SA Weekend restaurant review: Adelaide’s Electra on King William Street
A CBD hotspot has shed its nightclub image and is now looking to make a name for itself as a Euro-style bar and restaurant. Here’s what our reviewer thought of the makeover.
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If it has been a long time between drinks for you at Electra House here is a reason to return. It has had a swish makeover and is now a European-style bar with a restaurant called Electra … and on Tuesdays, when you order two larger dishes, you can get a bottle of wine at a nice price – an impressive 50 per cent discount.
It sure beats Taco Tuesdays. That said, a very special Mexican dish is on the menu.
Arriving at 1pm, thinking our plan to be back at work in an hour might be a tad optimistic, we check out the venue’s striking new look.
Painted and wallpapered dark green, it somehow feels light and airy. The cool nightclub vibe is still there but it is more sophisticated, as echoed by its Buddha Bar-esque soundtrack.
Our waiter shows us to our table; a raised booth with plush velvet seating. Presenting us with menus, he tells us everything is table service, which instantly elevates our experience.
When our waiter returns we decide to order everything we are after – bar dessert – then and there, conscious of our time constraints.
It all arrives at once, which speeds things up, and thankfully, the dishes remain hot.
We start with six Nepalese potstickers, which are artfully arranged and garnished with watercress. Pan-fried and steamed, the crescent-shaped dumplings are just the right balance of crispy and chewy.
Their mildly spicy chicken and coriander filling would suit all heat preferences and for those who really like to dial it up there is the chilli oil on the plate.
The three homemade empanada are a standout. The crusty dough casings are tender and the saucy pork, leek and mushroom filling is perfectly seasoned. The empanada come with a zesty tomato chutney, but they are simply delicious with or without it. We agree that they are as good as any we sampled on a trip to Mexico earlier this year, and our waiter informs us they are made in-house by the chef’s wife.
We share the steak – a 300g angus porterhouse with garlic caper butter which comes with a generous serve of chunky chips.
My partner notes the steak is “a shade over the medium we ordered, cooked 30 seconds too long”, but neither of us mind; it is still tender and flavoursome.
The small pear and fennel salad is heavy on dressing but light on flavour; next time we will try the beans with chimichurri.
We inquire about dessert, which isn’t on the menu and it really isn’t.
Our waiter informs us that sweets aren’t available because they were rarely ordered and, of course, now everyone is asking about them.
There is, however, a tiramisu cocktail but tempting as that sounds we decide to save that for another day when we are not working.
Speaking of our jobs, we finish our meal on schedule and are on our way back to our offices just after 2pm.
On the walk we talk about the menu.
While there was nothing for a sweet tooth, besides the aforementioned cocktail, it was a solid menu.
Had we been really after a quick bite there are an assortment of “between bread” options, such as burgers and gourmet sandwiches, including a vegan offering with zucchini, eggplant, sundried tomato, avocado and baby spinach.
Vegans are well catered for; smaller dishes also include sweet and sour tofu and caraway pickled beetroot and there are pea and porcini risotto and grilled cauliflower with turmeric hummus and chickpea and fennel salsa among the bigger dishes.
Electra has considerable competition nearby. From where we were sitting we had a view of the new Marriott Hotel. There is also our old favourite The Treasury across King William St, and Press and Melt in Waymouth St.
But we decide Electra’s “something for everyone” menu, its classy but chilled setting and that Tuesday wine offer would go down well with a large gathering of friends … So we get to work sending out a group invite.
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