Cataract Bistro, Launceston

The Cataract Bistro is in Launceston, at 133 Paterson Street. It's a new-ish building next to the Pinot Shop and attached to the T.R.C. Hotel. We were planning on heading to the T.R.C. but they had a very small menu and it was basically just a gaming venue that also sells bar food, so we decided to try the Cataract Bistro instead.

We started by sharing chargrilled olive bread with a roasted capsicum and basil dip ($7) which was very tasty, and my mum had the soup of the day, which was onion and potato soup with gruyere crouton and thyme oil ($8).

For mains we had:

Char-grilled chicken stack with sweet potato rosti, confit mushroom and creamy basil pesto sauce ($17).



Atlantic salmon tornadoes wrapped in leek and baked, served on a bed of
spinach cream with scallop ravioli ($29).



Deep Sea trevalla, pan fried with pickled ginger, lime and parsley, served on a bed of creamy mash with asparagus spears ($32)



Beer-battered flathead fillets served with chips, tossed green salad and a tartare-style mayonnaise ($29). This was my selection - I was feeling a bit under the weather with a cold and so this sort of comfort food was looking appealing. Despite being a huge serving, the fish was unfortunately not all that good - it was really, really greasy - I don't think it had been fried correctly. The chips were fine and the salad was fantastic - much more interesting than the normal sort of salad you get with this dish, with apples, beans, spring onion and other things tucked away between the leaves.



The Bistro isn't cheap, but you do get quality food for the price. The atmosphere of the restaurant is really nice, and service was excellent.