Cafeography
Hobart

Specialty coffee cafés in Hobart

Espresso bars around Criterion and Collins streets, and the roasteries of Moonah, from Villino’s Synergy blend to Shake’s single origins.

Photo: Rachel Claire, Pexels License

Specialty coffee in Hobart has two centers. In the CBD, small bars around Criterion Street, Collins Street and the Cat & Fiddle Arcade pour beans from named roasters, from Hobart and the mainland. North of the center, Moonah is where much of that coffee is roasted, in shopfronts on Main Road and the side streets around Sunderland Street. The CBD has the larger share of specialty cafés, with Moonah close behind and a couple more on Sandy Bay Road.

The scene is recent. A Tasmanian food writer noted in 2021 that thirty years earlier a decent coffee was almost impossible to find anywhere in the city.1 Villino has been part of that story since it opened on Criterion Street in 2007,2 and it now roasts fresh every day in Moonah.3

Local tip: To see the roasting side of Hobart’s coffee, book a visit to Villino’s Moonah roastery; it takes visitors by appointment.3

Where these cafés are: Hobart CBD (15), New Town & Moonah (5), Sandy Bay (3), North Hobart (2), West & South Hobart (1), Salamanca & Waterfront (1).

At a glance

27Cafés listed
6With opening hours
06:30Earliest opening
17:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Ecru., from 06:30 (Mon–Fri 06:30–14:00 · Sat 07:00–13:00 · Sun 08:00–13:00).
  • Closes latest: Pilgrim Coffee, until 17:00 (Mon–Fri 06:30–17:00 · Sat–Sun 07:30–13:00).
  • Most listed streets: Elizabeth St (4), Criterion Street (2), Elizabeth Street (2).
  • Most common features: indoor seating (26%), outdoor seating (15%), bakery café (7%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Hobart.

Villino and Ecru, the Criterion Street pair

Villino’s flagship is the Synergy blend, used for milk coffee, with single origins from Honduras, Ethiopia and Ecuador alongside.3 Beyond espresso the bar pours cold brew, pour-over and cascara tea, an infusion of dried coffee-cherry pulp, and offers a flight of doppio, batch brew and flat white side by side.4 By 2015 Villino had been roasting its own beans for about five years.5 The bar opens Monday to Friday 08:00–16:30 and Saturday 09:00–15:00.

Ecru, run by the same owners,5 is the takeaway sister: Villino beans through espresso and batch brew, and only a few stools outside.2 It is also the early starter of the pair, open from 06:30 on weekdays, 07:00 on Saturday and 08:00 on Sunday, and closed by 14:00 every day.

Collins Street, Macquarie Street and the wharf

Yellow Bernard, at 1/109 Collins Street in the Cat & Fiddle Arcade, was opened around 2011 by two coffee drinkers with no hospitality background.5 Gridlock beans now go into single-origin espresso and the Project Yellow house blend, and the regulars’ order is Fast Eddie cold brew.2 That cold brew steeps for 22 hours with toffee and vanilla, and seating is limited to a window bench and a few spots on the street.4

Lobby Eatery opened in early 2024 as a coffee and sandwich bar in the Lands Building at 134 Macquarie Street.6 On the water, Hobart Coffee Roasters has served its coffee at Franklin Wharf since late 2021, with a short brunch menu that runs to crepes with a cold-brew reduction.4 At 271 Elizabeth Street, Wide Awake Specialty Coffee pulls espresso from Padre’s Lucky Boy blend and keeps rotating single origins for filter.2

Moonah, where the roasting happens

Shake Coffee Roasters at 85 Main Road roasts in-house under co-owner and head roaster Ian Merrigan, and its single origins change often.7 Colombian and Honduran lots go through espresso, batch brew and slow pour-over.2 Shake leans toward lighter roasts, and a CBD café set up its own roasting on Shake’s premises to get more control over its beans.1

Lottie Lane roasts behind its sister business, a gluten-free bakery on Sunderland Street, and is known for a light hand that lets subtler flavors through.71 On Fleet Street, de Lacey Coffee Roasters grew out of Taste of Paradise, an importer and wholesaler; by 2014 it had been roasting under the de Lacey name for about seven years and sold beans to take home.8 Great Southern Coffee Roasters is also in Moonah, at 1/14 Main Road.

What a cup costs, and Sandy Bay

Tasmania has Australia’s most expensive coffee. The Daily Brew Report 2026 put the state’s average cup at A$5.44, up 5.28 percent in a year, while the national average was A$4.69 in June 2026.9

South of the center, Sandy Bay has Tommy’s Specialty Coffee at 163 Sandy Bay Road and Tasmanian Coffee Roasters at 14 Gregory Street. For a weekend specialty coffee in the CBD, Villino opens on Saturday from 09:00 and Ecru on Sunday from 08:00.

Sources

  1. Tasmania’s vibrant coffee scene, Foodtourist Tasmania (January 20, 2021), accessed October 2026
  2. The best coffee in Hobart, Sitchu (August 28, 2026), accessed October 2026
  3. The best coffee in Hobart, Time Out Australia (May 8, 2026), accessed October 2026
  4. 19 of the best cafes in Hobart for top-notch coffee, Australian Traveller (June 18, 2025), accessed October 2026
  5. Five great places for coffee in Hobart, Tasmania, Sprudge (February 24, 2015), accessed October 2026
  6. Hobart happenings in February 2024, The Hobart Magazine (February 2024), accessed October 2026
  7. Discovering Moonah, Hobart’s creative, ever-evolving neighbourhood, Sitchu (updated October 20, 2026), accessed October 2026
  8. Cafe de Lacey, Living Loving Hobart (November 2014), accessed October 2026
  9. Good news: Australia’s coffee price hikes are slowing down. Here’s what a cuppa costs in each state, Time Out Australia (August 25, 2026), citing the Daily Brew Report 2026, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Hobart

Outdoor seating

15 cafés

Bakery cafés

8 cafés

By area: Salamanca & Waterfront Hobart CBD North Hobart Sandy Bay New Town & Moonah

FAQ

Specialty coffee in Hobart: questions

Which specialty coffee roasters can you visit in Moonah, Hobart?

Shake Coffee Roasters at 85 Main Road roasts in-house under co-owner Ian Merrigan and leans toward lighter roasts. Lottie Lane roasts behind its sister gluten-free bakery on Sunderland Street. de Lacey Coffee Roasters is on Fleet Street, and Villino roasts daily in Moonah, with roastery visits by appointment.

Where can you get specialty coffee early in Hobart’s CBD?

Ecru, the takeaway sister of Villino, opens at 06:30 on weekdays, 07:00 on Saturday and 08:00 on Sunday, and serves Villino beans through espresso and batch brew. Villino itself opens at 08:00 on weekdays and 09:00 on Saturday, with cold brew, pour-over and a tasting flight.

How much does a coffee cost in Hobart in 2026?

Tasmania has the most expensive coffee of any Australian state. The Daily Brew Report 2026 put the average cup there at A$5.44, up 5.28 percent in a year, against a national average of A$4.69 in June 2026.

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