Leoht in Hobart’s Battery Point almost didn’t exist.
For Harrison Scarf and his partner Chanel, finding the right spot that celebrated natural light has been the hardest part of their hospitality journey thus far.
“We wanted somewhere with natural light and all the goodness that comes with it. And in Hobart, that can be a little tricky,” he says.
According to Harrison, there are a lot of venues that do a great job leaning into darker, wintery vibes, but there aren’t as many embracing natural light.
“We wanted it to be a celebration of the early morning and getting your day off on the right foot,” he says.
Just as Harrison and Chanel were coming to terms with the idea of not finding their perfect spot and started planning a trip to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain, the phone rang.
“After a lot of hard work, saving money, and looking really hard for a space, the stars aligned. In the 11th hour, when we were about to give up, something popped up,” says Harrison.
“We saw the bones of a great venue, got stuck into it, and turned it into what it is.”
Besides light, fresh Tasmanian produce is at the forefront of the café’s offering. Here, the ingredients speak for themselves and slot right into the wholesome vibe of the venue.
“We use whole foods pretty much everywhere we can, so it’s all wholesome produce,” he says.
“We try to use all natural products with real flavour and create food that’s delicious, but nourishing and healthy as well.”
This includes menu highlights such as the corn and jalapeño bread with poached egg and avocado for breakfast, and the grass-fed beef noodles for lunch.
Enhancing Leoht’s atmosphere, the café serves Campos’ Superior blend as its signature espresso. For its daily batch brew, it features either the Sydney roaster’s juicy Blade Runner filter blend or a carefully selected, in-season single origin.
A former Campos employee, Harrison was intrigued by the “dark art” that is creating an exceptional coffee.
“I hadn’t really had an experience where I was like, ‘Okay, this is amazing coffee’,” he says.
“That was, until I went to the Campos flagship store in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, where I had a flat white. I was genuinely amazed at how good coffee could taste. I realised this is what people are searching for, and this is what people are talking about when they refer to a ‘good cup of coffee’.”
From that moment, Harrison became determined to craft coffee of that calibre, a passion he now brings to life at Leoht.
“I quickly realised not many people have had a good cup of coffee before. I love that people are loving it,” he says.
The community itself, according to Harrison, has a small village-like feel to it, with the locals welcoming the café with open arms since it opened in 2024.
“Building connections within the community and seeing those familiar faces every day has been really rewarding,” he says.
And as Battery Point is a popular tourist destination, Harrison and Chanel enjoy connecting with travellers and giving them suggestions to include in their itineraries.
“Chanel and I are both passionate about what Tassie has to offer, and how great the island is,” he says.
“We love how we can share that with visitors, give them some of those local insights, and then send them on their way to what we know is going to be a great adventure for them.”
Leoht
46a Hampden Road,
Battery Point, Tasmania, 7004
Open daily 7.30am to 3pm
