the glass house

average [2.5/5]

the glasshouseis an excellent spot for having a drink and chill out with friends. but if you're looking for a place to fill your stomach, go to mures lower deck. this is fine dining after all.

surrounded by the spectacular ocean view and oriental designs, this fusion australian-japanese restaurant promised to bring out the best dining experience. when you combine the freshness and abundancy of tasmanian seafood and the japanese's meticulousness, you have very high expectation. 

when we entered the restaurant, the supervisor appeared to be super casual and indifferent towards customers. she looked almost under pressure. our waitress was friendly (customer service voice, high pitch laugh detected), but our food took forever to appear. we ordered fresh oysters, salmon sashimi with ginger and sesame sauce, salmon ceviche, and salmon collars. the dishes seemed uncomplicated yet they took so long. if i compared to a fine dining restaurant in sydney, i'd have moved to the 7th item in the full course meal. anyway, most of the food was good except for the salmon collars. the cheeks, cheapest cut of the salmon, were grilled and served with lemon. it tasted fishy. don't believe in the fancy names and descriptions. 

after the dinner, we joked among each other that we'd go grab maccas and kebabs. sadly, none are available in hobart cbd. ya'll missing out a lot, hobart.

what a little gem!

glasshouseis an absolute treat.

beautiful venue with beautiful views and food to match

highly recommend all our dishes.
scallop ceviche
salmon tartare
burrata
eye fillet steak
broccolini

an eclectic mix of asian and european i was initially concerned would confuse the palate. nope! absolutely wonderful flavour combinations. i could go back again and again.

brilliant.

yum

5 ⭐️ location: great location and magnificent view of the water and being incorporated as part of an engrossing architecture. as well a good spot for a night out with an array of bars and restaurants nearby on the pier precinct.

we were “lucky” to land 8.30 pm seating the “last booking” at hottest spot in hobart. we arrived on time as instructed but found ourselves cordoned on waiting couches for 15 minutes before being ushered to our table. looking around there appear to be only stragglers ravishing on desserts.

2⭐️ service: when seated all the questions were directed at my partner as if i wasn’t worthy to be there. the water came quickly followed by the menu some 10 minutes later and it was evident by now the venue staff had no rhythm.

after twenty minutes we had to wave to order two glasses of red wine. we were also decided on our dishes and ready to order, but the waitress took off without any follow up, which was service in very bad form. the night was getting long in the tooth and was very suspicious when another waitress took our orders without writing. i was expecting more disasters, and further disasters in the worst form did follow. we’ll leave it at that.

4.5⭐️ dishes: the owners of the glasshousehave been let down by the service staff as the dishes were distinctive, exquisite and we enjoyed it so much that the very bad service was all forgotten.

oh my goodness, the degustation menu was massive! i’m on the side of being a big eater for my size in melbourne but oh boy i was rolling myself out from the glasshouseafter dinner.

i was here for work one night and thought, how much food could a $75 degustation menu be..? they were so nice to let me have the menu on my own despite the little writing that said “2 guests minimum”. after i managed to pull myself up from my table, i went to ask the lady at the cashier - were they mistaken and served me with two servings of everything...?? she said no, there had not been any mistakes. wow!

the food was absolutely amazing, and the surroundings surreal. my only wish was that i could’ve shared it with one more person as i could not finish my dishes from the beef dish onwards. the portions were much larger than it looks in the photos - the beef, for example, was a substantial main dish by melbourne standards with about 300gm of meat hiding under the vegetables.

would definitely be back next time for the a la cartel menu!

visited the glasshouseduring my stay in hobart and can only say positive things about this place!
we ordered items off the menu rather than the chefs recommendations as we weren’t too hungry!
we ordered the scottsdale pork, wild hare, yellowtail kingfish and the potatoes for the mains and for the desserts we orders the triple cream brie and the parfait.
the food was served in such a timely/progressive manner, which allowed us to enjoy the food at our own pace and be prepared for the next dish.
all the dishes were absolutely exquisite and we enjoyed the dining experience thoroughly!
the service at the glasshousewas also exceptional!
i would definitely recommend to anyone visiting hobart! 🙂

our experience at the glasshousewas very positive, with excellent food and views, but inattentive service (hence the 4 star review).

