12 restaurant and cafe openings for Adelaide in 2024, including LVN Restaurant, Good Burger, Rozelle’s, SORA and more
An Italian-influenced restaurant and bar with views perfect for aperitivo hour is among the anticipated new eateries in SA this year. See the list.
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From a beloved sandwich spot moving to the city, an old-school American diner in the suburbs and an Italian-style eatery next to a new gelato shop, here are 12 venues we’re excited to check out in 2024.
Ocean Kitchen & Bar
Henley Beach Surf Lifesaving Club
Open: Late December
Owner and chef Adam Swanson has joined forces with business partner Josh Harkin for his new venture, an Italian-influenced restaurant and bar perfectly situated in the Henley Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.
“The whole vibe is coastal, we’re right on the water, we’re going for that Sorrento, Italian feel,” he said.
“The menu will have everything from wagyu steak, to the best seafood we can get our hands on like lobster to scallops, calamari and prawns – the works.”
If steak is your fancy, the kitchen offers a choice of 350g grain-fed scotch fillet or 200g waygu fillet served with a choice of sauce a chips.
From 3pm, guests can enjoy a nice drink on the balcony and tuck into some Italian aperitivo snacks.
“In January you can come in with some mates, or have a nice bottle of bubbles with the missus, and sit on the tables outside and have snacks like salt and pepper squid tentacles with chilli and basil, or maybe some prawn rolls, lobster rolls,” said Swanson, who’s also behind Cheeky Chook Eats on Henley Beach Rd.
“Then there’s polpette (meatballs), polenta chips, all the classics. People just want real food, dishes they feel comfortable with.”
LVN Restaurant
Bird In Hand Rd and Pfeiffer Rd, Woodside
Opens: January 14
Adelaide Hills winery Bird in Hand will launch a new “world-class” dining experience in January, with the head chef from one of the country’s top restaurants at the helm.
LVN Restaurant is the latest addition to the Woodside winery, which reopened its cellar door in early 2023 following a multimillion-dollar redevelopment.
Now co-founder Andrew Nugent and executive chef Jacob Davey – formerly of Adelaide’s award-winning Restaurant Botanic – have unveiled their new fine dining venue which is set to revitalise Hills hospitality.
“We just want to provide a world-class experience for our guests,” said Davey, 40, who has also worked at Michelin-starred Pied à Terre in London.
“When people come up to see us they will be blown away. The winery is beautiful, so is the restaurant, and the kitchen is pretty nice too.”
The restaurant will feature an 8-to-10-course tasting menu, plus snacks showcasing local produce from the onsite kitchen garden, the surrounding Hills region and Seymour, Tasmania.
Bottega Bandito
James Place, 60 King William building, Adelaide
Opens: February
The hospitality team behind Prospect Rd hotspot Bottega Bandito is opening a sister cafe in the city, which will also offer aperitivo-style drinks and snacks in the evening.
Oliver Brown, managing director of The Big Easy Group, said the original Bottega was busy all year round and had “outgrown a single site”.
“What’s really pushed for the second location is the sandwiches and pastries. We make everything fresh in-house daily and we never expected for them to be quite so popular but we just haven’t had the space or the equipment,” he said.
Mr Brown says the new venue will have a “micro bakery” on site, producing all the breads and pastries for both locations each day.
“The offering will be almost the same as the Prospect venue but will have the show piece of the bakery. We will also be pushing it a little later and offering an aperitivo hour in the evenings for local workers.”
Good Burger and Asha
588 Goodwood Road, Daw Park (Good Burger) and 135 Goodwood Road, Goodwood (Asha)
Opens: January and mid-March
Named the nation’s best wine bar in Gourmet Traveller’s 2024 Restaurant Awards, this suburban gem – from husband and wife team Wilson and Isabelle Shawyer – expanded last year to include a larger kitchen and dedicated dining room.
Now they’ve got two more projects in the works, both along the same strip.
Good Burger, an old-school American diner with a modern twist, is slated for mid-January.
Its trademark dish will be the Daw Park cheeseburger, from head chef Ashley Peek, consisting of a potato bun, relish, wagyu smash patty, raclette cheese, cornichons and diced onion. Delish.
But the venue’s focal point will be its carefully crafted list of cocktaihebls, beers, spirits, plus a unique “spiked sodas” menu, adding a playful twist to the beverage experience.
Asha, an intimate restaurant showcasing the flavours of the Middle East and North Africa, is expected to open in March, just two doors down from Good Gilbert.
With creative dining spaces including an open-plan kitchen and train-style carriage booth seating, the eatery will fuse authentic dishes with contemporary elements.
Then there’s the wine list, which will focus on relatively unknown regions in countries such as Georgia and Lebanon, while customers can also access Good Gilbert’s extensive collection of over 450 different bottles.
Rozelle’s at Carrick Hill
46 Carrick Hill Dr, Springfield
Opens: January
The hospitality family behind acclaimed Hutt St venues Chianti and Bar Torino will bring European vibes to Carrick Hill’s $7m redevelopment.
Rozelle’s is a new casual restaurant from the Favaro family, which will focus on antipasti, pizzas and a series of dishes cooked in a wood fire oven.
Jessica Favaro-Richards, The Favaro Group managing director, says they’re excited to be opening a venue – designed by Eda Interiors’ Emma Aronsten – in such an “iconic” spot.
