the source

we visited mona recently & lunch at the source was the highlight of our visit to hobart. to say the total diningexperiencewas a standout is an understatement. the slippery jack mushrooms as our main was just wonderful & neither of us is vegetarian. our cheese selection was washed down with a glass of freyincet botrytis riesling which was divine, & to top it off, we had the best table in the restaurant with the most beautiful views. staff were very knowledgeable & the service was perfect. just a wonderful experience!

this was our 3rd & final diningexperienceat ts. the room is ideal for an intimate, romantic evening but the food is just not up to it. spice blending, textures, over cooking & technique is all very pedestrian considering the price point
we have had 1 out 3 memorable meals here but won't be back
really disappointing i'm sorry to say

impressive technique but underwhelmingexperienceand overpriced. they were flat out and waiter was new, so that could have contributed to theexperiencealthough desserts just didn't come together for me either. the seaweed butter was excellent, the beef had good flavours and the chicken was beautifully tender. the good does slight outweigh the bad, enough to make me want to give it another go

another phenom foodexperiencein tasmania.

after a wander through mona (what a museum and gallery) we headed to our lunch booking for hubs birthday.

tasmanian drinks to start followed by seriously great food.

seared scallops for my choice, torched miso & sake cured ocean trout for hubs.

for mains we got the striped trumpeter and the seafood hot pot, both delicious and generous.

dessert of panna cotta for me, and white chocolate mouse for hubs.

i finished with a very good piccolo. they use villano coffee.

all the dishes were simple and the produce was fresh and cooked to perfection.
throughly enjoyed the diningexperiencehere. best restaurant i've been eaten at in hobart so far.

i've always been thoroughly impressed with the food and produce in tasmania. the source is one of them. and rarely do i find a restaurant with all three of a gorgeous view, quality food and ambience.

mona or the museum of new and modern art is perhaps 'the' modern art museum in the southern hemisphere. and located on this lovely, picturesque seascape are a winery, cellar door for moorilla and of course, the source restaurant. i'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

in itself a 15-20 minute car/taxi trip out of hobart or take the catamaran out of salamanca, the source is easily accessible.

the moorilla wines are throughly enjoyable, especially the cloth label. the white and sparkly in particularly were standouts as complex, full bodied yet different wines. and if you don't find something you like from moorilla? well, the wine list is one of the best in the state.

then there's the food. could they be from a masterchef kitchen? as the menu changes often depending on seasonal produce, i'll let the pictures speak for themselves. just like masterchef, don't expect every dish to be an absolute winner. and even the best ... sometimes don't always get it right. only one or two dishes i vaguely recall didn't quite meet expectations. but overall, the meal andexperiencewas a winner.  i still remember that delectable baked apple, encased within a meringue shell as you crack it open and pour the most rich, salty caramel sauce on top. 

along with franklin's and the glass house, amongst my three favourite restaurants in hobart.

i would highly recommend, if your budget allows booking into one of the nearby chalets. tastefully furnished, immensely comfortable and saves you having to even think of driving home after a meal and wine pairing. and the view. oh the view.

when my husband and i visited hobart, we thought we’d give the source a go to make our mona visit more complete. as their website instructed, i had to call the restaurant to book a few days beforehand. although the process was smooth, i’d expected a modern fine dining restaurant at mona to have online reservation function on their website.

when we arrived on the sunday, we were greeted immediately by one of the waiters. service from the staff and restaurant manager were good, but you’d expect nothing less from a restaurant like this. they came to top up our water frequently which was good. when we mentioned that we were planning to do wine tasting after lunch so we were not ordering any drinks, the female manager very kindly informed us that make sure we mention that we dined at the source so that the tasting is complimentary. we didn’t feel pressured to order drinks at the restaurant which was nice, and certainly appreciated her telling us about the complimentary tasting as it wasn’t stated anywhere on mona’s website.

we were not very hungry so decided to just order 2 entrées and 1 main to share. the restaurant, like most fine dining restaurants in australia, offers complimentary bread, which is sourced from the famous pigeon whole bakery in hobart.

for our first entrée, we had the seared scallops, textures of cauliflower, tomato & chorizo. the scallops were delicious! they were cooked and seared really well and really left us wanting for more. the cauliflower and puree were also flavoursome, and mixed really well with tomato & chorizo. again, they tasted so good that i think i wouldn’t mind getting another serve. the dish was well presented too. this was a great start to a meal and i’d really recommend this dish if you come here for lunch.

