30 Acres | SA Weekend restaurant review

A couple with a 30-acre farm in the Adelaide Hills has embarked on an ambitious plan to fill your plate with the fruits of their labour – but it’s still a work in progress.

Bar and dining room at 30 Acres, Norwood

Establishing a farm is not recommended for those with a short attention span. Fruit trees need several seasons to bear a decent crop and even the hardiest vegies in the most fertile soil are bound to have setbacks.

Opening an eatery also requires patience, particularly at the moment.

And when the two projects are linked, as they are at 30 Acres in Norwood, they are likely to take time to deliver on their promise.

Considering its aircraft-hangar dimensions and prime position at the eastern end of The Parade’s retail strip, this new, all-day cafe, bakery and part-time restaurant has kept a relatively low profile.

Owners Rik Fisher and Alex Smith live at Ashton on a property of (you guessed it) 30 acres where they are planting fruit orchards and other crops.

Grilled Octopus and ''''nduja.

At the same time, they have grown a small collection of suburban cafes, including Oar at West Lakes and Kitchen Smith at Mawson Lakes.

Their latest venture, however, is a serious step up in scale and ambition.

Taking over a large part of the old Norwood squash centre, they have created a light and airy contemporary cafe that, with its polished concrete floors, blonde timber and walls painted with layers of sage green and almond milk, sings mostly from the Scandi playbook.

Look up, however, and the soaring roofline and exposed trusses from the original structure, along with the addition of wonderful vintage lights, give the space an industrial edge.

You will also notice a flight of stairs up to a mezzanine where the bread, pastries and other treats for this and the other businesses are baked. A kitchen with wood-fired oven and grill is at the rear.

Trout on rainbow chard.

The name and associated branding create certain expectations. I pictured baskets of fresh veg pulled straight from the dirt, of buttery pastries still warm from the oven, topped with the season’s best fruit. But this journey, it seems, is just beginning.

The veg components shine in plates such as a starter of grilled haloumi slabs, cherry tomatoes and wedges of zucchini that (like the cheese) are charred black on the surface and have a pleasing crispness.

Lifted by the dressing’s gentle lemony tang, it is simple, produce-led cooking.

Wilted rainbow chard is another standout, providing much more than a whimsical wordplay with a whole rainbow trout.

The chlorophyll-rich earthiness of the leaves is a good foil for a golden curry butter and the saltiness of fried capers.

As for the fish, its timing on the grill is impeccable, the pale orange-pink flesh just beyond translucent at the thickest part near the head but still lifting from the bones easily with a spoon. One question: Is farmed trout the best choice here?

Assorted pastries.

The octopus, however, is a weird one. Even to look at, the tentacles seem to be deflated. Somewhere in the process – most likely a long stint in an acidic marinade – the seafood’s texture has gone from its usual springiness to soft and squishy like a fish fillet that’s spent too long in the freezer.

A rack of lamb cutlets are rosy pink from the bone to the edge, suggesting they have been cooked gently (sous-vide perhaps) before finishing over the flame.

Adding more toasty-roasty flavour are multi-hued carrots, a rough chermoula paste and oyster mushrooms that, while a little leathery, are jumping with flavour.

The sweet finale I’d been hoping for – an apple or berry galette, perhaps – must have sold out earlier in the day.

Instead, there is a line-up of the kind of overembellished desserts you expect in an international hotel.

Worse still, the cake layer of the Earl Grey and raspberry concoction we try seems dry and a little stale.

Yes, 30 Acres needs work to make a stronger connection between producer and plate, to tell the full story. But like the farm that is taking shape in the Hills, this suburban dream is full of potential.