Otherness | SA Weekend restaurant review

When Peter Gilmore, one of the greatest chefs in the country goes out of his way to visit a venue, you know something amazing is happening, writes Simon Wilkinson.

Picture: Supplied Otherness Winebar

It’s early on a Saturday evening in the Barossa township of Angaston, population two-thousand-and-a-bit. While the streets outside are quiet and most of the shop windows dark, the intriguing cellar door/wine bar/cafe Otherness is building up a head of steam. Voices are raised and laughter becomes raucous. Cuban rhythms take over the playlist.

Then the door opens and in walks a chef who, by any measure, is one of Australia’s greatest. How in god’s name has Peter Gilmore, the genius behind the food at Sydney harbourside diner Quay, ended up across the country in a location that, even for the Barossa, is a little off-Broadway?

The answer, it transpires, is he has been a guest of the Tasting Australia food festival, but the fact he has come here, rather than more prestigious establishments elsewhere in the region, shows Otherness is on someone’s radar.

Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, given the people involved. Owner Grant Dickson is best known for curating the extraordinary, award-winning encyclopaedia of a wine list at FermentAsian in Tanunda where he also managed the floor.

Since finishing there, he has created his own label (also Otherness) and, at the end of last year, took over this multifunctional venue.

Eggplant with creamy feta. Photo: Sam Smith

The room is light and airy, with twin peaks in the roof line bringing to mind a chalet or chapel. Tables and higher benches are spread across the front, alongside a wall devoted to wine in racks and fridges. The kitchen at the back is big and impressive but that is deceptive as most of the gear is for the Breaking Bread bakery which shares the premises.

Otherness, in fact, has just a single chef, the remarkable Sam Smith, who has moved across the Valley from a different gig heading the kitchen of Fino at Seppeltsfield.

Other than a little help in plating up from one of the waiters, Smith is on his own – surely a daunting prospect this evening, with a near full-house of about 40 to feed, including Gilmore and friends.

It doesn’t show. Using a model that relies on true local produce, rigorous preparation and clever systems, he delivers a minuscule but regularly changing menu without any hint of compromise.

His tasting selection starts with a spread of salumi (from Parma Meats, Rostrevor), house-made pickles and the bakery’s exceptional sourdough.

Roasted beetroot with shredded radicchio and pomegranate pearls. Photo by Sam Smith

Next come raw slices of blue fin tuna loin that have the fleshy pink blush of a pair of pouting lips. They are topped with a “tapenade” of chopped kalamata olives and herbs and drizzled with a tomato dressing.

Wedges of dark, chilli-crusted grilled eggplant are so soft and gooey inside they are almost indecent. Sweet/sour onions, currants, chickpeas and creamy feta complete a dish that is far greater than the sum of its parts.

The same goes for a mix of roasted beetroot, shredded radicchio and pomegranate pearls all tumbled over a walnut puree. The flavours are vaguely Persian, the unfussed approach of Fino still a clear influence.

Shank and shoulder of lamb, from just up the road at Hutton Vale Farm, are slow-braised until releasing easily from the bone and finished with a fresh chermoula of mixed herbs and preserved lemon. The locally grown carrots almost steal the show.

The meal ends with a moment of genius. A meringue shell is loaded up with a tangy compote of rhubarb and crowned by a roasted fig whose jammy insides are a perfect colour match. A ball of ice-cream, rippled with roasted fig, is almost too good to eat with anything else.

The past two years have allowed places like Otherness to write their own rules. During the day, it has excellent coffee, sourdough loaves and baked goods to buy, wine tastings and sales, as well as lunch. At night, when the locals come out to play, it can be a whole lot of fun. And you never know who might walk through the door.