for our second entrée, we had the rabbit terrine, moorilla wine poached cherries, toast, leafy salad, capers, mustard. i had never tried rabbit terrine before so didn’t know what to expect. it was actually really nice and palatable. it tasted even better with a layer of mustard on top. we really enjoyed sharing it with some salad and bread. the wine poached cherries and didn’t leave any great impression though. the leafy salad was crunchy and the beetroot and capers really added extra texture and flavours to it. overall, it was a light and refreshing dish. if you are feeling a bit adventurous and open to something different, this is a good one to try.

for our main course, we had the cannelloni filled with leafy greens and pine nuts in creamy cheese sauce. presentation was not that impressive and there just looked to be an excessive amount of creamy cheese sauce on the plate. there were three cannelloni in total. the cannelloni pastry tasted fresh and house-made, and there were plenty of green fillings inside. however, we both felt that the creamy cheese sauce was too creamy and rich. to be honest, after the two impressive entrées, this dish was a bit underwhelming. there were way too much cheesy sauce on it and that’s all you could taste. i knew it would be creamy, but i had expected the taste to be more sophisticated and didn’t expect the creaminess to be that rich. nevertheless, if you are a fan of some really creamy cheese sauce, you probably will love this dish.

overall, i’d still recommend dining here if you visit mona. it may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely a diningexperienceworth trying to complete your mona experience.

may 2017 review of museum cafe (2/5) - i was so surprised by the attitude of the staff at the cafe as the source & wine bar staff are exceptional. we had a team lunch of 17 & we were drip fed lunch orders. 5 ordered curries which instead of coming out at one time, was spaced out over 50 mins, with the last one being served after everyone has finished their meal. it appears that they microwave their food to heat up. all the curries are individually plated then microwaved to heat. i noticed that there was unusually large amount of steam coming out the curry however the food itself was not that hot. this also added to drying up the curry as they microwaved the food too long. we all had very dry pork curry, unpleasant to get through. they must also have one microwave for the amount of time it took to get to the table.

the waitstaff completely ignored us when we tried to inquire about the last dish that hasn't arrived ( classic avoidance of eye contace & attitude of i am too cool for this job to serve you). my tea cup had coffee stains on the side & when i requested a new cup i was met with "what's wrong with it!".

the food in the serving fridge looks fantastic however i am not keen on paying $18 for microwaved food.

2 star is for the stunning view & landscape of the courtyard. it was heavenly to sit outside to soak in the sun.

feb & may 2017 review of source restaurant - the food & service was exceptional. the creativity of the food served, coupled with the professional service & luxurious setting make the diningexperienceone to remember. i would go back again no question. we had a fantastic dinner & lunch experience.

for lunch we took the kids & they were very accommodating by preparing a meal for them (one had creamy pasta who said it was delicious & fish & chips for the other one). source is trending for me!

dec 2015 review of golden hour @ mona wine bar - i highly recommend this experience! i arrived to a beautiful communal table setting at the wine bar, and was greet by a welcoming host with a complimentary bubblies. my girlfriends & i opted only for the food option ($79 pp for 3 course) as we wanted to drive home, drinks package is another $50.

the food was elegant with earthy feel to it, no pretension. the food was yummy, plentiful & i enjoyed the sharing concept. i thought initally being seated so closely with strangers that my night would be stilted but it was a lovely intimate setting & we enjoyed ourselves.

the highlight was going to see the amarna (art exhibition), i appreciated the explanation of the art (as i am no expert in this area). it was a wonderfulexperienceto be out in the open & exploring art work. we returned to have dessert & relished being inside (bring a warm jacket as exhibition is outside). i took a photo of the menu so i won't describe the food, except to say it was very good.

food : comforting yet elegant
service: warm & elegant
atmosphere: chic & modern

i would definitely go back!

