Skip to main content

Eating Out: The Wharf, Bicheno

The Galant parked outside the unassuming-looking The Wharf, home of some of Tasmania's best seafood.

Don't be fooled by the unassuming facade of Bicheno's The Wharf fish and chippery (https://www.tascoastalseafoods.com/) on Tasmania's east coast, approximately two and a half hours' drive from the island state's capital city, Hobart.  Located in The Gulch, a narrow stretch of water protected from the Tasman Sea by Governor Island, The Wharf is one of those magically evolved places that has grown from local business Tasmanian Coastal Seafoods and has taken on an atmosphere that a hundred hipsters, intent on designing the very best of authentic experiences, could not possibly hope to conjure up.     

Take-aways at the front; dining to the rear.

Like the revered Dunalley Fish Market in Tasmania's south-east (https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/chips-fish-n-chips.html), The Wharf is simply an addition to an already successful seafood marketing business.  The fish and chip side of the enterprise, housed in a large, almost industrial-looking shed at the rear of the premises, on an adjoining deck and in a sheltered outdoor area, provides a magnificent view of The Gulch and a number of commercial fishing boats tied up in the lee of Governor Island.  

The deck and outdoor area, with the main dining area at the rear.

The servery, all-important bar and espresso are housed in the lean-to at the centre of shot.

The shed would no doubt be a very cosy spot during wild weather and a great spot to watch waves crashing over the island, having been fitted with high windows along the full width of the side that faces the sea.  With some of the best-cooked seafood you could hope for, as well as beers and wines, and an espresso machine, it would be hard to imagine a better place to dine in good weather or bad!  

Simply cooked and generous seafood perfection: the fisherman's basket.

Above and below: the view from the deck towards Governor Island.


Above and below: this is what greets you when you head around the back of The Wharf.


So why not take a drive up the coast for a fish 'n' chip lunch or, if you've got time for an over-nighter, dinner?  The trip itself is superb - being, as it is, part of the Great Eastern Drive  (https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/what-to-do/self-drive/eastcoast) - featuring spectacular scenery and gorgeously winding country roads while the seafood and atmosphere would be hard to beat anywhere!  





U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

EJ or EH Holden? (Up-dated December, 2022)

EJ or the later EH? Several years ago, I posed the question:  Can somebody please explain the difference between an EJ and an EH Holden ute or van?  The response at the time wasn't overwhelming, so I did a bit of Googling and ferreting through my photos and came up with my own rough guide to EJ and EH identification.  Sedans and wagons are easy to tell apart ;  the EH's vertical rectangular tail lights are a dead give-away.  However, the workhorse versions of both models share the rear-end treatment of the earlier EJ, making it harder to identify one from the other.    No super obvious hints here. Or here ...  . It turns out that the main clues are in the placement of the front   H O L D E N   lettering and GMH lion emblems, the style of the radiator grille and the width of the vents in front of the windscreen, with all EJs - sedans, wagons, utes and vans - having one combination and the EH line-up having their own . So what exactly are those diffe

Vick Auto Prima Fiat X1/9 Brakes: An Owner’s Assessment

At the end of 2022, I fitted a set of Vick Autosport Prima front brakes to my mildly worked 1.5 litre Series 1 Fiat X1/9 . I was fortunate, having picked them up at a very, very reasonable price, brand new but surplus to the needs of a fellow X1/9 Australia member who had imported them from the US. The kit included: New single pot callipers , new vented rotors (standard X1/9 front rotors are smaller, non-vented items), DOT approved stainless steel brake hoses, and all the necessary mounting hardware. They are a value proposition, being particularly well priced compared to other manufacturers’ packages - even at RRP - with everyone I’ve spoken to saying they’re made to a high standard, too. Here's a link to a piece that I wrote about them at that time, including some costings: https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-x19-gets-prima-brake-upgrade.html . Initial Assessment: I was a little underwhelmed by the brakes' performance, finding that although they had a tiny

Random # 301: Nanna-Spec KE36 Corolla

  Once upon a time - six or seven years ago, actually - there was a lovely pale yellow GC Galant station wagon getting around Hobart.  It was totally nanna-spec; its paint was umarked, the chrome work and hubcaps were immaculate, and its very original interior was pristine. Then someone stuck feathers in its dashboard.  Next, the windows were adorned with Tibetan prayer flags.  And a hubcap went missing.  And the the rear bumper was pushed in, mangling the bodywork behind it.  And a mudguard got dented.  And rust set in.   I fear for this sweet, innocent KE36 Corolla.  Somebody please save it before it's too late.  Nanna needs you to do it. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by GlamRock.