Leigh Street Wine Room, a wonderful addition to Adelaide’s best-known laneway
An old city drycleaners has been transformed into a wine bar with a few surprises from the kitchen. Read Simon Wilkinson’s review.
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The psychology of wine labels and the people they attract is not an exact science. While supermarket shoppers will have a good idea what to expect from a box of cereal they pick from the shelf, a wine buyer is often flying blind, relying on the reputation of the producer, the amount they are charging and luck.
Take a look at the rows of bottles that cover one wall of the Leigh Street Wine Room, a wonderful addition to the mix in Adelaide’s best-known laneway.
This compact but beautifully finished establishment specialises in wines that are made with minimal interference from around the world, particularly rare finds and one-off “unicorns”.
With precious few reference points, the labels mean everything. Would you go for the humour of cartoon dwarfs, the nostalgia of a Sandman panel van or the emotional trigger of a wide-eyed young child? Do you favour bold, modern graphics or the elegant fonts and heraldry of the old world? A Battered Sav or a bottle named Brian?
While the breadth and visual impact of this collection is unquestionably the centre of attention, the dining part of the LSRW equation is surprisingly understated, particularly given the owner is a chef, and one who has come to Adelaide with a high profile from the eastern states.
Nathan Sasi’s previous restaurant, Mercado, in Sydney, had 160 seats and facilities to match. Here, he would be lucky to seat a quarter of that number and his kitchen at the back has space for two. The menu is a single typed sheet of less than 20 choices, half of them snack-sized. Like many of those bottle labels, however, it only tells part of the story.
Even the property’s former tenants wouldn’t recognise their old drycleaners, apart from the light box sign still hanging out front. Inside, the narrow space has been transformed into the most glamorous of tunnels by the addition of a ceiling arch that runs the length of the room. To the right, a terrazzo bar provides plenty of territory for the “stoolies” to spread plates and glassware, while a dining zone at the far end has a few small tables that can be rearranged for extra numbers. Large groups, the only ones that can book, are directed upstairs to a loft.
The service team, led by Nathan’s wife Sali, are a thoroughly likeable bunch and the staff to punter ratio makes it possible to get to know one another quickly. They won’t have tasted all 400 wines but can offer good advice where required. The same with the food.
Nathan, whose father was a butcher, produces all his own salumi, so it’s a good place to start. A platter might include shaved mortadella, chorizo and a superb bresaola of wagyu from Mayura Station that dissolves in the mouth. Add pickled vegetables and a hot sourdough roll with Nolans Road olive oil for standard wine bar snacking, just at a different, rarefied level.
Elsewhere the chef’s new-found network of producers shines. A disc of pressed curd, made from locally sourced buffalo milk, is drenched in honey and served with its comb and a small bunch of oxalis. You can almost hear the buzzing bees.
The sheep milk from another local hero, Riverside Dairy in the Barossa, is turned to ricotta for “gnudi”, a ravioli stripped of its skin. These little dumplings of joy are extraordinarily light and perky, in contrast to their decadently cheesy cacio e pepe sauce.
Kingfish carpaccio sheets are laid over a plate smeared with cultured cream and scattered with finger lime, chilli and chives. For once, the flavour of the core ingredient goes missing, the delicate fish monstered by its companions.
The “barbecued” brisket is in fact brined, smoked, cooked sous vide and grilled to order. Laid out with flatbreads and accompaniments including labne, salted cucumber and hot sauce, it is somewhere between a yiros and reuben sandwich. Magnificent.
Given the general rustic “unchefiness” of everything else, dessert is a surprise. A “chocolate mouse” is a cute little critter, shaped from a dark, glossy choc dome complete with eyes, ears and a squiggly tail. It’s good fun and the technique on show in the biscuit base, mousse and ganache coating is beyond reproach.
So what is LSWR? It doesn’t really feel like a restaurant but the food is far too good to call it a bar. You could go for a glass, a snack or a full-blown chef’s menu that is almost too much. Yes, finding the right label is going to be hard.
LEIGH STREET WINE ROOM
9 Leigh St, Adelaide; 0499 555 461; leighstreetwineroom.com
OWNERS Nathan and Sali Sasi
CHEF Nathan Sasi
FOOD Contemporary
SMALL $4-$19 MAIN $17-$32
DESSERT $6-$12
DRINKS Four hundred bottles and a dozen or so pouring by the glass. Natural wine has never looked better.
OPEN LUNCH Fri-Sat DINNER Tue-Sat
SCORE: 16/20