amazing!. sometimes you pay twice what you consider to be the maximum reasonable price for a restaurant, and the meal is only10% better than the norm. here we paid twice a reasonable maximum and were rewarded with anexperienceto die for!
we had the five-course degustation with wine for sunday lunch for my wife's 60th birthday. initially i was very disappointed (not to say pissed off) that they had lost our booking for this very special day, and could not accommodate us, but then after some pleading they (i.e. cameron) came through good and gave us a wonderful table in the corner overlooking the bay. from that moment on it was perfect. they don't give you a menu, but ask what sorts of things you like and build your meal around that. i loved having someone else choosing my meals! my wife has quirky food preferences which they accommodated flawlessly. our food was mind-bogglingly inventive - novel combinations which i wouldn't dream would work but turned out to be perfectly matched with each other and with the chosen wine. and the wine! we started with a unusual boutique french champagne and ended with a 25-year-old gewurztraminer, and all stops in between equally interesting, except for a somewhat boring but inoffensive pinot noir. my wife, not a great wine drinker, almost didn't bother with the wine. that would have been such an enormous mistake because it's very much part of the degustation experience, at the end she agreed that she would have missed out on so much of theexperienceif she hadn't tried the matching wines. i loved the sommelier who really knew her stuff, and the waitress who was equally knowledgeable (and enthusiastic) about the food. she was also psychic - how come she knew my wife was dying for a chocolate dessert whereas i was looking for something fresh and fruity?
hats off, and thanks, to the staff who made it a very special day for us. now to pay off the second mortgage. but it was worth it!

spectacular source. i went here to say goodbye to amazing tasmania and enjoy a fine diningexperiencei would never forget! this place is the kind of restaurant you come to if you want to celebrate a milestone! its beautiful and romantic! the waiters are attentive and i really recommend the wine matching with the degustation of 10 items so you can try a bit of everything! the moobrew is brewed at mona and i find that incredible only found that out whilst we were sitting there... the bread as well is amazing.. haven't had entre bread like that! the food was beautiful but again would only come here to celebrate a special occasion!

stupendous. i am far from the arty type. avant-guard would not describe my artistic taste but mona would certainly fit that bill.
with tickets to the museum/art gallery organised and a 2 course lunch booked at "the source" the ferry trip was a relaxing way to approach the afternoon.
on arrival the restaurant was located and the decision made to lunch first before viewing the exhibits.
and that was when the delight commenced. the receptionist downstairs was warm in her welcome and gave no indication that the request for directions to the restaurant, up the stairs in front of us, was anything other than the most important request she had at that moment.
the sommelier lead the way to a primo positioned table in the front corner.
the house sparkling water was a delight as was the young waiter who offered a choice to upgrade the pre-booked two courses to a degustation of 3, 5, 7 or 9 courses.
with matched wines of course.
after choosing the 5 course degustation with matched wines theexperiencebegan with buffalo mozzarella foam covering heritage tomatoe with candied tomatoe, tomatoe water, olive oil and fresh basil leaves.
a triumph matched with a german riesling.
the second course was the best vegetarian dish i have ever had. butter beans with toasted almonds, white peach and a coriander foam was enhanced with a 100% rousanne. delicious.
the event continued with the dish of the day. a house smoked oyster with local sand crab served with foie gras and pedro xminenez jelly matched to an alsaction riesling was a hedonistic delight. i could have eaten the dish several times over.
squab breast with almond crumbs, spinach leaves and olive powder, and parsnip cream was bold and balanced with a robust dry and earthy italian barolo. manly food to finish the mains.
the desserts however served with a 13 year old sauternes were ethereal.
a sea of pistachio custard floated a cheesecake circle topped with fresh raspberries and reefed by chocolate praline and sweet crispbread with granulated dried pistachios and raspberries cascading down the side. a visual and taste extravaganza. the other desert of lime creme anglaise encased in green tea toffee and served with black sesame paste, green tea cake and chocolate drizzle was exotically delicious.
the combination of the faultless service by passionate knowledgeable staff and the food fit to be served in any top class restaurant in the world made it a memorable occasion.
it's worth an interstate trip to savour the experience.

fine fine food. we went to the source after 1.5hrs in the mona and were starving. ordered the ox tongue and crab ravioli as entrees and both were fresh and tasty. fricasse of chicken and mushroom (the most succulent chicken breast meat i've ever had) and the lyonnaise onion tart (something different for us) were good and the highlight was actually the coffee floating island dessert which offered depth and a perfect ending to a wonderful meal. while the place is not cheap it's worth the price it is demanding. and the wholeexperiencetogether with the museum just made it extra special!

the source, mona. great food, but the service did not match what you would expect for the price you are paying for the food. if it was just about the food, then i would go again, but for the overallexperiencei won't be rushing back.