The restaurant is certainly impressive. the meal is served in front of an open fire, by lamplight and in 1830s ambiance, but accompanied by 21st century service. The menu sets the atmosphere. "We pride ourselves in offering the finest produce… served by our charming staff in an atmosphere that will take you back in time when hustle and bustle of today did not exist and there was time to enjoy and savour the better things."

The menu was adequate without being overwhelming. While we made our choice, complimentary homemade pate on crackers was served. I chose mussels with a trio of sauces (A$12.70) for entrée and duckling on soba noodles and chilli ginger glaze (A$21.90) for the main course. My wife chose ragout of mushrooms in a filo basket on spicy tomatoes (A$12.30) and a seafood curry with prawns, scallops and fish over rice (A$24.80). The meal was served with homemade bread rolls and Tasmanian potatoes and vegetables. What can I say? We both thought everything was fine.

For dessert, I chose blueberry tart (A$8.70) and my wife had coffee and pecan pudding (A$8.50). A Tasmanian cheese platter (A$12.50) would have been an attractive alternative.

The meal came to around A$90 for two and drinks were extra. Certainly the food was good and we were very happy with the service. Whether we got value for money is rather subjective. We concluded we did because the atmosphere was worth quite a bit to us. It was so different to what we would experience at home in the tropics.