we dined at about 2pm on good friday, with the restaurant being pleasantly quiet. we were seated at the windows, with full complement of the lovely view and opted for the two-course weekday lunch menu.

the food was excellent. i’m a seafood lover, so i especially appreciated the oyster entree and poke bowl main - it was so fresh! my partner enjoyed the lamb for main and commented that it was one of the best meals he’s ever eaten.

as for the service; though friendly, it was inattentive. it took almost an hour for our mains to come out, in a restaurant with only 5 tables occupied. when the mains arrived my partner ordered a glass of shiraz to accompany his lamb. he had to ask twice and was more than half way through his dish when the wine arrived.

finally, we ordered the cheque and noticed we’d been charged for 5 x set lunches, rather than two. a relatively minor error, but not one that should occur in a restaurant like this.

ultimately i would dine there again - the food was brilliant, the views delightful and the service friendly (if inattentive).

awesome food! they don’t have a huge selection of food on the menu but everything is done just en point! they have an a la carte option and a $75pp option where the chef will look after you. we chose the a la carte option, but the waiter did mention that they were happy to accomodate any needs for the $75pp option.
the glasshouseoffered two types of oysters, one from blackman bay and the other from pitt water. we ordered half a dozen of each to taste the difference in oysters amongst different areas in tassie. they were both nice but our preference was definitive the blackman bay (if you read my other reviews you’ll read about bangor which is still my number one fave though)
we ordered the yellowtail kingfish, tasmanian avocado, molesworth tomatoes, scottsdale pork and grass fed cape grim beef to share between three of us.
all the food were yummy and fresh. i do need to highlight the tasmanian avocado though. it was a grilled miso eggplant which was absolutely delicious, but as you could see from the photo, the eggplant was really the hero of the dish! the whipped avocado on the side just didn’t really taste like avocado at all! so i found the name of the dish a bit deceiving, but still it was yummy!
the tomatoes were lovely but quite expensive for half a little tomato! but what do you expect in a fancy restaurant!
the pork though was probably one of the highlights. the slow cooked sticky belly was absolutely cooked to perfection we had to get two serves! it was served with a lovely vietnamese noodle salad and all the flavours just worked out well!
the beef was also cooked well, medium rare and just melts in your mouth! exactly how it should be cooked!
of course we also had to order desserts to finish. we had the cox pippin which was a lovely prune, raisins and belgrove pommeau parfait. i’m not a prune person but didn’t mind it in this amazing dish. the caramelised apple and the butterscotch sauce just tied everything together beautifully!
the other dessert we ordered was the ice-cream sandwich. pretty much exactly what you expected and obviously, nothing can go wrong with an ice cream sandwich!
had an absolutely amazing night!

the glasshousehad one of the best view of the harbour as a restaurant with a beautiful, full bar.
we didn't make reservation for dinner so only had the bar seats, however, didn't obstruct our perfect view of the stunning and peace sunset! so to avoid disappointment, please call and make reservation in advance.

food menu had few starters as well as asian fusion meal courses. not much too choose, but overall the taste of the dishes we had was all pretty good! of course, don't miss out their seasonal cocktail with the touch of freshness and creativity!

