Chef Josh Phillips was on his dream hospitality trajectory. But after he reached head chef status, he decided to chuck it all in to try something new.

Hobart

"My favorite restaurant in Hobart is Cyclo Vietnamese Restaurant. The banh mi is top-notch, but the special pho is one of those meals you can have on a night before a night out. At the end of the night or when you're hungover the next day — it's always good, just street food. Excellent."

Cyclo Vietnamese Restaurant

"Another place to eat is our Street Eats @ Franko, an open-air market in Franklin Square. So if you get a rare balmy night between December and March, you have to go and stop in there for cocktails, beers, and international street food, and you get to sit on the lawn and see some live music."

Street Eats @ Franko

"The New Sydney Hotel is just one of those classic pubs. There are Irish folk jams on weekends, and there's good Guinness by the pint, an excellent whisky range, and knowledgeable staff. I'd definitely read a book alone in a corner on a Monday afternoon in a pub. It's my quiet happy place."

New Sydney Hotel

"One of the things I recommend to do if you're walking around Hobart is to go and see Battery Point and take a walk through Tasmania's most exclusive historical suburb. The houses are old and right on the edge of the city. There are some nice eateries, pubs, and beautiful cafes and bakeries."

Battery Point

"takara nipaluna is Hobart's first and only palawa run tour. It's a truth-telling history of Hobart and the Aboriginal perspective by an Aboriginal woman, walking around the city and telling that sort of hidden history."

takara nipaluna – Blak Led Tours

"An often overlooked place in Tasmania is the TMAG. It's free entry and it's down by the waterfront. You don't need a whole day. There's an excellent introduction to Tasmanian palawa culture and a cool, easy way to while away a couple of hours before you go out to dinner and feast again."

TMAG [Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery]