Alida Restaurant at Penny Royal

Alida Restaurant sat inside the historic Penny Royal complex at 1 Bridge Road in Launceston, a modern Australian restaurant and cocktail bar built on Tasmanian seafood and produce by Josef Chromy AO, named for his wife. It was a proper dining room rather than a cafe, with the quarry-side setting doing a lot of work: the water-filled basin, old mill buildings and cascades of the transformed Penny Royal precinct right outside. Note that Alida has now closed: the restaurant served its final guests on Sunday 9 August 2026, with the premises leased to another hospitality operator.

The dog setup while it traded

Dogs joined owners at the outdoor, undercover and courtyard tables looking over the precinct, which suited the venue well because the whole complex is pedestrian-friendly and flat around the water. Indoor dining and the bar areas stayed people-only, assistance animals aside. The surrounding footpaths made it easy to settle a dog before sitting down, and the precinct's own outdoor zones were generally tolerant of well-behaved dogs on leads. Whether the incoming operator keeps the same arrangement remains to be seen, so check before you book.

Worth knowing

The menu was fine dining at gentler prices than it read: Tasmanian oysters natural or Kilpatrick, Thai green scallops, Cape Grim beef tartare, pork belly and the Cressy lamb rump that anchored the mains, with a serious in-house cocktail program. Lunch sittings ran from 11:30am, Sunday dinner services ran in the evening, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays were dark. Booking ahead was the norm here rather than a walk-in proposition.

Getting there and parking

The address is 1 Bridge Road, Launceston, at the northern end of the Penny Royal complex near the Cataract Gorge end of town. Parking is available around the precinct and in the surrounding Launceston streets, and it is an easy walk from the city centre across the bridge.

Close by with the dogs

For an alternative dinner in Launceston, Rupert and Hound on the Seaport waterfront and Boatyard both run dog-friendly outdoor tables, and Tidal Cafe covers the daytime coffee stop. The Penny Royal precinct itself is worth the walk regardless of where you eat.

More options around the city are on the Launceston destination page, and the full list sits in the TAS restaurants index.