Imago Bakery & Patisserie specialise in artisan slow-ferment sourdough breads, pastries and cakes. Their cafe serves breakfast and lunch from Tuesday through to Sunday.

Our Interview

Originally published 24 March 2021. 

Having undergone a facelift, Imago Bakery & Patisserie is now open again from their Elizabeth Street café to serve up their famous bread and other tasty goodies. 

We sat down with owner May to discover what has changed and what we can expect from this new look and feel café. 

Imago bread is now known and loved around Hobart and if you look around you will see it available at many quality cafes and restaurants throughout the city. You can now buy it direct from the bakery, with them offering up all of their popular sourdough loaves. May recommends the seeded loaf, it is mixed with nigella seeds which give it a sharp warm flavour. Simply add a bit of butter and you are set. 

“The favourite on the breakfast menu is the Eggplant Shakshouka, but we also offer all sort of treats including a Scattered Caramel French Croissant which is a bit indulgent and delightful. People will be pleased to know that Hobart favourites such as the Raspberry Chocolate Croissant are now available again too” 

With Easter coming up, we highly recommend you get your hands on one of their Hot Cross Buns. Loaded with fruit, these sourdough delights are sweetened with pureed orange and ginger rather than sugar. They sell out fast (we were in early and they were already sold out for the day) so they highly recommend you make a pre-order particularly for larger quantities. 

Café Manager Jack made us a coffee whilst we talked and it was just what we needed. A shot of perfectly poured coffee from a Melbourne roaster. 

“The team here are fabulous, Jack is great as our manager and the bakers out the back are so dedicated to what they do” 

May’s story into Imago is inspiring. After working in financial management for years, she decided it was time for a change and decided to go back to study at culinary school as she had always had a passion for food. Her teacher ended up being Dave, who hailed from Tasmania, and the two of them came up with the idea to move to Hobart and start a quality bakery as business partners. Dave has since moved on but May holds the fort with a real passion. 

“A small business is a lot of hard work and sacrifice. But when you get people coming into your bakery saying that the bread is as good as anything they have had in Europe, well that makes everything worthwhile” 

Imago is located at 114 Elizabeth Street and open 7 am – 3 pm daily (menu food is served from 7.45 am onwards).