A recent trip up the East Coast of Tasmania had us scratching our heads when it came it breakfast options. Much was found in the average to bad range with one venue even getting the gong for the worst “coffee” we’d ever tasted. Limping into St Helens we spotted a place whose name we recognised.

The rather excellent blog Two Clowns Tripping had Mohr and Smith at the top of their leaderboard for the best burger in Tasmania. As a lover of burgers I just had to give this one a try!

The space is clean, comfortable and contemporary with lots of natural light and oddities scattered around to keep the eye amused. There was just the one (very busy) floor staff which led to service perhaps lacking somewhat. But it was the end of the tourist season and what we discovered was an unexpectedly busy week for the area.

Coffee was a good start, perhaps the best we’d had on the trip thus far. But we were here for the burger, well at least I was. Would it match the review I’d salivated over previously?

Shocking twist: They don’t do burgers for breakfast! Alas I forgot an important point which was that only a very small percentage of the population would order such a thing to start the day. Curses!

We settled for the more traditional offerings instead.

The Breakfast Burrito was nice in a safe sort of way. Bacon and chorizo were excellent but the beans were just the baked beans from another part of the menu and the dish could have done with a bit more of a kick. Also presentation was completely lacking, I cut the burrito open myself for the photo to give a better idea of the dish but it came as a white roll on a white plate. That said it was good value and filling.

We went to a few places previously that advertised “thick cut toast” only to find it to be standard sliced bread. This sandwich seemed determined to make up for the failings of its predecessors by being extra, extra thick cut toast! It was good without straying into adventurous.

Overall I enjoyed Mohr and Smith, but I really wanted more. It’s a beautiful building and location with potential but alas the menu and execution is so very similar to every other cafe scattered around the state, for breakfast at least. I’ll still be returning for that burger one day….

Website