Photographer FIONA STOCKER
When a friend visiting from Queensland and staying at the Paris end of Charles Street, Launceston, asks me where to dine, Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant is top of the list.
“I’ve installed myself at the bar,” she texted me a little later. “I’m already impressed. What a great vibe.”
And “vibe” is the word for Geronimo, where they get it right from every angle – ambience, music, charming people and of course the food, a “fresh take on European tradition”.
Inside, it’s impossibly ritzy with bar and tables made from the old King’s Wharf timbers. That show-stopping bar delivers multiple menu pages of cocktails and mocktails, and there is a wall of whiskies in glass cabinets collected by owner Jeremy Kode when he was abroad learning top-shelf hospitality with global names.
How glad we all were when he returned home several years ago to open Geronimo, bringing shared plates and considerable pizzazz to Launceston. How blessed we are that he has stayed, surviving mean, lean pandemic years, when some fine-dining eateries, relying heavily on tourism, closed their doors permanently. In Launceston, there is a strong cohort of loyal locals who are, it seems, permanently hungry.
Geronimo is quiet when we’re there for lunch this holiday weekend (but the evenings are always booked out). We deliberate over a red wine for my companion, who likes shiraz and doesn’t understand he lives in Tasmania where pinot is king. I strike out in a different direction with a Geronimo Spiced Mule – chilli and cardamom infused vodka, lime and ginger beer, delectably served and with an eye-watering kick. I have in fact been kicked by a mule in my younger days, and can tell you this is infinitely preferable.
When I ate here for the first time many years ago with a group of women who lunch, the shared plate concept caused much consternation, especially amongst those thrifty sorts who wanted to use vouchers and work out the bill afterwards. My companion and I have dispensed with such nonsense and agree on two small plates and one large, in “mi casa es su casa” style. He also requires hot chips with aioli. Everything arrives at once, as requested, and we set to, comparing notes.
Up first is one of the standouts: local crab and corn ravioli with sage and meuniere. This has been dressed in butter, and if four squares of ravioli can sing from a plate, these are trilling the Hallelujah Chorus. Perfectly cooked, oozing creamy crabby softness and sweetness, with a bite around the edges.
The king fish crudo is in a ceviche of lemon with slivers of pickled radish, toasted almonds, prettily arranged and scattered with black nigella seeds. As is the way with crudo, the true flavour of the fish shines, and the garnishes add texture and fun.
By the time we reach the landfall lamb shoulder, it has cooled slightly, and we realise we should have staggered the arrival of our plates, instead of being greedy. The lamb rewards our eagerness with insouciance, emerging from its bed of pearl couscous fregola moist and shreddable. Wilted leaves and pomegranate offset the succulence, those little bursts of fruitiness showing that there is a point to pomegranates after all.
What kind of people skip dessert at a joint like Geronimo? Suckers and spoilsports, that’s who. We share the white chocolate Robuchon tart with black sesame and fig leaf ice-cream. The tart is named for Joel Robuchon, named “chef of the century” by Gault & Millau in 1989. When it arrives, the dish as a whole is so good and each of the three components so perfectly achieved, it is entirely worthy of its lofty naming, a miniature triplicate artwork. The black sesame has been pulverized and re-imagined as a biscuit crumb below the ice-cream, a glossy sphere flecked with garden green. Reclining quietly alongside, the wedge of tart is rich, smooth and creamy with the finest crust of caramel.
This tart is priced at $15 which is frankly astonishing for such an outstanding plate. The lunch, with coffees and sparkling water, costs us $129 for two. If there is higher value fine-dining in Tasmania, please let me know.
Nothing, of course, is perfect. I had to scratch my head for a while to find a fault, but I finally found one: the handmade plates, with a rough-textured finish, are noisy when you scrape them clean. Unless you use your finger.
Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant is at 186 Charles St, Launceston. Reservations are required, via geronimorestaurant.com.au, or phone 6331 3652.
Fiona Stocker is a writer based in the Tamar Valley. She has published the books A Place in the Stockyard (2016) and Apple Island Wife (2018). For more information, see fionastocker.com.
