Adelaide CBD’s south is our new dining hotspot
The south side of the city is rapidly becoming the new ‘it’ dining scene, with plenty of exciting new restaurant openings. Here are our picks for the best spots to eat.
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The south of the CBD is becoming Adelaide’s new dining hotspot, as restaurants are attracted to locations that are more accessible and affordable than those on the other side of town.
As well as easier carparking and lower rents than prime zones such as the East End and Gouger St, the south has a growing residential community of potential customers.
This year’s delicious100 list of SA’s top restaurants includes five that have opened in the past few years in this area.
The three new inclusions for 2019 are pizza master Ettore Bertonati’s stylish eatery Madre, the game-changing hotel Sparkke at the Whitmore, and Allegra Dining Room, a small, upstairs space devoted to adventurous plant-based eating.
Making a second appearance are the relaxed vibe of Herringbone and La La La, where the authentic Italian menu has developed a devoted following.
Cast the net further east to Hutt St and you could also include Chianti, Bar Torino and Ballaboosta.
La La La opened just over two years ago at the ground floor of an apartment block in Gilles St.
Owner/chef Marco Furlan, well known from his days at cafe Salsa in West Beach, draws a crowd for dishes such as his duck risotto, fried squid and spaghetti vongole made with cockles from Port Lincoln.
Marco believes being situated on the south side of the city has worked well for La La La.
“We have quite a lot of locals who live around here, as well as some old regulars of mine and people who just like to eat real Italian food,” he says.
“It’s a very cool area. It’s easy to find a car park or catch the tram. And all the restaurants around here are good. I give them all five stars. It’s better than Rundle St.”
BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE CITY’S SOUTH
1. SPARKKE AT THE WHITMORE
317 Morphett St, city
(08) 7123 0808
The message scrawled on the chalkboard above the bar says it all: “Made by women, for everyone.” The women, in this case, are the entrepreneurial brains behind Sparkke, the slogan-loving brewer with a social conscience that has now expanded its vision to operating a hotel in the south-west of the city.
And “everyone” means just that. After-work suits. Hops-lovin’ hipsters. Old and young. Boys and girls. All enjoying each-others company in the same space.
Sparkke has found a kindred spirit in chef Emma McCaskill who has embraced the pub’s egalitarian ethos that is far removed from her background in elite restaurants here and overseas.
Many of the plates positively bounce with bright flavours and big ideas, helped along in many cases by the roasted whole spices and seeds that can be traced back to Emma’s Indian heritage. It is food that changes the conversation about what a pub could or should be serving up.
Pork and ginger dumplings bob about in a glorious chicken bone broth that could easily be a soup on its own. A decadent, silky smooth dahl butter is served with hot, flaky roti to tear and swipe.
Broccolini is flash-fried, doused in lemon juice and dropped on a puddle of thick miso emulsion. Even a five-year-old will love it.
Meat serves are sized so they might be shared but could also be demolished by the hungry carnivore. Spice rubbed pork shoulder falls apart quicker than our local footy teams, collapsing into a wonderful mess of labne and squidgy eggplant.
There is an all-encompassing spirit about this place, the staff and what they serve up that is easy to fall for. It’s the best thing to happen in city pubs for a very long time.
- Hours: L|D Mon-Sun
- Bill: E $5-$16 M $18-$42 D $13
- Wine: Wine list
- Chef: Emma McCaskill
2. HERRINGBONE
72-74 Halifax St, city
(08) 8232 3523
Everything old is new again at this unpretentious eatery.
Take the humble hummus, for example. Here at Herringbone, it’s given a sweetness from pumpkin puree, while a sprinkling of creamy feta and toasted sunflower seeds add textural complexity, along with a swirl of green harissa sauce for some kick. You’ll want to mop up every last bit with the charred chunks of bread provided.
An entrée of Spencer Gulf kingfish sashimi is similarly elevated to the next level with subtle pear and miso flavours, and puffed wild rice for a bit of crunch.
A shared main course of roast chicken is like nothing your grandma would have made. Here, the portioned pieces are juicy, the skin still slightly crispy, sitting in a puddle of its own jus with capers and dill for flavour and freshness. Perfectly charred brussels sprouts dispel all doubts about this much-maligned vegetable and, paired with its oft-slandered friend the turnip and generous slices of speck, help breathe new life into this Sunday staple.
Similarly, a lemon-spiked slow roasted lamb shoulder falls off the bone with one tap of the serving spoon and is complemented by a delightfully smoky baba ghanoush.
Service here is similarly relaxed yet knowledgeable, matched with a smart, SA-friendly wine list.
Pull up a chair under the Chinese elm on the covered jarrah deck out the back for a magic night at this CBD restaurant that has all the homely down-to-earth feels of a neighbourhood hotspot.