*salmon sashimi-8 pieces of extreme fresh salmon sashimi topped with some fish pearls, fresh wasabi and mirco herbs. the sashimi was so tender, so fresh! with beautiful smooth and fatty texture, the fish roe was really bouncy and fresh too!
*oyster mushroom-pan fried and pickled mushroom served with artichoke purée and topped with nori and shaved bonito. simple but delicious vegetarian dish of my favourite mushroom. pickled mushroom added nice touch of sourness into the dish, love the perfect combination of nori&bonito, added some japanese style into it.
*wallaby tartare-cured wallaby meat served with slow cooked egg yolk and rice cracker. pure, clean taste of the wallaby meat, seasoned and cured well. rice cracker and crispy fried onion added extra crunchiness into the dish, really nice and highly recommend!
*pork belly-lettuce leave served with chilli noodle salad, slow cooked sticky pork and pickled cucumber. this dish had some vietnamese fusion and quite creative! the pork belly itself was well cooked with really tender texture. overall taste very sweet, salty and sour and slightly spicy. if you r into vietnamese food, you would love it.

as the sun settled down, we were enjoying our tasty dinner in the beautiful setting. just feel like, everything is perfect! highly recommend to visit the place even just for a simple drink, you won't regret it~

not quite sure how you would actually describe the glasshouse- a fine dining bar? the bar list is extensive but the food is overpriced for what you are getting. we ordered a bottle of red, and i had the pork belly and my partner had the slow cooked lamb. both were delicious - but honestly expected more on my plate considering they were meant to be mains (or at least priced as if they were).

we went at night, so it’s fantastic location over the water was a bit lost on us as you can’t really see out. however, it has a beautiful fit out - i was getting some mad men vibes from it.

if you are after a high end dining experience on a fairly decent price tag that offers some of the best views in hobart then the glasshouseis a must. i recommend a minimum of two dishes per person to get the most out of it and most definitely indulge in cocktails. you won’t be disappointed.
full review is now on spooning australia.

we had a fabulous evening dining here with friends. the food was good and all the dishes were well presented and thoughtfully put together however were not that substantive. a great wine list and friendly staff.there are a couple of down sides though.  the location and view are fantastic however at night you can hardly see out the windows so it was a bit lost on us. also, having dined at quite a number of other restaurants in and around hobart we noted that the glasshousewas a fair bit pricier without the extra quality one may have anticipated.
hopefully we will make it back for a long lunch in the future to change our minds.

the glasshouseis one of those places where you can enjoy a night out with a group of friends, or for a more intimate date night with stunning views over the water. located at the end of brooke street pier, this floating structure is one of the best places to get the best views, day and night of the waterfront.

our first meal in hobart was impressive! the breathtaking waterview through the large glass windows caught our attention immediately as we walked into the glass house, which is located inside brooke street pier. the interior boasts classy, modern elegance and the menu is asian fusion with a creative flair. the dishes are all designed to be shared and are very reasonably priced considering the high standard and the atmosphere in which they are served! we were continuously amazed by the flavoursome food and the wonderful waterfront setting took the experience to yet another level! our favourite dishes were the ocean trout, the pork shoulder and the dessert with white chocolate, coconut and yuzu curd. the glasshousehas a trendy bar stocked with some of tassie's best drinks as well as japanese liquor. we opted for a glass of moo brew and a glass of rose which went down beautifully with our meal. service was professional and attentive throughout. we highly recommend this place for lunch - be sure to book well in advance and ask for a table by the windows for the optimal experience!

if you want a seat at this restaurant, you need to book. we visited the glasshouseon a wednesday evening, and simply sat at the bar, as we had not booked in advance. the view from the restaurant is fantastic, overlooking the water, csiro vessel and into the harbour. when you first open the menu, it may be different to what you see on many review websites, due to the menu frequently being changed. you'll then turn to the second page of what appears to be a book, and my goodness it is quite a drinks list. the options are endless, although i would certainly recommend the cocktails, as this place is known for them. now for the food.. it was by far one of the best tapas style restaurants i have ever experienced. my favourite dishes were the quail and pork shoulder. if you're in hobart, make sure you add the glasshouseto your itinerary.

food ✅ service ✅ view ✅ place ✅ all good! our favorites are the oyster, short rib, ocean trout, pork shoulder and egg plant. thankyou the glasshousefor making our short trip to hobart memorable ❤️✨👍🏻