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Following the Midland Highway between Hobart and Launceston – with a few worthwhile detours – you’ll find country pubs, small cafés, bakeries, locally roasted coffee, Tasmanian produce and places where the building is almost as interesting as what arrives on the plate.
From breakfast in Perth and lunch overlooking the roses at Longford to wood-fired pizza in Oatlands and a country pub meal in Evandale, here are some of our favourite places to eat along Tasmania’s Heritage Highway.
Just north of Brighton, Bagdad marks the southern approach to the Heritage Highway and makes an easy first stop when heading north from Hobart.
For a proper local stop, pull into Rhonda’s On Midlands at the Bagdad Community Club.
More country pub than roadside café, Rhonda’s is a relaxed local venue for a meal, a drink and a break from the highway. There’s a strong community feel to the place, with regular entertainment and events adding to the atmosphere.
Found right on the Midland Highway, it’s an easy place to call in for lunch or dinner before continuing north through the Southern Midlands — and a chance to experience a little bit of Bagdad life rather than simply driving past.
As you continue south towards Hobart, don’t make the mistake of treating Kempton as somewhere to simply drive through.
Turn off the Midland Highway and you’ll find a small historic village with colonial architecture and one particularly interesting spot for lunch.
Whisky might be the headline act at Old Kempton Distillery, but there’s a good reason to arrive hungry.
The distillery occupies Dysart House, an impressive 1840s sandstone property just off the highway, with a café serving homemade dishes and platters built around Tasmanian produce.
You might find house-made whisky beef pies, Devonshire tea, local cheeses and other seasonal dishes on the menu, accompanied by coffee or – naturally – something made by the distillery.
Stay for a tasting flight or distillery tour and a quick lunch stop can easily become a couple of hours.
If you’re travelling the full Heritage Highway, we’d suggest giving Oatlands some time.
High Street is lined with one of Australia’s most significant collections of Georgian sandstone buildings, and the town now has a growing collection of places to stop for breakfast, lunch, coffee or dinner.
You could quite reasonably arrive hungry and make an afternoon of it.
One of the newer additions to High Street, Bunch Oatlands mixes café, providore and wood-fired cooking under the one roof.
Breakfast and lunch are served seven days, alongside coffee, hot chocolate, Tasmanian ice cream and changing sweet treats.
Then there’s the Alan Scott wood-fired oven.
Bunch makes its pizza dough using locally milled flour before adding gourmet toppings, while seasonal Tasmanian produce also makes its way through the broader menu and onto the providore shelves.
It’s contemporary Oatlands, while still feeling very much at home amongst the sandstone buildings of High Street.
A little further along High Street, Vintage on High is the sort of little café that suits Oatlands particularly well.
Come in for coffee, homemade cakes, a light meal or one of their well-regarded sausage rolls, then stay longer than intended chatting or sitting in the garden.
It isn’t trying to be complicated, and that’s part of the appeal.
When you’re midway between Hobart and Launceston, sometimes a good coffee, something homemade and a quiet garden are exactly what’s required.
For something more substantial, head to The Kentish.
Built in 1832, this heritage-listed hotel remains one of the landmarks of Oatlands’ High Street and combines a traditional country pub atmosphere with a contemporary Tasmanian menu.
The bistro serves pub favourites and seasonal dishes using Tasmanian produce, with local and Australian beers alongside an evolving wine list.
There’s also The Vintish, the hotel’s wine bar and lounge, where the focus turns towards Tasmanian wines and spirits.
It makes The Kentish an easy choice for a long lunch, dinner or simply a drink before wandering back out amongst the sandstone.
About half an hour north of Oatlands, Ross is another Heritage Highway town where pulling off the highway for twenty minutes probably isn’t going to be enough.
Walk across the convict-built Ross Bridge, explore Church Street and take a look along the village’s remarkably intact streetscape.
Standing prominently on Church Street, The Ross Hotel has long been one of the town’s gathering places for locals and travellers.
The historic hotel has offered relaxed pub dining, Tasmanian drinks and a garden right in the middle of the village, making it a natural place to stop while exploring Ross.
Please note: at the time of writing, the Ross Hotel is temporarily closed for renovations. Check directly with the hotel for reopening information before planning your visit.
There’s plenty of history baked into the Ross Village Bakery. Its circa-1860 wood-fired oven is still used to bake sourdough breads, pies, pastries and cakes, continuing a tradition that has been part of this Ross site for more than a century.
Tasmanian scallop pies and the bakery’s well-known vanilla slice provide two particularly good reasons to call in, alongside fresh coffee and plenty of other sweet and savoury options. Dine in or grab something to take away before wandering Ross’s historic streets.
Formerly known as Bakery 31, Convict Coffee Café & Gift Shop has a new name and location but remains an easy place to refuel in the centre of Ross.
