Fico

Fico is a special occasion restaurant. Mostly because everything about it is special, but ultimately, because the level of care and attention to detail in every aspect of the experience is worthy of encompassing them.

This was our third visit to Fico, and it was as amazing and memorable as always.

The food honours seasonal local produce with a nose to tail philosophy, pushing boundaries of flavour that encompass the entirety of the ingredients, rained in by borderless, old world techniques that offer structure and refinement.

The wine list is better than most and mirrors the philosophy of the food, consisting of a lovingly curated and well considered compendium of local heroes and old world icons.

This is not a dining experience for the faint of heart. But when you realise the amount of heart that has gone into creating it, it will remain in yours for as long as we are lucky enough to experience it.

What a great experience!
Managed to snag a last minute booking on a Friday night. And what a great place!
The tasting menu was full of local ingredients, tastefully done with an Italian spin on it.
We literally licked our plates clean!
There were at least 10 courses, each better than the last.
Favourite was the gazpacho and the venison.

The service was attentive but not too attentive, wine list was extensive and had something for everyone.

Definitely one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and definitely recommend!

Carrot Gazpacho – rich smooth and beautifully flavored. Relatively not acidic for a palate cleanser but due to the clean flavor it does the job adequately. A little bit of chopped carrots into tiny cubes in the bottom for some crunch finishes the dish nicely

Blue fin tuna tartare – the orchestra of herbs on top of the dish serves both as a nice contrasting colored garnish and a fragrant scent balance to the fishiness of the tuna. The fried specks of croutons give the tartare a slight crunch which is a clever touch to bring more balance to the dish.

Ripinena – the calamari is perfectly cooked to give a bit of bounce on the bite. Nice rich creamy flavour with a hint of acid in the sauce to counter balance. The squid ink pappardella is al Dante which is perfect. Visually the dish looks like sweet corn so the subversion of expectations is nice.

Sea urchin rice – perfect al dante rice drizzled with a touch of olive oil and flavored with the sea urchin puree sauce. Tomato brings a hint of acidity that balances the dish nicely and the basil also does some heavy lifting in ensuring the is light. Perfectly portioned and wonderfully seasoned with paprika at the top for a subtle kick

Venison – beautifully pink venison. The beetroot ju served as a great sweetener while the white sauce provided great mixture of acid and substance from the potato. Elegantly plated and meticulously balanced.

Strawberry tart – wonderful! Stuffed strawberry with custard provides an articulate symphony of sweetness, sour, crunch, creaminess and softness. Excellent dish. The honeycomb gelato on the side with strawberry sauce is nice but not particularly special.

Cassis & yogurt – odd bitter notes with slightly stale hints and generic yogurt. Nothing notable

In general, I guess my expectations for the restaurant may be too high for where they place themselves. None of the food is poor though there is relatively limited creativity or innovation within the dishes. Visually they are fine but nothing stood out to be amazing.
The service was adequate and nothing stood out in general. The ambiance within the restaurant is nice and warm. Too pricy for what they are offering in my opinion.

There were certainly some nice aspects to our experience at Fico. However, I would not recommend this restaurant for vegetarians/vegans and others with intolerances or allergies as they do not hit the mark on replacements.

The service was quite appalling. If you like having your dish slammed on the table for every meal, this is the restaurant for you.

Overall it was OK. I wished to indulge in a highly regarded Tasmanian restaurant but was left quite disappointed.

We enjoyed the dinner at Fico. The food is on the strong and salty side. If the seasoning is a little bit lighter, it would be a perfect meal.