The Best Coffee in Tasmania

# The best coffee in Tasmania

Tasmania is an excellent place to take coffee seriously without making a fuss about it. In Hobart and Launceston, specialty roasters and well-loved neighbourhood cafes sit alongside the galleries, markets and historic streets. Outside the main cities, a good cup is often part of a much bigger stop: oysters on Bruny Island, a drive across the Tasman Peninsula, a ferry arrival in Devonport or a walk into Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park.

This guide is less about declaring one definitive winner than matching the right cafe to the day you have planned. These are the Tasmanian coffee stops worth knowing, from waterfront espresso to dependable regional cafes and places where the food, setting or detour is part of the appeal.

Hobart coffee: waterfront mornings and city regulars

Hobart Coffee Roasters

For a coffee-led stop in the capital, Hobart Coffee Roasters is the obvious place to start. It sits on Franklin Wharf on Hobart's historic waterfront, giving you a city-and-harbour setting rather than a generic suburban cafe backdrop. The draw is the combination of freshly roasted specialty coffee and a business that takes the roasting and preparation seriously. It suits visitors who want to make coffee the main event, as well as anyone already exploring the waterfront.

Dandy Lane Cafe

Dandy Lane Cafe is a central Hobart option on Collins Street, handy when you are moving between the city's shops, civic buildings and galleries. It has the feel of a regular local cafe: welcoming, relaxed and characterful, with good coffee and casual fare. Go here when you want a straightforward city-centre stop rather than a destination detour, particularly if you are looking for somewhere that works equally well for a quick cup or an unhurried cafe break.

Ginger Brown

At the foot of kunanyi / Mount Wellington in South Hobart, Ginger Brown makes sense as part of a morning or afternoon exploring the mountain side of the city. It is a local-favourite style cafe with good coffee, quality cafe food and a warm, friendly atmosphere. Its location gives it a different rhythm from the waterfront and CBD: this is the place to choose when you want a relaxed neighbourhood stop before or after heading towards kunanyi / Mount Wellington.

Launceston: central cafes and a river crossing

Launceston has several strong options within an easy city wander, with a couple of worthwhile alternatives across the river in Invermay.

Samuel Pepy's Cafe

Samuel Pepy's Cafe is on George Street in the heart of Launceston. Its appeal is consistency and welcome: quality cafe fare, a warm character and the dependable feel of somewhere that has earned a regular local following. It is a useful choice for travellers exploring central Launceston who want a proper cafe stop without having to plan the day around it.

Local Hideout Cafe

On Brisbane Street, LOCAL HIDEOUT CAFE offers another central Launceston coffee stop. The cafe is known for good coffee, casual fare and a relaxed atmosphere, with the kind of local appeal that makes it easy to settle in. Choose it when you are already in the city centre and want a comfortable place for coffee and something to eat rather than a highly formal coffee experience.

Tatler Lane by Sweetbrew

Tatler Lane by Sweetbrew brings a laneway feel to its St John Street location. It is a good fit for a central brunch or coffee break, combining quality coffee with brunch in a setting that feels a little tucked away from the main streets. The location and atmosphere are as much part of the reason to go as the drink itself, especially if you are exploring Launceston on foot.

Boathouse Coffee

Cross the river to Invermay for Boathouse Coffee, on Lindsay Street. This is a welcoming cafe with quality coffee, good cafe food and a relaxed setting, making it a useful change of scene from the central city. It is worth the short trip when your plans already take you towards Invermay, or when you prefer a quieter, neighbourhood-style stop to a cafe in the middle of the city.

Coffee on the road: the Tasman Peninsula and Bruny Island

Some of Tasmania's most memorable coffee stops are tied to scenic drives and food trails. These venues are worth judging as part of the whole outing, not just by whether they are closest to your accommodation.

