SA Weekend Restaurant review: Storehouse Flinders East

One of the favourite meat dishes of the past decade is upstaged at a new-ish hotel restaurant just a few blocks from the East End.

Restaurant dining room at Storehouse Flinders East, Adelaide

Shoulder shmoulder. Yes, chefs love a slow-cooked forequarter of lamb. It’s easy. All the work is done ahead of time, the result is pretty much bullet-proof and it can be shared by four or more people. That’s why, over the past decade, it has ended up on every second menu.

But the shoulder has had its day.

The lamb at new-ish hotel restaurant Storehouse Flinders East, on the other hand, really lifts the baa (sorry).

Chef Brent Potuszynski takes a whole belly, removes the bones, rolls and ties the meat, braises it very slowly, wraps it in cling film and leaves it to chill. When an order comes in, he cuts off several slices to pan-fry and finally roast in a hot oven.

Restaurant tables on the terrace at Storehouse Flinders East, Adelaide

It’s a lot more work but the result is spectacular, especially when these crisp-shelled little parcels of gelatinous lamby goodness are partnered by silky onion puree, pickled onion, a couscous-based tabouli and fried kale leaves. It’s the next generation of roast dinner and, with belly yet to make the food world’s A-list, priced most reasonably.

Storehouse, as the unwieldy name states, is towards the eastern end of Flinders, just across Frome Rd. It is on the ground floor of the Vibe Hotel Adelaide (speaking of bad names), one of the many boutique-sized developments opened recently in the city. When approached from the front, the restaurant is just beyond reception and the lobby, but some clever planning has positioned it down one side where sliding glass doors can connect it with an alfresco terrace in the void between buildings.

Tonight, the doors are closed and our table is in a room that blends Scandi blonde timber furniture and vaguely Moroccan metal lattices and other detailing. It was the potential of the inside-outside design that convinced Potuszynski to take this job when he returned to Adelaide with a CV (four years in London, head chef at Georges on Waymouth and Mimasu) that would surely have attracted other suitors.

The bloke has some talent, as I’ve written before, but he can also be pragmatic. Four months after starting, his menu at Storehouse hits the sweet spot between flair and familiarity. It’s seasonal (truly), creative in parts but won’t frighten off the wary diner.

The dining room at Storehouse Flinders East

King prawn linguine, blistered tomatoes with wild rocket.

The most adventurous small plate, a carpaccio-ish kangaroo, is an updated signature from his time at Mimasu.

The roo loin is seared ever-so-briefly, so when it is sliced the outer rim has a dark crust but the rest is the same ruby-red it was when raw.

Each piece is topped with a small blob of black garlic aioli, a pickled red grape half, pepitas and fried leaves of saltbush.

Keeping all this intact on the way to the mouth can be tricky but the result is a balancing performance worthy of a spot at the Fringe.

Kangaroo loin, black garlic and pickled grapes.

Barramundi, banana blossom salad and tom yum broth.

Golden blocks of fried haloumi always pull a crowd. Here they find the perfect summer lovin’ with figs that have been braised in a honey-vinegar-black-pepper concoction that is then reduced to drizzle over the top.

Linguine with quality Spencer Gulf prawns is given a tweak by adding wild rocket, preserved lemon and a sprinkle of fried breadcrumbs.

Rarely seen fresh banana blossom (the fleshy petal around each bunch of fruit) comes from a contact of one of the kitchen team and is shredded to form the backbone of a perky salad strewn across the top of a crisp-skinned fillet of barramundi. All of this sits in a pool of mild tom yum broth finished with plenty of lime. It’s the only Asian dish but another winner.

Desserts, perhaps, fail to keep the same excitement level. Not that there’s anything wrong with a classic pav finished with berries, passionfruit curd and kiwifruit. Or a chocolate cremeux, chocolate soil and preserved cherries loosely inspired by the chef’s favourite confectionery, Cherry Ripe.

Storehouse is only a few blocks walk from the East End precinct that will be bonkers for a while yet during the Fringe festivities. If you’re looking for a decent meal in slightly less-harried surrounds, this is where you should be heading.