Top nine restaurants in Adelaide where it’s hard to get a booking

Want to snag a seat at one of Adelaide’s hottest tables? You’ll have to book up to two months in advance. See which restaurants are the hardest to get into.

To snag a seat at one of Adelaide’s hottest tables, you’ll need to book up to eight weeks in advance.

These restaurants are the old favourites, the hot new places to be and the suburban gems-turned-dining-destinations. And they all appear in our delicious.100 list of the best restaurants in SA – the Top 50 of which will launch at noon on Friday.

The Little Rickshaw in Aldinga is one not-so-hidden gem. What started as a pop up serving South East Asian street food evolved into a restaurant at the end of 2018.

It generally takes from four to six weeks to secure a booking at the 35-seat diner, and up to eight weeks over the Christmas holidays.

“If someone calls in mid-November, I’ve got a voicemail saying please look back next year,” says Mike Richards, who owns the restaurant with his wife and head cook, Trini.

The little rickshaw owners Trinh and Michael Richards at Aldinga. Picture: Tom Huntley

The pair never planned on running a restaurant, much less one of the most talked-about restaurants in the Fleurieu.

“We’re just a tin shed in Aldinga,” Mr Richards says. “We thought we’d be a little bar and kitchen that looks after local community … we want to remain humble.”

TLR is open Thursdays to Saturdays, and while extra days of trade are not yet possible – the other days are required for kitchen prep – the pair did add two extra sittings in response to post-Covid demand.

Meira Harel, the general manager for a group of popular city restaurants – Leigh Street Wine Room, Press* Food and Wine and Peel St – says in the past 12 months “the need to book as far in advance as possible has definitely increased”.

Dining space and wine selection at Leigh Street Wine Room.

“I think most people had to get used to being organised with more advanced bookings because of density restrictions … so then the habit of advanced booking stayed,” she says.

“I also really think that the Adelaide dining scene is on the rise with more fantastic restaurants to try and visit, so we just have more people dining out wanting to book tables – how great is that?”

For “prime time” sittings – around 7pm Friday and Saturday nights – Ms Harel recommends booking two to three weeks in advance “to avoid disappointment”.

For old favourite d’Arry’s Verandah in McLaren Vale, advance bookings have long been required.

“We’ve been operating for 18 years now, and probably within the first two years we started implementing booking times,” says restaurant manager Jo Reschke.

“We recommend booking about a month in advance for weekends.”

ADELAIDE’S HOTTEST TABLES

How long it takes for a table of two in prime time.

Oysters at The Little Rickshaw. Picture: Jessica Galletly

The Little Rickshaw

24 Old Coach Rd, Aldinga, thelittlerickshaw.com.au

Cuisine: Southeast Asian

Wait time: 4-6 weeks, up to eight weeks over Christmas. If you’re happy to sit outside in the middle of winter, you can probably get something sooner.

Hentley Farm’s dining room. Picture: supplied

Hentley Farm (lunch only)

Gerald Roberts Rd, Jenke Rd, Seppeltsfield

Cuisine: Contemporary

Wait time: Eight weeks or more for the “Atrium fine dining experience” during a prime sitting over a weekend.

Supplied Editorial Taglierni with blue swimmer crab at Fugazzi, Adelaide.

Fugazzi

27 Leigh Street, city, fugazzi.com.au

Cuisine: Italian

Wait time: 2-4 weeks. If you’re wanting a table inside on a Friday or Saturday night, it’s best to look a few weeks in advance.

Lobster medallion, prawn ravioli, bisque at d’Arry’s Verandah Restaurant. Picture: Josie Withers

d’Arry’s Verandah (lunch only)

Osborn Rd, McLaren Vale, darenberg.com.au

Cuisine: Contemporary

Wait time: Four weeks for weekends.

Golden Boy’s main dining room. Picture: Lewi Potter Photography

Golden Boy

309 North Terrace, golden-boy.com.au

Cuisine: Thai

Wait time: 2-3 for a prime time weekend sitting. Golden Boy has remained one of Adelaide’s “it” restaurants since opening in 2013, with dinner times ranging from 5pm-9.30pm.

Africola dining room. Picture: Ellen Morgan

Africola

4 East Tce, city, africola.com.au

Cuisine: Contemporary African

Wait time: 2-3 weeks for a Saturday night.

Food Peel St Restaurant, Adelaide

Peel St

9 Peel St, city, peelst.com.au

Cuisine: Contemporary

Wait time: Two weeks for a table on a Saturday night. Window and communal bar seating may be available sooner. Lunch is also popular at this laneway spot.

Shobosho restaurant in Adelaide. Picture: Josie Withers

Shobosho

17 Leigh St, city, shobosho.com.au

Cuisine: Contemporary Japanese

Wait time: Two weeks for a table inside. Bar and outdoor seating may be available sooner.

Raw scallops and green tomato at Leigh Street Wine Room.

Leigh St Wine Room

9 Leigh St, city, leighstreetwineroom.com

Cuisine: Contemporary

Wait time: Two weeks. Bar seating may be available sooner.