- Hours: L Wed-Fri D Tues-Sat
- Bill: Snacks $4.50-$28 E $23-$29.50 M $36.50-$39.50 D $12-$14
- Wine: Wine list plus BYO | Corkage $25, free Tuesdays
- Chef: Quentin Whittle
3. ALLEGRA DINING ROOM
Level 1, 125 Gilles St, city
Recently opened above Etica pizzeria in the city’s south-east, Allegra elevates plant-based foods to a level of sophistication rarely seen here. Vegetables are celebrated for what they are and what they can become. Clever alternatives to dairy, eggs et cetera are convincing. Everything feels complete.
The narrow upstairs space, most recently used for storage, fits 28 diners on a mix of banquettes and traditional seating.
The whole package is remarkably polished. Linen napkins are placed on laps. Gorgeous ceramic bowls are dropped at the centre of wooden chargers. Service is flawless. The five stages of the set $70 menu are matched by inspired wine selections.
The meal begins with attention-grabbing snacks such as pickled veg to dip into a luscious cream of emulsified soy bean, and a buckwheat cracker carrying slices of smoked beetroot, a soured version of the cream and pink pearls of finger lime.
More substantial dishes include florets of roasted broccoli sandwiched between a base of pine nut cream and a mudslide of fluffy polenta
You can almost see fingerprints on the orecchiette, the little pasta shells hand-made downstairs, that are coated in a cauliflower puree.
Grilled celeriac “steak” is presented as the main event and comes complete with a pair of sides: a mixed grain salad with shredded spring onion; and a salad of mixed leaves, pear, sprouting lentils and fried curry leaves.
A glossy billow of soft Italian meringue that is the star of dessert is so luxurious it’s hard to believe it could be whipped up from something as mundane as the water leftover from cooking chickpeas.
- Hours: D Thurs-Sun
- Bill: Five courses $70; $135 with wine match
- Wine: Wine list
- Chef: Elliot Vials
4. CHIANTI
150 Hutt St, city
(08) 8232 7955
Walk into the dining room and you’d be forgiven for thinking not much has changed in this 40-plus-year-old Adelaide icon.
White linen, professional waiters in black waistcoats and long white aprons, fine Italian fare and a warm welcome for everyone from families to tourists to romantic couples and the city’s movers and shakers have guaranteed Chianti a loyal clientele and a well-earned place as one of the city’s best restaurants.
So what if they’re playing Engelbert Humperdinck or if your waiter can’t quite get his tongue around the name of an Italian red (“my Italian’s a bit rusty,” he says, “but I do speak Klingon.”)
In the kitchen, however, a fresh new approach has shifted the focus, with clever reinterpretations of Italian standards like baccala, served in a crisp cigar of pastry, and more vegetable choices that are a dish in themselves (like charcoal leeks with dragoncello salsa, or cavolo nero with cannellini beans). There are also more sharing options — an “apple orchard raised chook”, cooked over charcoal or a slow-cooked goat leg. Another table has the rear portion of the fish of the day, swordfish, complete with tail.
Traditional dishes like tagliatelle with blue swimmer crab, tomato sugo, chilli and basil, or the ubiquitous cotoletta — crumbed veal with fontina and sage, described by our irrepressible waiter as “an up-market schnitty” — are utterly delicious.
Looking after all-comers, then, continues to be the Chianti way.
- Hours: B|L|D Daily
- Bill: E $9.50-$16 M $28-$36 $14-$17
- Wine: Wine list, plus BYO | Corkage $25
- Chef: Toby Gush
5. LA LA LA OSTERIA
19 Gilles St, Adelaide
(08) 8212 3535
There’s a famous scene in Monty Python’s film Life of Brian where John Cleese’s character asks, “What have the Romans ever done for us?” The answers include viaducts, sanitation and roads, but nobody mentions the best thing Romans — or more accurately Italians — have given us: the food.
A world without Italian food would be a poorer world indeed. Italian food is joy on a plate, and nobody understands this better than La La La’s chef Marco Furlan.
In his osteria tucked away beneath an apartment building on Gilles St, Furlan turns out unpretentious dishes that speak to the very heart of Italian cuisine. Dishes like funghi del bosco, two field mushrooms steamed in garlic and wine before being chargrilled and drizzled with olive oil, and polpette, two pork and veal meatballs with a grating of sharp reggiano to cut through the richness of the meat.
Done properly, seafood marinara is one of life’s great pleasures and La La La does it properly. Fresh seafood, fried up with wine, chilli, garlic, chopped tomato and parsley, every flavour note singing like it should and nothing overpowering the fish and shellfish. The saltimbocca, served with a wedge of roasted pumpkin, is hearty and comforting on a chilly night.
A poached pear and, naturally, a slice of tiramisu, finish off the evening on a sweet note.