Expect pies, toasties, sweets and coffee alongside homemade jams, preserves and a growing collection of gifts. Found at 28 Church Street, it’s handy for breakfast, lunch or a coffee while exploring the village.
Sitting roughly halfway between Hobart and Launceston, Campbell Town has long been a natural stopping point on the journey through the Midlands.
Take a little time to stretch your legs, wander beside the Elizabeth River, see the historic Red Bridge and explore the town’s convict and colonial history before grabbing something to eat.
For an easy road-trip stop, Banjo’s Bakery Café Campbell Town has all the familiar bakery favourites covered.
Banjo’s began in Tasmania in 1984 and still makes its breads and baked goods fresh each day. Expect pies and savouries, sandwiches, pastries, cakes and barista-made coffee – handy whether you’re stopping for breakfast, lunch or something to take with you for the next stretch of the Heritage Highway.
It’s a straightforward, convenient stop in the middle of Campbell Town, and a good excuse to spend a little longer exploring the town rather than simply passing through.
Coffee gets a little more serious at Sweetbrew, found at 88 High Street in Campbell Town.
The Campbell Town outpost serves coffee from Sweetbrew Coffee Roasters alongside muffins, sweet treats and toasted pide. For anyone who plans their road trip around a decent coffee, this is one to remember.
JJ’s Bakery is another handy Campbell Town stop for breakfast, lunch or something to take back on the road.
The Tasmanian bakery has been operating since 1989, with bread baked daily alongside cakes, pastries, savouries and café favourites. You’ll find the Campbell Town bakery at 118 High Street.
Part café, part local craft stop, Tasmanian Handcrafts on High is worth a look when you have a little more time in Campbell Town.
The Coffee Lounge serves breakfast, lunch, coffee and light café fare, while the surrounding shop gives you the chance to browse locally made crafts and gifts at the same time. Find it at 102–104 High Street.
For something quick and easy, Liv Eat Campbell Town sits right on High Street and is open from early morning into the evening.
The menu follows Liv Eat’s familiar café format, making it useful for breakfast, lunch, coffee or a takeaway meal when you’re travelling between Hobart and Launceston. Find it at 92 High Street.
If pies and café food aren’t calling, TAS SUPER Kebabs adds something quite different to Campbell Town’s food options.
Found at 82 High Street, this Turkish takeaway serves kebabs and other casual takeaway favourites, making it particularly handy later in the day when some of the town’s cafés have closed.
A detour east from the main Heritage Highway leads to Avoca, a small historic town sitting beneath the hills of Tasmania’s Fingal Valley.
It’s the sort of place where slowing down pays off, particularly when there’s good coffee involved.
Le Quart D’Heure brings a little French influence to the main street of Avoca.
This small rural café serves coffee from Launceston’s Ritual Coffee Roasters alongside homemade sweet and savoury food, all prepared on site by the owner. Expect French-inspired treats, pastries and light bites rather than an overly complicated menu.
The café moved into its own restored premises in Falmouth Street in early 2026, giving travellers another very good reason to make the detour through Avoca.
Grab a coffee, choose something from the cabinet and take a little time to enjoy one of the Heritage Highway region’s quieter country towns.
A short detour from the main highway takes you across the Norfolk Plains to Cressy, with the Great Western Tiers rising beyond the surrounding farmland.
There aren’t too many bakeries where the oven itself deserves a mention.
At Rustic Bakehouse, breads and pastries are baked in a Scotch wood-fired oven dating back to 1926.
The bakery has also earned plenty of fans for its doughnuts, while its wood-fired pizzas have made Cressy an equally tempting detour when they’re firing up the oven.
Grab something for the road, or slow things down and spend a little more time exploring this farming town beneath the Great Western Tiers.
Historic Longford is worth considerably more than a quick drive-through, particularly if you have time to explore nearby Woolmers and Brickendon estates.
Lunch with a view comes fairly easily at the Rose Garden Café, sitting within the Nigel Peck Centre at Woolmers Estate.
The café looks across the estate’s National Rose Garden, where around 3,000 roses from 350 varieties put on a particularly impressive display between October and February.
The menu focuses on Tasmanian produce and relaxed country-style food, with coffee and cake available if you’re after something lighter.
You don’t need an admission ticket to visit the café, although we’d suggest allowing enough time to explore Woolmers while you’re there. This is, after all, one of Tasmania’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.
Woolmers now gives you two quite different places to eat, and the Servants’ Kitchen might be the most atmospheric.
The café occupies the estate’s original 1847 Servants’ Kitchen, a building that once helped keep the entire colonial property running. Today it serves breakfast, lighter meals, Devonshire tea and Tasmanian cheese platters.
The Servants’ Kitchen opens from 8am, and visitors arriving between 8am and 10am can access the Woolmers grounds without an admission ticket. It’s a particularly lovely way to begin a morning in Longford before exploring the estate.
For coffee in the heart of Longford, Ernest and Ernesto Espresso Bar is well worth seeking out.
