The Tassie Venues Boasting a Fireplace for Ultimate Cosy Vibes

Tasmania may be beautiful, but it is undeniably chilly. Don’t let that deter you from visiting Australia’s most southern state in the cooler months – unlike the mainland, Tassie is actually set up for winter. Buildings are well insulated and heated, and many venues come with their own roaring fireplace to warm your frozen hands in front of.

From low-key pubs to modern cafes and even wineries, it’s bliss to score a seat near a fireplace to enjoy Tassie’s famously excellent food and a glass of local pinot noir.

Here’s some of the best fireplaces in Tasmania to make a beeline for when the icy wind starts blowing.

The Lost Captain

Boasting both indoor and outdoor fireplace options, The Lost Captain is just as pleasant to visit in winter as it is in the warmer months. With an incredible menu of small share plates and bigger bites, there’s a real emphasis on local Huon Valley goodness in the food here. The renovated 1918 main building has seating and several fireplaces inside, while an outdoor fireplace gets going in the restaurant’s large garden area as the sun goes down.

2-4 Short Street, Huonville

The New Sydney Hotel

The New Sydney Hotel has been around since 1835, and is showing no signs of losing popularity. It’s a humble, no-frills favourite with locals and city workers who head to the pub for cosy dinners and knock-offs. With walls crowded with old-school signage, the bartenders are friendly, the pub classics are generously sized (not to mention, delicious), and the 18 taps have a rotating selection of beers. Adding to the warm and friendly vibes is the large open fireplace you just have to score a seat near. 

87 Bathurst Street, Hobart

Homestead Restaurant

The Homestead Restaurant sits at the edge of Great Oyster Bay, and is well worth a visit if you’re exploring the Freycinet Peninsula area on the stunning east coast of Tassie. With a sunny outdoor area, the restaurant also has a modern fireplace inside, flanked by two cushy couches for those lucky enough to nab them. Homestead is elegant yet casual, and the menu features locally-grown produce and carefully matched local wines to enjoy while basking in the cosy glow of the fireplace.

12990 Tasman Highway, Swansea

Grinners Dive Bar

Hobart dive bar Grinners – with its tacos and booze tagline – is already the perfect place for a low-key drink and feed, but in the cooler months Grinners also boasts a roaring fireplace upstairs. Order your tacos, chimichangas, nachos or burrito and grab your beer (or cocktail) and head straight up to grab a cosy fireside seat. With great music playing and lots of lively banter from locals and staff alike, you can happily park here all night long.

132-134 Elizabeth Street, Hobart

The Clarendon Arms

The tiny historic town of Evandale, just 20 minutes out of Launceston, boasts beautiful heritage buildings, antique stores and the Clarendon Arms – a pub with an inviting crackling fire. While the beer garden is nice when the weather is decent, especially on 

Sundays when there’s live music on offer, winter calls for a table near the fireplace while you enjoy a hearty lunch of Cape Grim porterhouse or Tasmanian fish and chips.

11 Russell Street, Evandale

Bangor Vineyard Shed

On the road to Port Arthur just past the town of Dunalley, you’ll find the Bangor Vineyard Shed a picturesque winery overlooking Boomer Bay and the grassy hills beyond. Aside from a cellar door where you can taste the vineyard’s wines, there’s a popular restaurant on site. The menu draws on produce found in the winery’s surrounds, from Bangor lamb to seafood caught in the bay – and the comfy lounge directly in front of the fireplace might just be a better seat than the ones overlooking the water. 

20 Blackman Bay Road, Dunalley

The Boatyard

While a waterfront seafood restaurant doesn’t immediately give off a cosy connotation, The Boatyard, on the banks of Launceston’s River Tamar, has a secret weapon - the dining room’s central log fireplace. With tables arranged around the toasty fire, in winter months it’s an invitingly lush place to spend a brunch, lunch or dinner. If you happen to go during the week, time it for Taco Tuesday or Fish ‘n’ Chip Wednesday, and pair your meal with a good old Tassie Boags beer (or a cheeky Margarita).

13 Park Street, Launceston

Cradle Mountain Lodge

If there’s one place in Tasmania that you’ll be crying out for the warmth of a crackling fire, it’s Cradle Mountain. Defrost yourself after a day of exploring with a meal at one of Cradle Mountain Lodge’s two restaurants, which both have fireplaces. The rustic and welcoming Tavern Bar & Bistro has a relaxed pub-style menu and a large fireplace in the middle of the dining space. For a more upscale experience, Highland Restaurant’s menu leans toward fine dining, with a large open fire warming even the coldest of adventurers.

4038 Cradle Mountain Road, Cradle Mountain 

Du Cane Brewery + Dining Hall

Local beer brewers Du Cane opened up its dining hall space – in an old camping goods store in Launceston’s Princes Square – in 2022. The spacious eatery manages an air of cosiness due to its large, three-walled glass fireplace which is the most popular space to gather in the chillier months. With its own beers and local wines on the list as well as generous wood-fired pizzas, Du Cane is the perfect place for a late lunch that goes into the night.

60/64 Elizabeth Street, Launceston

The Shipwright’s Arms

One of the most historic pubs in all of Tasmania, this Battery Point icon known to locals as “Shippies” was built in 1846 and despite an extensive makeover in 2022, it’s still as warm and welcoming as it was a century and a half ago. It could be the menu, featuring a chicken parmigiana the size of the dinner plate – or it could be the fireplaces, including one crafted from an old ship’s boiler. This pub is the perfect port in a storm to stay cosy all afternoon long.

29 Trumpeter Street, Battery Point