makers in this Devonport hideaway. Visitors often leave with locally made candles and pottery in one arm and a basket filled with wine, cheese and providore goodies for a picnic up the highway, or provisions for their Tasmanian stay.
“We love celebrating our local talent, particularly here on the coast,” says Mason. “Whether it’s travellers coming in for coffee off the ferry who then discover a producer to add to their road trip or someone coming in for a rare bottle of Tasmanian spirit, we love being a gateway to the hands behind what’s made, grown and created on this island.”
Once in Launceston, specialty coffee options are plentiful. Tatler Lane by Sweet Brew is a CBD must, known for its great coffee, pancakes, porridge and ‘bowl full of sunshine’ featuring crunchy granola topped with the freshest seasonal fruit. Other much-loved haunts include Bread + Butter with its pastries, and newer spots such as Nest Cafe, which is becoming well known for its mighty protein bowls.
Devonport to Hobart drive, with brunch in Oatlands
Opening at 7am, Anvers Tasmania is housed in a 1931 Californian bungalow about 10 minutes from the ferry and loved for its fine couverture chocolates, pralines, truffles and brekky.
“We have lots of people who come straight to us from the boat for breakfast,” says staff member Sonia Shearer. “They come for our European-style or traditional breakfast and our delicious waffles. The chocolate centre doesn’t open until 9am but we still offer truffles and all the good things inside from 7am.”
If you prefer to get kilometres behind you, aim for Oatlands, about 2 hours from Devonport. This stop puts you just an hour out of Hobart with most of the driving behind you.
Oatlands has the largest number of colonial sandstone buildings in Australia, its quaint streetscape having featured in period films. As well as being pleasantly scenic for brunch, it’s also home to one of the country’s most cutting-edge distilleries, Callington Mill Distillery, and the newer BUNCH Cafe on High Street with wood-fired pizza, providore and Van Diemens Land Creamery ice-cream by the scoop.
The Kentish Tasmania has reinvigorated Oatlands’ old country pub with a beer garden and live tunes. Stay a while and find what’s behind those Georgian walls, from antique finds and vinyl records to a garden original at The Jardin Room.
Once in Hobart, time your trip around bustling markets including Saturday’s Salamanca Market or weave in a visit to a fresh produce market including Sunday morning’s Farm Gate Market, the Bream Creek Farmers Market on the first Sunday of each month (not far from destination restaurant Oirthir, for those who want to add culinary hot spots) and the Tasmanian Produce Market on Saturday mornings.
Plan your first morning off the ferry in Devonport
• Night sailings from Geelong arrive in Devonport around 6am
• Most Devonport cafes are within 10 minutes from the ferry terminal
• Allow about 2.5 hours total to drive to Corinna and 3 hours to reach Strahan, including The Chapel Cafe stop, from the ferry terminal
• The ferry terminal to Launceston is about a 75-minute drive with most cafe stops in the central city area and Anvers Tasmania located on the side of the highway
• Allow about 3.5 hours to drive from the ferry terminal to Hobart including a stop in Oatlands, right beside the Heritage Highway
RACT's Lifestyle Member Rewards save 5% on passenger fares aboard the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries, so tap into stage 1 ticket releases and make that first morning coffee even sweeter.