Cubed Espresso Bar

cubed espresso bar sits on Pirates Bay Drive at Eaglehawk Neck, near Port Arthur and the Tessellated Pavement. It is a particularly useful stop on a Tasman Peninsula itinerary: a much-loved cafe in a dramatic coastal setting, with a strong reputation for quality coffee and food. Call in on the way to or from the peninsula's attractions when you want something better than a purely functional roadside break.

Get Shucked

Get Shucked is best known as an oyster farm and bar on Bruny Island Main Road at Great Bay, but it belongs on this list because it is one of the island's defining food stops. The oysters are grown in the surrounding waters and served with a freshness that is difficult to make more local. Coffee is part of the broader stop rather than the sole reason to visit, so make it a destination for the bay-to-plate experience and Bruny Island's gourmet trail, not simply a caffeine run.

North-west Tasmania: useful stops after arrival or on tour

Laneway

Laneway is on Steele Street in Devonport, the north-west arrival point for the Spirit of Tasmania ferry. Its location makes it an especially practical first or last stop in the state: a welcoming, well-regarded cafe for quality coffee and casual food before setting off or after arriving. It also works for locals looking for a relaxed cafe in the centre of Devonport, rather than only for ferry passengers.

The Chapel

In the heart of Burnie, The Chapel offers coffee in a characterful setting on Cattley Street. It has the warm, local feel of a cafe people return to, with good coffee and casual fare in a relaxed environment. It is worth seeking out when travelling along the north-west coast and wanting a cafe with a little more personality than a generic stop.

Van Diemens Land Creamery Elizabeth Town

Van Diemens Land Creamery Elizabeth Town is not primarily a coffee destination, but it is one of the region's most appealing stops for something sweet. On Christmas Hills Road between Devonport and Deloraine, the creamery is known for rich ice cream made with Tasmanian dairy and ingredients. Pair a coffee break with the ice cream if you are travelling through the north, particularly when the stop is part of a wider food-focused drive.

Moon Lily Kitchen and Cakes

In Beaconsfield, in the Tamar Valley region, Moon Lily Kitchen and Cakes is the kind of smaller-town find that rewards a detour. Its draw is the combination of good coffee, beautifully made cakes and baked treats in a charming cafe. It suits a slower Tamar Valley outing, where the appeal is not just getting caffeine quickly but taking a proper break somewhere with a strong baking focus.

Coffee at Cradle Mountain and beyond

Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre

At the gateway to Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair National Park, the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre is a practical place to get coffee as part of a wilderness day. It is the main hub for park information, facilities and the shuttle service to Dove Lake and the trailheads, with a cafe on site. This is the sensible stop when you need to orient yourself before heading into the park or want facilities gathered in one place at the start of the journey. The setting and access to the national park are the reason to go; it is not trying to be a standalone city coffee bar.

Practical tips for finding your cup

Tasmania's best coffee experiences are spread across cities, coast and country, so build them into your route rather than expecting to find every option in one walkable precinct. Hobart Coffee Roasters, Dandy Lane Cafe and Ginger Brown cover distinctly different parts of Hobart. In Launceston, Samuel Pepy's Cafe, LOCAL HIDEOUT CAFE and Tatler Lane by Sweetbrew are central choices, while Boathouse Coffee gives you a reason to cross to Invermay.

On longer drives, check your route before leaving and treat the cafe as part of the destination: Cubed Espresso Bar belongs with a Tasman Peninsula day, Get Shucked with Bruny Island's food trail, and the Cradle Mountain Visitor Centre with a national-park visit. For the north-west, Laneway, The Chapel, Moon Lily Kitchen and Cakes and Van Diemens Land Creamery Elizabeth Town each offer a different kind of break. Most importantly, allow time for the stop. In Tasmania, a good coffee is often the pause that makes the whole itinerary feel less hurried.

Featured spots

• Get Shucked
• Hobart Coffee Roasters
• cubed espresso bar
• Samuel Pepy's Cafe
• LOCAL HIDEOUT CAFE
• Ginger Brown
• Tatler Lane by Sweetbrew
• Boathouse Coffee
• Laneway
• Moon Lily Kitchen and Cakes