Foodie finds

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The Waterloo Inn’s founders didn’t plan on opening Tasmania’s quirkiest beachside restaurant — but that’s exactly where they’ve landed, writes Nola James.

Alex Sumner and Zac Green took over the ageing ‘surf and turf’ restaurant at Swansea’s Waterloo Point Motel last December, reopening as the 40-seat Waterloo Inn one week later. The building had been sold to local developers mid-2021, which is when the couple swooped in with a proposal to take over the pub, but not the motel. It took some convincing, but they managed to sell the idea.

“Knocking it down would have been a real shame,” Alex says of the building’s 80s-era red brickwork and burgundy carpets. “It’s something I find really charming.”

The duo has taken it upon themselves to preserve the venue’s kitsch décor and expand on it. Alex, who runs front of house, says people are often surprised to learn what’s new and what’s original. The sound system is a new acquisition, as are the Chesterfield lounges, but the retro placemats and $1 pool table are pre-existing.

Zac spent seven years at the original Movida in Melbourne before relocating to Tasmania in 2020. He is not just the head chef, he’s the only cook in a kitchen that’s “big enough for eight chefs, which is great, if we could find them”.

The oft-changing menu, written up on the 1.5m-wide blackboard (also an original feature), wouldn’t be out of place in a hip inner-city wine bar. Think duck cassoulet with smoked sausage; anchovy toast with garlic butter and fried rosemary, or leeks vinaigrette with eggs from the couple’s three chickens, Tina Turner, Tina Burner and Tina Arena.

Unlike the décor, the wine list is thoroughly modern. Local drops make up about 60 percent of the list – think: Peter Dredge’s super funky pinot noir, or a Bubb + Pooley chardonnay alongside boutique interstate producers such as Ochota Barrels. “We like other wines from other places, too,” Alex says.

Alex says stocking the bar was one of the toughest parts of setting up the restaurant. In addition to convincing reps to send wine to such a remote location in the first place, “If we run out of something, we can’t just pop out and get more,” she says.

On that note, bookings are highly encouraged, as is a little patience. “It’s fun, running a restaurant with just the two of us,” Alex says. Coming into their second summer, and with a spruce-up on the cards for the adjoining motel, we’d say there will be more hands on deck before long.