“I am thrilled to realise my family’s dream of running a venue in a stunning garden setting and bringing our passion for quality food and warm Italian service to the setting of Carrick Hill,” she said.
“We are looking forward to bringing a fun, laid back casual dining experience here so you can enjoy the beautiful grounds from our veranda, with a spritz in hand.”
The eatery is part of the Carrick Hill’s new $7m pavilion, which includes an event space for up to 200 people as well as access to the historic home’s museum, bushland walks and extensive gardens.
Gelato Messina and restaurant
44 The Parade, Kent Town
Opens: Gelato shop in January, restaurant in mid 2024
It’s been a long time coming but cult ice cream brand Gelato Messina – founded by SA brothers Nick and Danny Palumbo – will finally launch their first Adelaide store in January.
Originally slated to open in 2023, the shop is located in the old Alchemy Ironworks on The Parade, Kent Town.
Excitingly, a new Italian style eatery from Eugenio Maiale (Citrus and The Green Olive, Auge and A Tavola) and Claudio Ferraro (Cibo and Valentino’s) will sit alongside the gelato shop.
Originally from Adelaide, Maiale worked at the old Rigoni’s on Leigh St and launched Auge and Citrus, before moving to Sydney where he’s opened some of the city’s favourite Italian restaurants including A Tavola.
The restaurant name is still under wraps, but the menu will represent what Maiale and Ferraro love to eat while at home and on holidays: “freedom food with no rules”.
The businesses will share the same building, but it’s understood they will operate separately – with plenty of fun collaborations between them.
Nick said: “Some of our hospitality friends are taking over, so it will be a great place to come for dinner and have a scoop at the Messina afterwards”.
Aces
Gouger Street, Adelaide
Opens: Sometime in 2024
A Central Market food favourite will be revived in Chinatown next year with a little help from one one of Adelaide’s most respected chefs.
Former Press Food and Wine and Coriole executive chef Tom Tilbury has taken over as culinary director at the revamped Aces, formerly known as Italian diner Aces Pizza.
After more than three decades in the markets, the venue will be reborn on a two-storey site on the corner of Gouger and Moonta streets, right in the middle of Chinatown.
“It’s (Aces) got a lot of history in the markets … I’m super excited to build a restaurant attached to that culture and contributes to it,” Tilbury said.
And gone is the pizza, replaced with a traditional Italian menu of handmade pasta, fish and protein dishes.
There’s also a range of small Italian plates and snacks, which will be showcased during a unique ‘yum ciao’ lunchtime service, paying homage to the Cantonese tradition of brunch involving roving Chinese tea and dim sum.
“It’s a different style of eating, a new spin on that yum cha offering,” Tilbury said.
“It’s taking inspiration from where we are (located) and what’s around us. But there’s no Chinese flavours, it’s just a nod to Chinatown.
“The menu is pasta-focused, with six to eight mains including a lobster ravioli along with the smaller dishes. It’s all designed to be fun, welcoming and inviting for everyone.”
SORA
89 Pirie St, Adelaide
Opens: January 2024
One of Adelaide’s most anticipated hospitality openings is less than a month away.
Sora, a two-level rooftop restaurant, bar and entertainment complex on Pirie Street, will officially open its doors on January 17.
Almost three years in the making, the multimillion-dollar project will feature a modern Asian restaurant from acclaimed chef Adam Liston.
The high-end food offering is just one aspect of the European-style venue, which can cater for up to 400 guests, and includes a chic bar, dancefloor and entertainment area.
Sora’s focal point is a 150-person restaurant with a menu created by Liston, the man behind top eateries overseas and interstate, as well as local hotspots Shobosho, ShoSho and Mozza.
“I love the ambition of this project, it’s so unique. There’s no other place like this in Adelaide,” Liston said.
The cuisine is a mix of Japanese, Korean and Chinese, combined with western influences, Liston said. Raw fish and charcoal cooking will feature strongly on the menu.
Dining will be available right up until close, which is expected to be around 2.45am nightly.
East End Cellars
One Festival Tower, Adelaide
Opens: Mid to late 2024
The team behind East End Cellars and Mother Vine expanded in 2023 with a new EEC venue in Norwood – and now they’ve revealed plans for yet another food and wine project next year.
This new eatery, set for One Festival Tower in the riverbank precinct, will feature a “state of the art” kitchen and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Like other EEC venues, there will be a wine shop dedicated to patrons seeking a bottle of vino to enjoy on the premises or to take home.
“Expect an immersive space which will replicate what people have come to love from our venues but with an even wider range of dining options,” the owners said in a release.
Rosemont Hall
106 Prospect Rd, Prospect
Opens: Sometime in 2024
When this beloved Prospect restaurant was destroyed by a devastating fire in September 2021, Adelaide foodies wondered if it was ever coming back.
Well, now it sounds like Rosemont Hall’s long-awaited rebirth isn’t far away.
A recent social media post revealed that the family behind Mr Chan restaurant, housed alongside takeaway outfit Sunny’s Shop on Prospect Rd, are preparing to re-open their iconic business in coming months.
A spokeswoman for Rosemont Hall said more details were coming soon.
“We cannot wait to fire up the woks and welcome everyone back, both familiar faces and new, to our revamped space with some jasmine tea and mouth-watering dishes,” she said.
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