Iconic Adelaide restaurant Press Food and Wine reopens with a new look and chef

This Adelaide restaurant pioneered the way we eat out a decade ago. Now it’s reopening with a new look and one of the state’s best chefs at the helm.

Adelaide dining institution Press Food and Wine reopens on Wednesday with a new look and one of SA’s top chefs at the helm.

Tom Tilbury’s Gather at Coriole took out the no. 1 spot in the 2019 delicious.100 best restaurants list – the last time the ranking took place.

Now, Tilbury forms part of a formidable team at the Waymouth St establishment, which was recently bought by an emerging hospitality group that is now also behind award-winning restaurants Leigh St Wine Room and Peel St.

The “new Press” is lighter and softer, thanks to the work of interior designer Claire Kneebone (Paloma Bar and Pantry; 2KW), boasts an “even greater” wine list of more than 400 labels and seeks to create a memorable experience, said general manager Meira Harel.

“People might not remember what’s on their plate, they might not remember what’s in their glass, but people remember how they felt and that’s what’s going to bring them back,” said Ms Harel, a sommelier with more than 15 years experience in the industry.

Inside the new Press Food and Wine. Picture: supplied

The new bar at Press Food and Wine is centred on the right hand side of the dining room. Picture: supplied

The 10-year-old restaurant was due for a facelift, Ms Harel said. Dark walls have been stripped back and rendered white; high communal tables switched for plush banquet seating and additions of timber, stone and curved lines bring warmth.

“One of the biggest changes downstairs is a fresh, new, very large bar in the middle of the room, which will be a great addition for the city,” Ms Harel said.

“We thought – what doesn’t the CBD have to offer that other great CBDs around the country do? A really elegant space that’s suitable for any occasion, which serves amazing drinks and food throughout the day, was one of those things.

Press Food and Wine. Picture: Jacqui Way Photography

Press Food and Wine general manager, Meira Harel. Picture: supplied

“You can come in at 2pm or 4pm and have a martini or champagne and a couple of oysters and be just fine. Or, you can … sit down for a set menu.”

A comprenehsive wine list, representing the best of both local and international varieties, is “a huge part of what the new Press is – a space to drink wine”.

“Our name is Press Food and Wine,” Harel said. “It’s always been great wine drinking; we’ve made it even greater and bigger, celebrating all regions of the world.”

When it came to hiring an executive chef, Harel sought someone who not only shared the same values, but who could also handle a two-level, 160-seat restaurant.

Tilbury received several offers after he left Coriole in McLaren Vale earlier this year, but Press, and Harel, had the offer he “couldn’t refuse”.

“It was the talk of wanting to take things to the next level,” Tilbury said. “And just the care – caring for everyone who comes through the door.

“The best thing about the industry at the moment is there’s so much strength in it and I want to be a part of it in some form.”

Chef Tom Tilbury at the newly renovated Press Food and Wine. Picture: Tom Huntley

While Press was a pioneer in nose-to-tail dining when it opened in 2011, Tilbury’s menu will incorporate much more plant-forward fare – the kind of food that earned him acclaim at

An intimate table inside the new Press Food and Wine. Picture: supplied

Gather at Coriole. Early dishes on what will be a “fluid” menu include Ngeringa carrots with buckwheat, caramelised cream and persimmon, while seasonal figs star in a current dessert.

“Our farm-to-table ethos, and our connections with the producers is one of the big motivators on the menu,” Tilbury said.

As for this year’s delicious.100 list? “I’ll always aim for the top,” he said.

The upper level of Press will undergo renovation during winter.