Found on Wellington Street, this small espresso bar is a favourite for good coffee, pastries, cakes and something sweet to go with your morning caffeine hit.
It’s an easy stop while wandering Longford’s historic streets – grab a coffee, settle in for a little while, then continue exploring one of the Heritage Highway’s most character-filled towns.
Sticky Beaks brings another casual option to Longford, with pizza a particular focus.
It’s a good one to keep in mind when you’re looking for an easy lunch or dinner rather than another coffee stop, and adds some welcome variety to Longford’s growing collection of places to eat.
There’s a little more history behind JJ’s Bakery & Old Mill Café than your average bakery.
JJ’s began in Longford in 1989 inside the heritage-listed Emerald Mill, a building dating from 1834 that was originally constructed as a flour mill. Today it’s a popular stop for freshly baked bread, pastries, cakes, breakfast and coffee, with wood-fired pizza also available.
Sitting just south of Launceston, Perth is an easy first or final stop on a Heritage Highway road trip.
If breakfast is calling, Feast Tasmania is a good place to answer.
This locally owned Perth café focuses on Tasmanian and seasonal produce, with an all-day breakfast and lunch menu alongside cakes and coffee. Eggs benedict, breakfast burgers and French toast are among the substantial options, but we’d suggest leaving a little room for one of their Portuguese tarts.
Found on Main Road through Perth, it makes an easy stop before continuing south into the Northern Midlands.
For traditional country pub dining in Perth, head to the Queens Head Inn on Main Road.
The historic inn serves lunch and dinner with a menu centred around generous pub-style meals. It’s an easy option when you’re looking for something more substantial than a café stop, with the relaxed atmosphere of a traditional Midlands pub.
Evandale feels made for wandering.
Its Georgian streets, historic churches, old pubs and village atmosphere make it one of the Heritage Highway’s loveliest stops – and there is a very good country pub waiting when you’ve finished exploring.
The Clarendon Arms brings together the things we like about a good Tasmanian country pub: an old building, fireplaces when it’s cold, a large garden when it’s not, good local produce and a relaxed approach to dining.
The menu draws heavily on Tasmanian suppliers and produce, alongside local beer, wine and other drinks.
Find yourself a table inside or head for the garden on a sunny afternoon. Either way, Evandale is one of those places where a planned lunch stop can quite easily turn into most of the afternoon.
There are few café settings more suited to Evandale than Ingleside Café.
Housed in a former council chamber dating from 1867, Ingleside combines a bakery and café with an open fire, gallery space and a walled garden courtyard. Breakfast, lunch, house-made cakes and coffee are on offer, with Tasmanian produce used wherever possible.
On a fine day, find yourself a spot in the courtyard. On a cold Midlands morning, the fire might be the better option.
For an old-fashioned country pub experience, Prince of Wales Hotel has been part of Evandale since the 1840s.
Found on Nile Road, the historic hotel offers a bar, coffee and snacks, with an open fire adding plenty of country pub atmosphere through the cooler months. It’s a simple, local stop that feels very much at home in Evandale.
This one requires a detour from the highway, but anyone heading towards Ben Lomond National Park will appreciate knowing where the coffee is.
Found at the corner of Blessington Road and Ben Lomond Road, Ben Lomond Base is the jumping-off point for adventures further up the mountain.
Along with visitor information and mountain essentials, you’ll find a café serving barista-made coffee and food before or after the drive towards Ben Lomond National Park.
During winter it becomes particularly handy, with ski, snowboard, toboggan, clothing and snow-chain hire available alongside the café.
Even outside the snow season, it makes a good stopping point before heading into one of Tasmania’s most dramatic alpine landscapes.
The Heritage Highway follows the historic route between Hobart and Launceston through Tasmania’s Midlands, broadly following today’s Midland Highway. Towns and villages along and around the route include Kempton, Oatlands, Ross, Campbell Town, Longford, Perth and Evandale, with worthwhile detours to places including Cressy, Avoca and Ben Lomond National Park.
You can drive directly between Hobart and Launceston in around two and a half hours, but the Heritage Highway is best explored slowly. Allow a full day – or several days – if you’d like to explore the historic towns, attractions, cafés, pubs and surrounding countryside.
Oatlands and Ross sit conveniently around the middle of the journey, while Kempton, Longford, Campbell Town, Perth and Evandale also offer good dining options. Taking a short detour from the Midland Highway opens up even more choices, including Cressy and Ben Lomond Base.
For cafés, you can generally arrive without a booking, but booking ahead is worthwhile for popular pubs and restaurants, particularly for dinner and during weekends and holiday periods. Opening days and hours can change in smaller Tasmanian towns, so check directly with each venue before travelling.
The Hobart and Beyond Editorial Team is dedicated to bringing you the best insider tips, local stories, and up-to-date guides to exploring southern Tasmania.
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