Adelaide’s best 11 Italian restaurants for 2022, in SA’s delicious.100

Silky pasta and wood-fired pizzas... Italy has certainly given the world some popular foods. Find out where you can eat the best Italian cuisine here in SA.

Is it that funky bistro in New York? That rollicking trattoria in Rome? Or somewhere you’ve seen in a movie?

City restaurant Fugazzi captures a little piece of all of these in a compelling package of food, service and design that has seen it named as SA’s Best Italian Restaurant in this year’s delicious.100.

“There’s a sense of nostalgia … you have a feeling you’ve been there before, or you’ve seen somewhere similar, but you can’t really put your finger on it,” says Max Sharrad, who, with wife and co-owner Laura, channelled this theme in a photo shoot loosely inspired by the classic film, Roman Holiday.

Fugazzi Bar and Dining Room owners Max and Laura Sharrad, dressed by David Jones and Dulcie’s Bus respectively, outside the restaurant in Leigh St. Picture: Tom Huntley

“When you walk into the venue you feel that you have been transported somewhere, and that is what we wanted to accomplish.”

The award for Fugazzi has an extra layer of nostalgia for Adelaideans who recall the heyday of Rigoni’s, the legendary Italian bistro that previously occupied the Leigh St venue.

Working with restaurant maestro Simon Kardachi and designer studio gram, the Sharrads created a space full of old-school craftsmanship and glamour, completed by a gifted team of black-aproned waiters.

The cooking, overseen by Max, treads the same line of authenticity with a contemporary twist. His crab taglierini, for instance, sautes the picked meat in a butter flavoured with crustacean shells, before seasoning with white soy (an ingredient you won’t find in any Italian cookbook) and garnishing with chives and salmon roe.

Dessert might be a sheep milk yoghurt gelato with milk skin, honey drizzle and a sprinkle of native davidson plum dust.

“The restaurant is still evolving and taking shape,” Max says. “We don’t think that the Fugazzi of today is how it is going to be forever.”

For our Roman Holiday-inspired photo shoot, Max’s suit was supplied by David Jones, and Laura’s by Dulcie’s Bus in Kidman Park.

SA’S TOP 11 ITALIAN RESTAURANTS

A version of Fugazzi’s crab pasta, with fermented chilli, crustacean butter and salmon roe. Picture: Kelly Barnes

FUGAZZI

27 Leigh St, city

A big-dollar refit of the old Rigoni’s site has helped create a restaurant with a sense of occasion. Italian flavours are elevated with flair. Highlights include egg taglierini with blue swimmer crab, and capsicum that’s roasted, marinated and roasted again until it becomes an intense vegetable toffee offset by a vibrant green pool of thyme oil.

Grilled mullet, blistered tomato and seaweed at Nido.

NIDO

2/160 King William Rd, Hyde Park

The attraction begins with the hypnotic buzz that invariably accompanies a restaurant firing on all cylinders. It’s an intimate, moody space, filled with diners across a mix of high and low tables. Start with a skewer of wood grilled pork belly pieces in an addictive smoked pineapple sauce or the signature gnocchi fritto fried bread with whipped ricotta, honey and a grind of black pepper. Grilled flat-iron steak with whipped mustard butter and marsala jus is a highlight.

Dining room at Little Wolf Osteria.

LITTLE WOLF OSTERIA

141 McMurtree Rd, McLaren Vale

The series of converted black shipping containers that make up Mitolo’s stylish cellar door and restaurant have been transformed into a lively osteria-style eatery with a proud Italian accent. The Da Noi (Feed Me) option or La Parnarda shared feast follow a familiar Italian pattern, but with unexpected twists. House-cured salumi includes outstanding mortadella flecked with slow-roasted capsicum. Snacks of roasted roman artichoke and tuna tartare on grilled avocado lead to handmade pasta, then protein. All dishes are in sympathy with Mitolo’s wines.

Dishes at Osteria Oggi in Adelaide. Picture: Duy Dash

OSTERIA OGGI

76 Pirie St, city

Oggi has become a long-time favourite in Adelaide’s dining scene and for good reason – it’s got the looks, the atmosphere and the contemporary Italian dishes that keep us coming back. To start, baby squid tubes, shaped like little bonnets, are all sweet innocence before being slathered in wicked melted nduja. Pasta options are aplenty, from fantastic crab linguine to maccheroni with rabbit ragu. There are meat and fish options, too – just be sure to leave room for their take on tiramisu.

