Keeping score: Adelaide’s most in demand hospo hot spots during Gather Round

Adelaide’s foodie hot spots continued to score after Gather Round’s final siren – and it wasn’t just footy fare tempting tastebuds. Three high-end CBD restaurants proved most popular.

Adelaide’s hospitality industry is still celebrating and recovering from a hectic weekend of Gather Round action.

And the party isn’t over yet, with Golden Boy owner Sondra Deering saying Monday and Tuesday night bookings in the CBD are well up on normal.

“I would say there are definitely many people who are still here after Gather Round on the weekend,’’ she said.

Adelaide’s CBD food and drinks venues were the most searched for on Google over the weekend, with Fugazzi, Golden Boy, and Gaucho’s top of the list.

Norwood Oval Stadium Manager Patrick Allan said the two games on Friday and Sunday had recorded “huge results” for food and drink.

“It is about five-fold on one good SANFL game because we get 4500 for SANFL and we got over 9000 for both AFL games,’’ he said.

At Adelaide Oval caterers were also kept busy, with the biggest items in demand 42,000 serves of finger food, right down to down to 140 litres of Beerenberg Tomato Sauce.

Restaurateur Simon Kardachi said the Gather Round had an immediate impact on his bookings; estimated to be around 15 per cent up at his specialist restaurants, but 35 per cent at some.

In the CBD Mr Kardachi is joint owner of Fugazzi Bar and Dining Room, Osteria Oggi, Shobosho, Bread and Bone Wood Grill and Maybe Mae.

“It really is a great credit to our forward-thinking leaders, Peter Malinauskas and his team, in driving this state and putting the spotlight on Adelaide in front of a national market,’’ Mr Kardachi said.

“Events such as Gather Round, as well as the conference and business events market, are actually providing incremental, bottom-line immediate impacts for the hospitality industry.”

Norwood Oval Stadium Manager Patrick Allan on the oval. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

When it came to specific weekend Google searches for hospitality names associated with “AFL Gather Round”, the top ten were; Drunken Monkey, Windy Point Restaurant, Ming’s Court, Cafe Va Bene, Press Food and Wine, Parliamento, Peel St, Flavory, 34 WYATT ST and Two-Bit Villains.

“Gather Round was a wonderful example to the rest of Australia of what Adelaide hospitality has to offer,’’ Pink Moon Saloon and Clever Little Tailor owner Marshall King said.

“The West End precinct was absolutely buzzing with interstate visitors and locals alike.

“We were around 50 per cent up on an equivalent week in April without the Gather round, but it was also our 10th birthday on Saturday night so that might have had something to do with it too.”

Australian Hotels Association spokesman Ian Horne said the sector would soon be gathering figures on the impact.

“Anecdotal evidence at this early stage would suggest that it has been substantial and made more so because weeks interrupted by public holidays are generally very flat for most in hospitality other than popular regions that benefit from a city exodus,’’ he said.