Top SA chef Andy Davies revamps Patch at Stirling as ‘Press meets Oggi’ restaurant
One of SA’s best chefs has taken over the lease of an iconic spot in Stirling. He wants to fill a gap for quality dining in the area – take a look inside the revamped venue.
Food & Wine
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He made the original Press* Food and Wine an Adelaide dining institution and was leading the charge at Osteria Oggi when it was awarded South Australia’s Best Italian restaurant in 2016.
Now, acclaimed chef Andy Davies is opening a “Press-meets-Oggi” restaurant in Stirling – and he hopes it will fill a gap for quality all-day dining in the Adelaide Hills.
Uraidla-based Davies has taken over the lease of Patch Kitchen & Garden, along with his wife, Belle Kha, and friends Peter Harvey and Mette Cordes-Harvey.
They’ve gutted the former brunch spot and “softened it right out”, with fresh paint, new tables (several built by Davies himself), upcycled chairs … and not a blackboard or cubby house in sight.
“We’ve taken out all of the unnecessary additions and we’ve acoustically treated the main dining room – of all of the things we’ve done in this building, that has been the most amazing transformation,” Mr Davies said.
“It just all feels really nice, and there’s been a really great response from the locals up here – they’re really wanting something like this.”
The light-filled space offers several sections for dining, including the courtyard, and is currently open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. All-day dining will be offered from April.
Original Press* favourites from Davies’ time at the restaurant – which he opened in 2011 with high profile restaurateur Simon Kardachi and partners – are being reimagined at Patch, including the iconic Press burger, pork buns and pithivier. Davies, who was then celebrated for his nose-to-tail cooking, also plans to bring back the half suckling pig.
A range of housemade pastas echo Oggi favourites, including crab tagliatelle and casarecce with pork sausage ragu. Osteria Oggi restaurant won the Best Italian gong in The Advertiser’s Food Awards 2016.
While Davies is still involved in Oggi, Press* was sold and reopened with a new look and food concept in 2022.
Patch’s opening also signifies a return to the pans for Davies, who took a year off of restaurant cooking during the pandemic.
“I’m done with doing the beast,” Davies says, in relation to high pressure city kitchens. “The beast is good fun for a while … it’s a lifestyle choice now.”
Mr Davies also plans to “bring back the Sunday roast”, and offer a place for people to eat in between traditional lunch and dinner trading times.
“I’ve got two big 1.2 diameter braziers out the back, and we’re going to bring back the Sunday roast, our way,” Andy says. “People might buy a salad and veggies and mash, and there might be 30 lamb shoulders on the brazier slow roasting away. Or, I’ll ring up Ferguson’s and say, right, Andy (Ferguson), what are you going to do me on 100 cray, and then we’ll have a big crayfish Sunday up here with a big tub of butter, garlic, parsley, and just lather up the crayfish and keep slapping them on the braziers.
“I just want to make things exciting and a point of difference for people, without being too fancy about it.”
Patch Kitchen & Garden, at 143 Mt Barker Rd, Stirling, is currently open Wed- Thurs 8am-4pm, Fri-Sat 8am-late, and Sunday 8am-5pm.
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