Lunch at The River’s Edge Restaurant and Cafe – Longford, Tasmania [now closed]

EDIT (6 Dec 2015): Two pieces of sad news. Unfortunately Macy passed away a few months back and we recently heard that River’s Edge has closed its doors. On the upside though, Jane (the chef behind River’s Edge) is in the process of establishing a cooking school. Drop by her Facebook page here – Hinton Bay Cooking School

It was the last day of our long, boozy weekend in the north and we weren’t in any real hurry to get back home. What to do?

A well-deserved sleep-in was No. 1 on the agenda. Food and wine consumption is such a tough gig.

No. 2 was a leisurely drive through the countryside to the south west of Launceston. Longford was a real surprise to us, not only in size but it’s classical architecture harking back to better days and even a great little art gallery on the main strip (drop by the BRAVE art gallery website here).

No. 3 was lunch at an out-of the-way, yet charming and surprisingly well patronised restaurant down by the South Esk River. The gardens were in full bloom, the weather was typically changeable and we were hangry!!

For Karen it was the prosciutto pizza with tomato, olives, red onion, fetta and herbs.

A tidy little meal. Unfortunately Karen didn’t realise it was going to come with fresh tomato (a long held dislike). I’m sure most others would love it though!

For myself it was the green curry chicken with noodles.

Unfortunately this didn’t live up to expectations. The curry flavours were there, with a hint of welcome heat to keep the cool spring day at bay, but ultimately it fell flat. The broth was thin and weak, and the chicken rather bland. This could have been so much more if they’d gone down the path of a true Thai green curry, or perhaps spent a little bit more time on the underlying stock. Sill, it did warm me up and that’s always a good thing!

Even better though was spending some quality time with Macy the resident hound dog. She’s getting a bit long in the canines, but still gave her stuffed toy a vigorous shakedown!

Overall?

The River’s Edge Restaurant and Cafe is positioned in a beautiful setting, and would be the perfect venue to while away the temperate summer days. You’d do well to keep your eyes open for their regular live music events as well!

While our meals weren’t particularly noteworthy, the gorgeous surrounds and affable house-dog more than made up for it!

While you’re there, check out the menu for their Christmas lunch. Including champagne (the proper sort), sea food canapés, ham and parsely terrine and a roasted spatchcock, at $155 per head this sounds like a great option! Be quick though, because bookings close COB tomorrow (Wednesday 10 December).

You can also find them on Facebook here, with a lot more photos than what they offer on their website, including many from their previous evenings full of ‘cultural enlightenment’.

Flavours – 6/10
Menu – 7/10
Ambience – 9/10
Service – 9/10
Value – 7/10

Overall – 7.5/10

River's Edge Restaurant and Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato