Breakfast at Environs – Hobart, Tasmania [now closed]

You know that feeling when you look at a plate of food and think to yourself, “It’s not humanly possible to finish that…”?

It happened.

The culprit?

Environs Cafe, ‘Savoury Breakfast’.

Yet against all the odds, I climbed my culinary Mt Everest and wiped my plate clean! (admittedly, with a teency little bit of help from Karen…but still…)

Yet again we were having breakfast in Battery Point, and it was good.

Over the 8 years or so that we’ve been living in Hobart we’ve seen a number restaurants and cafes come and go at the location on Waterloo Crescent (just off Hampden Road), but I reckon Environs have got it sorted out and will be there for the long haul.

The menu is comprehensive enough to  make even the fussiest diner happy, mixing old favourites with some very appealing modern dishes.

Tres Cool Menu @ Environs

Tres Cool Menu @ Environs

I was feeling hungry, so I went for the Savoury Breakfast ($17.50), consisting of scrambled eggs piled on top of both a corn cake and a home made hash brown, with a generous dollop of hollandaise on top. And just because they can, grilled bacon and tomato on the side!

Epic.

Savoury breakfast @ Environs

Savoury breakfast @ Environs

As suggested, it took real mental fortitude to finish off this bad boy. The eggs were bountiful and creamy. The corn cake was delicious, albeit perhaps a little dense for my liking. The hash brown was fantastic! Crunchy on the outside, but soft and warm in the middle. And who doesn’t like grilled bacon and tomato?

I shudder to think how many calories were packed into that meal, but it certainly hit the spot!

Karen showed a lot more restraint in ordering the Cottage Green ($14.50), consisting of almond coated sardines, a hash brown and dressed rocket, all topped off with a perfectly cooked poached egg.

Cottage green @ Environs

Cottage green @ Environs

In hindsight, it goes to show that bigger is not necessarily better. This meal was really well balanced, with the light flavours of the fish and salad contrasting very well with the heavier hash brown. Such a great poached egg as well! It ticked all the boxes for a great start to the day!

To be honest our only gripe was the same one that we recalled from our one previous visit to Environs. The service. While the staff were very friendly, it seems that after seating a customer and providing them with a menu their job is complete.

Oh? You’d like to place an order? How odd…

It took quite some time for one of the wait staff to finally realise that we’d been overlooked. A little strange considering they weren’t packed with diners, and a bit of a worry considering that the timeliness of service at Environs seems to have been a common complaint on various internet forums and blogs since their early days.

Certainly not a deal breaker by any means, but it does show that Environs has the potential to step up from being a great cafe to one of the best in Hobart (if it isn’t already!).

Taste – 5/5
Coffee – 3/5
Menu – 4/5
Atmosphere – 4/5
Service – 3/5
Value – 4/5

Overall – 4/5