The warmth and hospitality of the waiting staff — including Marco's partner Olga — makes up for a corporate-style setting that lacks real charm.
- Hours: B|L Mon-Fri D Tues-Sat
- Bill: E $14.50-$18.50 M $23.50-$29.50 D$11
- Wine: Wine list plus BYO | Corkage $16
- Chef: Marco Furlan
6. MADRE
57 Gilbert St, Adelaide
0413 776 616
Is using water from the Mediterranean Sea in your pizza dough really any different than filling a few containers up from the shallows at the Bay?
Ettore Bertonati clearly believes so. For his restaurant Madre, Ettore is importing sea water across the globe from Naples, to make a base he says is a close replica to those made in Italy before the first World War. The result? Well you won’t find a better pizza anywhere in town.
Located in the south of the city, Madre looks drop-dead glamorous, more Milan (Dolce & Gabbana, perhaps) than Naples. At the front, the dining zone is finished in powder-puff shades of musk and beige with bold blue trim. This links to the striking deep-ocean tones of the kitchen at the back.
From the selection of snacks, a croquette filled with potato and scamorza (smoked cheese) is a light and crunchy ball of bliss, while an octopus salad will take you out of Naples and on to the Amalfi coast.
Pizzas are the size of a large dinner plate and intended to serve one. While some will share, you will be amazed how effortlessly each slice, judiciously topped to within an inch of its rim, disappears.
Seven variations are listed, the first three having little more than sugo and cheese. The “Pina” carries pieces of fried zucchini, baby roma tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and peppered pecorino. The only possible improvement would be to give the chilli oil, offered separately, more grunt.
To finish, a rum babah gets just as much TLC as the rest, the brioche soaked in a dark rum syrup, split open and loaded with pastry cream.
- Hours: L Fri D Tues-Sat
- Bill: E $7-$15 M $19-$27 D $14-$15
- Wine: Wine list
- Chef: Ettore Bertonati
7. BAR TORINO
158a Hutt St, city
(08) 8155 6010
Step out of the CBD and into Spain at this chic, low-lit space of exposed brickwork, monochrome tiles and smartly attired waiters.
Bar Torino is a place of impeccable and friendly service, exceptional food, spirits and cocktails, and contemporary Mediterranean share plates. It’s also a favourite with post-work drinkers, so head deep into this narrow space to avoid the front bar cacophony.
Crisp tuile cigars filled with vitello tonnato are a fun amuse bouche. You could simply offer Bar Torino’s smoky, black truffle-filled mushroom croquettes and it would keep people coming back for more. The pattas bravas — how have they raised this dish to a higher level?
Their brava sauce mix is a secret but it works. The Crudo misses the mark, however, with the gin and crème fraiche obscuring any hint of salmon. Lightly spiced meatballs with gorgonzola and sage soon have us smiling a cheesy grin again.
Dessert here is limited to two dishes. Both work. The Golden Gaytime dish is a crunchy treat with a name that sells itself short considering it’s created by teaming macadamia praline with house-made dulce de leche ice-cream. And there are churros, of course. Opt for the chocolate.
The wine list pulls in Med-influenced SA drops and is one of Adelaide’s better offerings, while the selection of spirits and cocktails is matched but not beaten in this city.
- Hours: L Fri-Sun D Tues-Sun
- Bill: E $5-$14.50 M $13.50-$45 D$8-$9
- Wine Wine list
- Chef: Sebastian Richards
8. BALLABOOSTA
289 Halifax St, Adelaide
(08) 8232 1853
This is a puff piece. How can it not be, when every minute another platter with spheres of puffed-up flatbread whizzes by.
It’s Sunday lunchtime, the sun is shining and the tables inside and outside Ballaboosta are full — and everyone, it seems, is having that not-so-flat bread.
Staff trot back and forth from the pizza oven to the tables and service is swift, so somehow everyone who pleads for a place is squeezed in.
The décor may be Mediterranean meets industrial but the food and vibe are all about family.
Ballaboosta’s food is made for sharing. The mezze of thumb-sized rice-stuffed vine leaves is a pleasant start but it’s the crunchy pastry of the hand-crimped sambousik that sparks joy. Stuffed with lamb mince and pine nuts, the little crescents are the perfect size for scooping up the accompanying hummus.
Fat, moist chicken skewers of shish tawook shine on a plate laden with a vibrant fattoush salad and, yes, more of that puffy flatbread.
After all that, you might struggle to fit in one of the woodfired pizzas so save that for another visit. Try the Inferno — it isn’t as dangerous as it sounds, with a just-there chilli burn lingering after you have finished the marinated artichoke, ham and roasted capsicum on a thin crust.
- Hours: B|L Mon-Sun D Mon-Sat
- Bill: E $12 M $19-$26 D$4-$8
- Wine: Wine list, plus BYO | Corkage $20
- Chef: Naj Moubayed