Restaurant review: Part Time Lover in Adelaide CBD

Our SA Weekend food reviewer accidentally stumbled upon this back lane gem but was so impressed by all the things it was doing right, he had to officially review it.

Anchovy and taramasalata toast at Part Time Lover, Adelaide. Picture JACK FENBY

This review was never on the agenda. Lunch was meant to be a family celebration following the elder boy’s graduation. But, as the afternoon unfolded, Part Time Lover did so many things right, made our visit such a special occasion, that it demanded recognition.

It is more than five years now since this little hideaway landed unexpectedly in a courtyard at the rear of the Adelaide Town Hall. An old alfresco cafe was superseded by a timber-clad structure that felt like stumbling upon a log cabin in the middle of the urban jungle.

Owners Josh Baker, Luke Turton and chef Stewart Wesson hoped it would be a daytime playground for city workers and it still opens early each weekday for coffee and blue swimmer scramble.

What the trio didn’t foresee was that PTL would become part of the city night-life, to the point where it now trades through to Saturday for dinner.

What else has changed? The plants outside have matured, the whimsical cartoon lovers embossed on the plates have faded a little. Beyond that is a sense of consistency and a team at the top of its game. Wesson’s food continues to break a few rules and find unlikely cross-cultural bedfellows for all the right reasons.

But it is the people on the floor that make the biggest impression … the joy they find in making customers feel special, the attention they give to every detail, the enthusiasm and bonhomie that is maintained day after day after day.

Burrata with braised capsicum and chilli honey at Part Time Lover, Adelaide. Picture: JACK FENBY

Grilled squid with romesco at Part Time Lover, Adelaide. Picture JACK FENBY

Our lunch begins with a complementary flute of prosecco. Special treatment? I don’t think so. Other people have talked about getting the same reception.

And there is much more … so many little things done right that it must be a combination of excellent training and natural aptitude. Things like changing plates regularly. Like asking how we would like the meal served, in what order and timing, rather than doing it to suit the kitchen. And cutting single snacks in half where possible so they can be shared.

That way we don’t make a complete mess of Moreton Bay bug rolls that have been on the PTL menu from the beginning. Their enduring appeal makes sense, with bug meat still full of sweet juices encased in a snappy Asian salt and pepper coating stuffed into a toasted milk roll with a ranch sauce and shredded iceberg.

Interior shot at Part Time Lover, Adelaide. Picture: Thomas McCammon

Conventions are discarded early in the piece. Three seafood elements – whipped Greek taramasalata, decent Spanish anchovies and Aussie salmon roe – cosy up together on a wedge of focaccia. Chicken schnitzel is reimagined as a croquette of braised thigh meat bound in a bechamel sauce, with a dollop of tomato/vodka sauce and fresh mozzarella.

Burrata makes friends for life with strips of capsicum stewed with paprika and bay leaf in a version of peperonata and a drizzle of honey infused with chilli. Tear open the white dome of mozzarella to release its creamy innards and then transfer some of that wonderful mess on to a piece of toast.

The heat ratio is also perfectly nuanced in a chunky romesco that underpins pieces of extra-tender small Port Lincoln squid that could only have been on the grill for a few seconds. Add grilled corn kernels, shavings of raw fennel and a confident dusting of tangy sumac and all those bouncy textures and flavours will have your receptors chirping.

Pork scotch is marinated in a lemongrass and coconut “moo ping” sauce inspired by Thai satays, before braising on low heat for a few hours and then grilling until a dark, caramelised crust develops. Sliced to serve and laid on a platter, the meat makes an irrefutable argument that it is best left a little pink in the middle.

Who doesn’t love a sticky date? Wesson’s recipe manages to keep the pudding light enough to enjoy at the end of a big lunch while still retaining its warm-hug-on-a-spoon character. A dollop of double cream and tempered choc crisp ride shotgun.

When the bill arrives, it has been finished with the message “Happy Grad” and a big love heart written in black marker. One final detail that ensures the feeling is mutual.