What a way to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. I love you, Sammy.

After a shared generous plate of nachos, my dessert of choice was the chocolate-coated peanut butter ice cream, not so much a delicacy as a three-course meal (once you include the cone). I was literally incapable of eating another thing for the rest of the day.

Lester and Collette are the delights who run this place. Lester was full of great information and advice about travelling destinations, funny as hell, and could not help us enough with our needs whilst visiting overnight.

For travellers, there are plenty of grassy spots for caravans and camper vans, two potable water taps, a skip bin for rubbish, and use of the toilets during cafe trading hours.

A little poem I wrote of our splendid Day Five:

Day Five

And on her seventh day, she hit the hospitality circuit....

A great lunch of small plates and cocktails, with sustenance on tap for the baby.

The old beer garden has come a long way since the '70's, and is now an absolute delight. The food was excellent, the live music was superb. I had the pleasure of dining with my aunt, my wife, my daughter, and my granddaughter, and dancing the afternoon away with my granddaughter, now three, who really had her groove on until she fell asleep in my arms. Pretty much a perfect Sunday afternoon for this bloke.

The Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay, Sydney, Australia.

A near perfect winter's day, in the beer garden of one of Sydney's finest pubs, with family and friends. It doesn't get much better than this.

Right next door to Co-Op Toyota, this is an excellent location for that lazy breakfast. With a Japanese infusion into the menu, the options are many and varied.

Just fabulous, this little gem in North Hobart/Ryde is warm and inviting, immaculately presented, and well serviced. The food was also excellent and promptly served. One of the tidiest pubs we've ever visited, with dedicated and friendly staff.

The character simply oozes from this old pub, resplendent with roaring open fireplace (with a bowl of self-serve complimentary marshmallows on the mantle). The service from Hayden and the team was friendly and thorough, with an impressive suite of ales and ciders on tap.

There's a cracking story behind the property which now forms The Kempton Distillery. 

This was a case of a generally exceptional experience, including warmth, humour, delight, failure, pathos, and redemption.

Callington Mill delivers a high quality environment, quality decor, exceptional presentation (paper napkins notwithstanding), quality food and beverages, and generally fabulous service.

We were very pleased with our choices of kingfish, cauliflower arancini, and citrus tart, all of which were a delight and ably supported by the Frogmore Creek sparkling cuve and sauvignon blanc.

The distillery's whisky tasting paddle was a treat, and in this lucky instance included a bonus fifth half-shot to invite me to taste one of the more peaty products. The whiskies are mostly international award-winners, and whilst expensive by the bottle are well worth tasting. They are indeed of international standard.

Generally flawless service was marred by us staring at our completed mains plates for nearly half an hour (only resolved by us signalling for attention), however our compensation on noting this to staff was the whisky paddle being immediately comped without any request by me - a most reasonable and gallant response.

All in all, this was a delightful experience, and I would happily return. Congratulations to John Ibrahim (not the Sydney identity) and his team for adding such a high quality establishment to the already delightful town of Oatlands.

In the historic Tasmanian midlands town of Oatlands, The Kentish Hotel stands proud. Built in 1832 in what is now the most in tact Georgian town in Australia, this heritage listed country pub is the beating heart of the community it serves. Boasting a bar, restaurant, cafe and accomodation, The Kentish is the perfect place to grab a drink, dine on deliciously fresh Tassie produce or settle in to a cosy room for the night.

The Albert Pilsner on tap is well worth a try.

Only 30 minutes from central Hobart lies the town of New Norfolk, one feature of which is the delightful historic property of Glen Derwent. Weekends usher in the opportunity for Devonshire Tea or High Tea. Rob and Liz will take excellent care of you. The scones were freshly baked to order, and Sammy declared her gluten-free ones as excellent as I found mine. The jams are to die for, especially the raspberry.

We dined here with friends, then twice we returned for lunch. Each experience was a treat, with funny and attentive staff, high quality food, and a fine selection of beverages. The ambience is perfectly suited to the location, with a modern mountain decor including two roaring fireplaces (when the weather demands) complete with leather lounges.

The menu is upmarket pub, including a terrific seafood chowder and exceptional desserts. The staff were diligent in attending to Sammy's gluten and lactose intolerances.

In addition to the many dining and hospitality options at Great Lake Hotel, Miena Village also offers a general store with fuel, motel style accommodation, both powered and unpowered caravan sites, toilets and showers and potable water, and substantial general car parking. This is a genuine hub.

We're probably visiting a fourth time, should our travel itinerary come to fruition.

Our thanks to James, Nicki, Declan, Shane, Deirdre, and all for your attention and quality service.

This is a delightful stopover as you journey through Tasmania's west.

There are some establishments where you dine on reputation of the chef, or on the local ingredients, or simply on location or brand. Marrawah Inn is where you dine on love - the love injected by Mark and Michelle into their staff, their customers, their community. 
 

We dined here for a few nights, tasting lamb shank with mash and vegetables, garlic prawns on rice, grilled flake with chips, and various desserts including Eaton Mess, and Affogato. Delicious, delightful, generous, and served with the proprietor's warmth and charm. Count us in, we'll never again visit the north-west of this State without visiting the Marrawah Inn.

Well that's a surprise, dropping in to buy a couple of bottles of pickled onions, and finding a cafe restaurant in full flight, chock-a-block with tourists and locals alike. We'd already fed ourselves, so I ordered a coffee and we shared a lemon meringue tart. This tart was truly sublime, and was voted by us both as the best we'd ever tasted. The staff were fun, the pickling factory is viewable behind glass windows and on screen. A fabulous start to our journey from Devonport as headed north-west.

What a location, what a venue, what service, what meals...!!! Quality abounds at Drift Beachside Brunch, Devonport.