The winter pub revival
From historic hotels to snug country inns, Tasmania’s pubs come alive in winter. We explore some of the top spots for sharing a drink and a story by the fire.
When Australian Prime Minister Alfred Deakin dined at the Empire Hotel in Queenstown in 1909, the meal stretched to nine courses, including trumpeter with egg sauce, oyster patties, and boiled fowl with parsley sauce and ham. It was a menu befitting a booming mining town, and a hotel that styled itself accordingly.
These days, the offerings are simpler, but no less satisfying: chicken parmies, slow-cooked lamb shanks and sticky date pudding – the kind of food that’s well received after a cold, wet winter’s day in Tasmania’s west.
Inside the Empire, history lingers without weighing down the present. The National Trust-listed blackwood staircase rises from the foyer – local timber was shipped to England to be crafted, before returning to Queenstown for assembly in 1904 – while the dining room holds onto its late-19th-century grandeur: timber-lined, expansive and warmed by an open fire.
For Tasmanian artists Margaret Woodward and Justy Phillips, who over the years have spent stretches of winter in Queenstown, undertaking residencies and preparing for biennial festival The Unconformity, the Empire is beginning to feel like a second home.
“There’s a big dining space at the Empire, so it becomes something of a hub for artists and production teams doing site visits,” Justy says.
“There’s this idea that the front bar and the dining room are separate worlds,” Margaret adds. “One for locals and one for visitors. But when you wander through for a game of darts or 8-ball, people are friendly and curious – they are always open to chat.”
On any given night at the Empire, there might be a karaoke set underway, a lively cluster around the pool table, or hungry families taking advantage of the weekly ‘Kids Eat Free’ special offer. In winter, hot gin punch is available, and the threshold between newcomer and regular seems to dissolve a little faster.
Outside, Queenstown’s streets are slick with rain; inside, the Empire offers cosiness, chatter and the slow accumulation of familiarity – whether you’ve been coming for decades or have just arrived in from the cold.
An island welcome
As a child, publican Dave Gunton spent much of his time travelling around regional Tasmania with his father, a solicitor whose work took them from town to town. Along the way there were countless pub dinners – what his dad called “counter meals” – in places like Bicheno, Strahan and Port Arthur.
It wasn’t just the food, but also the atmosphere in these places that made an impression on Dave. There were dinners where the room seemed to hold the whole town: a scallop fisherman in one corner, a local businessman in another, with tourists folding into the mix. “It was a real community thing,” he recalls. “Everyone knew everyone.” That early sense – that a pub could be more than just a place to eat – stayed with him.
Years later, when Dave first arrived on Bruny Island, winter brought a quiet stillness that caught him off-guard. “You could fire a cannon down the main road,” he says. “With the last ferries gone, and all the shops shut, if you were visiting the island and hadn’t planned ahead, you would literally go hungry.”
Running a small holiday village, Dave sometimes found himself cooking for guests who arrived unprepared – homemade pasta, Russian dumplings – and inviting them in to eat with his own family. “That sort of planted the seed,” he laughs. “Maybe I’d better buy the pub.”
Today, Hotel Bruny – open every day of the year– hums through the chilly island winter. On Sunday afternoons, live music carries through the bar, while outside the channel chops and shifts, the view stretching across to Satellite Island.
Inside, there’s the roar of a log fire, hands are warmed on mugs of hot Bruny Island cider, and plates of braised lamb shoulder or beef cheeks nourish both body and soul. Local oysters, mushrooms and honey make their way onto the menu, keeping Dave’s childhood memories of community-minded pubs alive.
The heart of the valley
At New Norfolk’s The Bush Inn, history is woven into the walls. Established in 1815, it is Australia’s oldest continuously licensed pub, shaped by early colonial gatherings and later the site of the state’s first long-distance telephone call in 1888. Even its beginnings carry a quiet distinction, opened by Ann Bridger, its first female licensee, and now more than two centuries later, overseen by the second, current publican Belinda Cameron.
Step inside on a winter afternoon and the past gives way to something more immediate: low-slung leather sofas pulled close to the fireplaces, beautiful wood panelling and the watchful presence of taxidermied animals lining the walls.
For musician Kelly-jo Ostermann, who performs regularly as part of duo Rusty and the Raven, the Inn has flourished under Belinda’s management. “It’s coming up for three years the new owners have been here, and they’ve really breathed new life into it,” she says. “It’s everything you’d hope for in a good local pub.”
Live music spills easily into the rhythm of the week, with Friday nights a draw for locals knocking off work, and Sunday afternoons bringing a mix of Derwent Valley regulars and Hobart visitors seeking a long lunch.
“It’s great having somewhere that’s so supportive of local musicians,” Kelly-jo says. “You just tell them when you can play, and they’ll slot you in: no pressure, no social media hoops, just trust that you can perform.”
Young staff learning the ropes, a meat tray draw on Thursdays, and the mingling of locals and newcomers create a warmth that extends beyond the bar. “It’s really good for the town,” she adds. “We’ve never really had a venue like this before in New Norfolk.”
Chad Honey, a plasterer from Launceston, isn’t a regular, but makes a point of stopping in whenever he’s in the south. Drawn by the Inn’s focus on locally sourced produce, he says the food alone is worth the detour.
“It’s very clear the owners take a lot of pride in ensuring everything is locally sourced and of high quality,” he says. “I’ve never had anything on the menu I wouldn’t recommend. That being said, I don’t think you can go past the Angus steak, cheesy sourdough garlic bread and the hot buttered rum.”
Out on the deck, even on the coldest days, dogs settle in beside their owners with the Derwent Valley stretching wide below. Inside, the fires are rarely out – often stoked by Belinda herself – and the sense of the place holds steady: not just a pub with a long past, but one still firmly embedded in the life around it.
No matter where you are in Tasmania, winter makes local pubs feel essential. They become gathering points: rooms full of warmth, firelight and friendly faces; spaces where regulars and visitors alike congregate for comfort food, company and live music. From the west coast to Bruny Island to the Derwent Valley, these pubs hold a kind of seasonal magic – a reminder that, in winter, community can help keep winter’s chill at bay.
The best of the rest
For post-hike warmth, Fern Tree Tavern is a welcome refuge at the foot of Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, where muddy boots and rain jackets are part of the dress code.
At Longley International Hotel, outdoor fire pits, a storied Huon pine bar and a lively music program jam-packed with local bands all keep the winter nights buzzing.
In the northeast, Dorset Hotel delivers generous, good-value feeds and cosy country hospitality for riders fresh off Derby’s famous MTB trails.
At Launceston’s Gunners Arms Tavern, it’s all about community: open fires, Guinness on tap, quizzes, open-mic comedy nights and a refreshingly pokies-free local scene.