Frank Restaurant And Bar

Had the itching for a «fancy» dinner so the wife and I ended up in this trendy restaurant by the wharf. We ordered the grilled pickles, two scallop empanadas, smoked chorizitos and Tasmanian salmon. Now, I like pickles but the grilled pickles here were so overpoweringly sour it may have ruined the rest of the meal for me. The scallop empanadas were ok, if slightly bland, and the smoked chorizitos were nice and spicy but also tasted slightly sour which dampened my enthusiasm for them. The Tasmanian salmon was just fine and thankfully was the lasting taste in my mouth as we finished our meal. If the only thing we had was the salmon I’d have had a much better experience, and thus review, of the place but even discounting the grilled pickles the other two dishes didn’t really stand out. In the end we wished we had gone somewhere else.

Completely overrated. From the awful table in front of the kitchen door, with the flouro constantly flashing, to the too wide tables, green vinyl bench seats and unmovable chairs and the try hard waiters, there is nothing to see here, The food at best was patchy, the venison ribs were very good, the vegetables were very average, smoked salmon looked and tasted straight out of a supermarket packet, The saving grace was the oysters which were fantastic. We were in and out in an hour, that tells you something.

Delicious Argentinian inspired food, great atmosphere and excellent service make this place a winner. I dined at Franks solo this week and was impressed with the friendly and efficient service, which is often deficient for lone diners. The hangar steak was tender, smoky and cooked to perfection. A side dish of charred sweet potato, goat curd, coriander and almonds was delicious. Leave room for the bbq banana and caramel ice cream. Wines by the glass were reasonably priced and the window bench overlooking Hobart marina gave great views and people watching.

If this is not a 5 star restaurant, then i don’t know what is. Every dish distinctively flavorful and as good as it gets. Be sure to share.

Frank feels like somewhere you need an excuse to visit. So I used my birthday as that excuse just recently and booked a table for ten a couple of weeks in advance, just to be safe. Good idea, it may have been a Sunday night but the place was HOPPING. And humming. Frank literally buzzes; it’s somewhat disguised, existing in the bottom floor of what looks like a corporate building, you don’t really look at the building and think, «Ah, that’s where that awesome restaurant must be” – but if you’re listening, you’ll hear the buzzing of happy voices beaming out of there. Walk through the big gold doors on the Argyle St/​Mawson Place side, or the side doors on the Franklin Wharf side.
Welcome to Frank.
When I walked in on that Sunday night, I saw a big table surrounded by a cage, basically. It looked awesome. I tried not to get my hopes up but I could have gone ahead and done so because it was totally my table. HOORAY! CAGE TABLE! We had a dedicated waiter all night, and let me take this opportunity to say thank you, Thomas, and sorry, Thomas. Thomas was very sweet and occasionally hard of hearing but all to our amusement. Thomas did a wonderful job protecting a couple of my guests with allergies from the things that could have killed them, and he was also up to the challenge of us saying, «feed us for $ 50 per person, please, we’re not very good with decisions». Our table was, at one point, so covered with food that there was barely an inch of space left. So much food. An exceptional amount of food for a table of people very excited about eating.
Some of the dishes were average, some were good, some were GREAT. Pretty much every dessert was brilliant. Every drink was exceptional. We were at dinner for at least four hours so again, I’m sorry, Thomas and Frank but well done. Very good. Would Frank again.

Really impressed. Good service, good food. We were a large group (15) and the waitress recommended that we tell her a price per head and she would take care of the rest. We happily did that, and got a heap of delicious dishes — oysters, ceviche, chicken, steak, potato, sweet potato, empanadas… And more. Thoroughly enjoyed everything. Wine list is nice but there aren’t any «affordable» options (cheapest champagne was $ 46 which, for Hobart places, is unusual) although that is probably a good thing — why pair such delicious food with cheap booze anyway! Cocktails were also ordered and were delicious — espresso martini was god damn delicious and I would go back just for those (although I have not checked my bank statement so may revisit that idea soon…)
The only thing is that the poor staff have to wear these horrible weird grey smock type things. Seriously, they are AWFUL and should be burned immediately and replaced by something not hideous.

So impressed. Enjoyed every part of the meal. Food was fresh and full of flavour. Décor is eclectic but welcoming. Prices are very fair as the serves are a very good size and the quality is tops.
See review from Bryce for better detail, it’s what convinced me to go and I was not disappointed.

Get your bookings in now because this is set to be the hot ticket in Hobart. Immediately, Frank draws you in with its beautiful location right on the Hobart waterfront. Then you enter to one of the most beautifully designed buildings in the city. The clever architecture makes you feel like you and your dining guests are having an intimate gathering but really the restaurant has quite a large number of seats.
The menu is Spanish inspired with the centerpiece (s) being the charcoal and chrome grills offering an array of local beef, lamb and fish. You know you’re in a restaurant which takes its protein seriously when you’re not even given the opportunity to order it that hellish option of ‘well done’.
Also on the menu are a variety of other smaller plates and other options, as well as an array of vegetarian options to be had as a side or on their own.
Frank scales effortlessly from a casual catchup with friends to a very special occasion dinner and is well recommended.