Fiona and Matteo Carboni at Casa Carboni, Angaston. Picture: Martin Ritzmann

CASA CARBONI

67 Murray St, Angaston

Here’s the thing: Casa Carboni is not a restaurant. At heart, it’s a humble cooking school that opens for simple meals towards the end of the week and a long lunch on Sundays. Here, you’re in owner/teacher/cook Matteo Carboni’s hands. A procession of traditional Italian flavours might include beautifully cooked ox tongue on lightly pickled red cabbage, topped with garlicky salsa verde, and perfectly pleated ravioli glossy with Paris Creek butter sauce.

Do as the Italians do, and finish with a sweet and an espresso.

Cauliflower dish at Orso in Kensington.

ORSO

36 Kensington Rd, Rose Park

All the tables in the ground-floor dining room and even the undercover courtyard can watch the chefs in action but the best seats to nab are along the Orso bar, where a lucky few can get up close and personal with the food team. Standout starters are a simple stracciatella corralled by pickled rhubarb, fig, prosciutto and fig leaf oil, and a luscious beef tartare offset by walnuts, piquant fried capers and horseradish cream. There’s a trio of pastas (perhaps pipe rigata with duck leg ragu), as well as tempting sirloin and fish.

Chianti.

CHIANTI

160 Hutt Street, city

The Italian eatery that has been serving Adelaideans since 1985 continues to excel. The lighting and ambience are perfect, it’s quiet enough to have a conversation even when it’s busy, and the wait staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Scallops gently grilled in the half shell, served with a splash of Genovese pesto and a crunchy crostini, is a highlight. As is the blue swimmer crab linguine, and King George whiting with burro bianco and Boston Bay mussels. Finish with a classic affogato or a selection of great Italian cheeses.

Main dining room at Enzo's Ristorante.

Crab linguine at Enzo’s.

ENZO’S RISTORANTE

46 Port Rd, Hindmarsh

Italian stalwart Enzo’s continues to tick along on the tails of its professional team of career waiters, both young and older, all full of life and dedicated to excellent service. Classics remain covered. Freshly made fettuccine “Umbria” is the superstar, however, so rich and unctuous with porcini and Swiss browns vying for attention in a sauce of Italian sausage, black truffle paste and a deft splash of cream. Finish with a dessert special of Bailey’s panna cotta.

Polenta, mushrooms and three cheese sauce at Ruby Red Flamingo, North Adelaide.

RUBY RED FLAMINGO

142 Tynte St, North Adelaide

It’s not just the heartwarming, homely flavours of the pasta sauces that make dinner at Ruby Red Flamingo like a night with your nonna. There’s also the brown and orange floral pattern on the crockery that every household seemed to have in the ‘70s that echoes of a time when life was less complicated. Don’t want pasta? Try the baked polenta, filled with a medley of mushrooms and smothered in a ladle-load of triple-cheese (provolone, fontina, parmesan) sauce.

Borsa Pasta Cucina.

BORSA PASTA CUCINA

Shop 1, Plaza Level, 25 Grenfell Street, city

Tucked away below street level, just off Grenfell Plaza, this Italian eatery has a convivial, warm atmosphere, even on a cool Saturday night. The venue’s specialty, tagliatelle con salsicce in bianco, brings together house-made pork sausage, basil and enough chilli to light up the night. Bravo. For those with a larger appetite, there’s the usual antipasto favourites, along with a couple of customary Italian meat dishes – veal saltimbocca and cotoletta alla Milanese – which you can enjoy with a wide range of local or Italian wines.

The dining room at Anchovy Bandit. Picture: Matt Turner

ANCHOVY BANDIT

96 Prospect Rd, Prospect

Italy-meets-Asia at this contemporary Prospect eatery that’s buzzing on a Friday and Saturday night. This is a place to go with friends, grab a few cocktails and share some excellent antipasto before moving on to pizza and pasta. Highlights include blue swimmer crab “spaghetti” that leans closer to noodles, tossed through with chilli oil (lots of it) and piled with crunchy fried and fresh spring onions; and the kimchi pizza (yes, kimchi) perfectly puffed and charred, with oozy scamorza cheese.