the source

unfortunately, although the food we could have was very nice (truffle toastie, cauliflower, granita and pain perdu) thisrestaurantdoesn’t seem to cater well for dietary requirements. we had emailed in advance to let them know we could not have fructose, and they said that was fine. however, we arrived to find out that we could only have a few very limited dishes from the menu and that the chef couldn’t change anything else. wish they had told us from the original emails if they were not very flexible. waitstaff were very friendly and especially apologetic to our situation. we were also disappointed that not all tables were “living” and that the ones that were had been taken by a larger group. this all, paired with some disjointed music from the lawn, made sure the source did not feel as luxurious as it should have.

great location, food was ok but found the menu very limited and we thought it was a bit try hard. although the food was tasty the serving of chicken was very small. i totally understand what look monarestaurantis going for, but i think you've missed. found the waiter a little upfront asking if we'd like to leave a tip. the cafe looked very good.

best gallery in australia needs best restaurant. mona is possibly the best gallery in the world, amazing. the source is however nowhere near the same standard. i understand that on a sunday if the place is packed that randomly selected degustation could be of benefit for streamlining service but therestaurantwasn't full so why? the first dish was a pumpkin soup, the go-to dish for cafes when the chef is too busy or cannot be bothered doing anything too special, a truffle cream floating on the surface was ok, maybe as it's not truffle season yet it was frozen truffle or just some aroma.
coral trout to follow, a little rare but that's a matter of opinion so fine but the lemon meringue wafer topping a soggy tempura of fennel was poorly thought out and executed. it disrespects the fish.
the low point was the cheese service, just a tip, when the cheddar is dry on one side trim it before serving!
the cheese had taken on a plastic like surface that was far too dry. the goat cheese was excellent as was the wine.
on leaving the chef made a point of saying clearly within earshot to his sous chef that we thought the texture of the fish was too firm and too bad.
that's hospitality for you, try the café.

we visited mona recently & lunch at the source was the highlight of our visit to hobart. to say the total dining experience was 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 therestaurantwith the most beautiful views. staff were very knowledgeable & the service was perfect. just a wonderful experience!

great view, great service, great food!

a really nicerestaurantto visit @ mona, quiet & conversational. mains are $30-$40, but both ours were well worth the price and couldn't be faulted. ocean trout was flakey & crispy skinned; beef cheeks even more tender than the fish!

some local beers & wines are available but we couldn't pass up some of the rarer craft beers on offer.

thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

friends of the foodie mookie crew were visiting mona and called to ask if we had tried the source. “no we haven’t, but definitely want to”. so we called to book and mentioned that we are flying in from interstate. therestaurantmanager, to her credit, immediately flagged that the head chef would no longer be with the restaurant. disappointed we contact our friends who still wanted to try so booking confirmed, the foodie mookie crew board a plane and flew to tasmania to visit the source and a selection of tasmania’s rated restaurants.

while i appreciate the imposing rock walls, including inside the hollowed-out access tube you can view via the hydraulic glass elevator, i find myself relieved to leave mona and ascend the hill to the source. as a feminist, i kind of wish i hadn’t seen god’s parking space (reserved for david walsh) and the one next to it reserved for his partner, kirsha kaechele, dubbed “god’s mistress”. a few minutes later i’m seated in the dimly lit glass boxrestaurantstaring at what i think look like a bunch of smooth white penises enclosed inside our table. the waiter tells us they’re the wedding rattles from walsh's wedding. i focus on my wine, trying not to wonder if the animal skins in the neighbouring tabletop were taken clan of the cave bear-style from their marital bed. and how good is wine? the list here is actually astonishing. we narrow down pages of excitement to the 2017 meadowbank chardonnay ($85) from the derwent valley. it's made by...

situated within the mona grounds, thisrestauranthave an amazing view overlooking tasmania and the river. a lot was put into the decor of this restaurant, each table have it's own decorations under the table glass. on the outside you have what they called live tables which have green plant on it! foodwise i have to say they're really good except for the seafood hotpot. the dish was really bland. i would highly recommend the roasted eggplant, it has a mix of flavours that makes it so interesting!

if you have read our recent travel article on tasmania for jase’s 30th birthday weekend surprise, you will know that we dined at the famous sourcerestaurantinside the mona grounds. the source utilises seasonal local produce to create fresh and delicate flavours and textures in every dish. in fact, the menu is so seasonal that it changes daily, at the whim of executive chef vince trim and his team of culinary masters.

arestaurantwith a view, service and quality local produce.

we had our lunch here when the shadows on mona was going on, at the communal table. the following day we had breakfast having stayed over at the mona pavilions.

lunch was a interesting affair being on the communal table. we had to watch out where we place our glasses and cutlery but that doesn't reduce the flavour of the entree and mains.

the weather was really good as well and sitting in the shade with live music, nothing could beat that on a sunday afternoon!

recommended before or after a day of wandering in the mona!

all the dishes were simple and the produce was fresh and cooked to perfection.
throughly enjoyed the dining experience here. bestrestauranti'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 arestaurantwith 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 and experience was 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 therestaurantto book a few days beforehand. although the process was smooth, i’d expected a modern fine diningrestaurantat 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 andrestaurantmanager were good, but you’d expect nothing less from arestaurantlike 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 therestaurantwhich 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 dining experience worth 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 sourcerestaurant- the food & service was exceptional. the creativity of the food served, coupled with the professional service & luxurious setting make the dining experience one 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 wonderful experience to 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!

excellent environment but disappointing staff and terrible chief.. therestauranthas a lovely view , you would not expect you spend over than hundred dollars and got this kind of service . when hungry do not go there . you do not want to waited for 30 minute to got your terrible dish.