Top nine must-visit wine bars in Adelaide and South Australia for 2022

Come for a drink, stay for the food! A growing band of wine bars in Adelaide have taken bar snacks to a whole new level – and three made the cut in this year’s delicious.100.

When Mug Chen and Chia Wu first opened Muni, their little surprise packet in Willunga, they wanted it to be a wine bar serving snacks.

But after adding degustation dinners to the mix, the venue evolved into a dining destination.

Muni is one of a growing band of wine bars around the state that have taken their food offering to a new level. The trend is reflected in this year’s delicious.100 list of best restaurants in SA, with three wine bars of different types included in the top 50, revealed online this Friday, August 5, and in SAWeekend magazine on Saturday.

READ MORE: SA’s best restaurants for 2022 ranked

Muni owner/chef Mug Chen and Chia Wu at their wine bar in Willunga. Picture: Tom Huntley

Muni owner/chefs Chen and Wu come from a background of fine dining and, while both are from Taiwan, met while working at Melbourne gastro temple Vue de Monde.

Like many in their industry, however, the impact of Covid changed their thinking.

“We wanted to cook good food but maybe not the way we used to,” Mug says. “Maybe it didn’t have to be so serious. Maybe it could be a little bit easier.”

They opened Muni in October 2021 as a bar with a focus on natural/low intervention wine and a choice of six snacks. When their regular customers starting asking for longer, more substantial dining, they introduced a degustation menu on Saturday nights.

This quickly expanded to three nights and, at the start of winter, when it became difficult to juggle both formats, the bar service ended.

However, Chen says it will return at the start of October, with more of the Muni-style snacks including fried rice, noodles and radish cakes.

“We love the fact that locals can come by and have a drink and a snack,” she says.

For Meira Harel, general manager of the group now running the Leigh Street Wine Room, a good wine bar has a few key elements.

“You need a diverse selection of wine that offers interest and excitement at all price points,” she says.

“You need a fantastic food offering that goes along with it. And you need the energy and life that the dining space offers – that comes down to all the details of the music, the lighting, the team that leads the service.”

TOP 9 WINE BARS TO TRY NOW

Charcoal sweet bun and oyster crema with seasonal greens at Muni. Picture: Hanmo Li

Dacquoise, matcha, yuzu at Muni. Picture: Hanmo Li

Muni

2/3 High St, Willunga

One of this year’s biggest surprises, Muni opened as a bar pouring natural wines alongside small, affordable plates but that has morphed into a serious dining destination with an ambitious set menu showcasing the vast imagination of Taiwanese-born owner/chefs Mug Chen and Chia Wu (ex Vue de Monde, Melbourne). The squid dish is worth the journey alone.

Grilled ox tongue, tonnato at Bar Lune.

Bar Lune

303 The Parade, Beulah Park

Bar Lune is that good, that much fun, it will make you consider moving house so it can be your local. The cooking is exceptional, the wine a good match, and both come at prices that make semi-regular attendance quite feasible. The 20 or so dishes on offer are an eclectic mix of Asian, Middle Eastern, Italian and other Euro influences, with the only definitive rule being that they work with the wine.

Raw scallops and green tomato at Leigh Street Wine Room.

Leigh Street Wine Room

9 Leigh St, city

It might have Adelaide’s best omelette and an exceptional pork terrine but don’t break out the berets yet. This second iteration of LSWR, with new owners and a new chef, does have moments that are pure Parisian bistro but the overall package is more worldly and nuanced, a sophisticated take on what a food-loving bar or a wine-loving eatery can be. Peter Orr’s cooking has plenty of wow moments (scallops, green tomato, yoghurt and chive oil for instance) and the wine list has been revised to be more easily accessible.

Owner of Good Gilbert, Wilson Shawyer. Picture: Matt Loxton

Good Gilbert

135B Goodwood Rd, Goodwood

This neighbourhood wine bar’s got the trifecta – good vibe, a crowd-pleasing range of drinks and inspired snacks that are constantly evolving. It pitches itself as a place that’s as comfortable as hanging out at your mate’s place, only with better wine and food – and that’s completely true. The menu features snacks and antipasto-style dishes along with some larger share plates, or you can grab a ‘Feed Me’ menu for $55.

Eggplant dish at Otherness.

Otherness

38 Murray St, Angaston

On its website, it’s described as a “wine bar and cellar door” – but Otherness is so much more. Owner Grant Dickson is best known for curating the extraordinary wine list at FermentAsian, while chef Sam Smith for many years ran the kitchen of Fino at Seppeltsfield.

Local produce is at the fore with dishes such as chilli-crusted grilled eggplant with sweet/sour onions, currants, chickpeas and creamy feta, and lamb shoulder with chermoula.

Selection of plates at The Tasting Room at East End Cellars. Picture Morgan Sette

East End Cellars (The Tasting Room)

25 Vardon Ave, city

East End Cellars might not have the biggest collection, but every bottle has a reason for being there. And with the informal arrangement of tables and benches in the adjacent Tasting Room, EEC offers a chance to appreciate the “paso doble” of food and drink in a way that is all its own. Chef Josh Lansley (ex Press) has put together a pared-back menu that includes plenty of drink-friendly snacks and a strong selection of mid-sized vegie dishes. Platters and next-level toasties are included in a separate list for all-day grazing.

The kitchen at Udaberri in Leigh St. Picture: Matt Turner

Udaberri

13 Leigh St, city

Adelaide’s original small bar set the bar high for bar snacks. Inspired by the Spanish tapas, dishes range from chorizo, fermented cabbage and pickled green tomatoes with housemade ‘hp’ sauce, to the heartier braised pork neck and broccoli rabe. Drinks-wise, gin and cocktails are their specialty.

La Buvette in Gresham St. Photo: Nick Clayton

La Buvette

27 Gresham St, city

This Parisian-inspired small bar off the beaten Hindley St track is the kind of place you want to settle into. Enjoy conversation with friends while you tuck into French favourites such as buttery escargot and a comforting soup a l’oignon. Oui Oui.

Bar Torino in Hutt St.

Bar Torino

160 Hutt St, city

Come for a drink, stay for dinner. The sister bar to Italian restaurant Chianti, food options range from Oritz toast with whipped ricotta, to pasta and a share-style 1kg bistecca alla Fiorentina.