SA Weekend restaurant review — Market and Meander

A former premier and other icons of the state are celebrated in a new hotel diner with a decidedly local focus, writes Simon Wilkinson.

Dining space at Market & Meander, Hotel Indigo. Picture Adam Bruzzone

What do Don Dunstan’s pink shorts, copper mining and the Central Market have in common?

The answer is that they have all in some way inspired the design for an idiosyncratic city hotel that is so proud and playful with its local connections it’s a surprise they don’t serve frog cakes for afternoon tea.

The Hotel Indigo makes a statement the moment its glass front door slips open and you walk into, not the conventional bland lobby and reception, but a space with so many theatrical curves, splashes of colour and quirky touches it feels like being in a movie scene.

This is the setting for restaurant/bar/café Market & Meander, a convoluted way to convey the proximity of Adelaide’s much-loved food emporium half a block to the north.

The façade of the market is also referenced in a key design feature, the brick arches that tower across two levels beside a sweeping staircase.

Bush apple gin and creme fraiche pannacotta at Market & Meander, Hotel Indigo. Picture Adam Bruzzone

Elsewhere, the ground floor space revolves around a two-sided banquette looking like a giant inflatable ring. It is upholstered in a fairy-floss hue matching the former premier’s provocative pants that came to symbolise the spirit of his era.

Other furniture is coated in a bright red laquer, like the paper lanterns overhead a nod to some of the establishments in neighbouring Chinatown.

And therein lies a quandary for the Hotel Indigo. With such a vast array of options in the vicinity, how do you ensure guests stick around, let alone attract support from the wider dining public?

The gorgeous copper-clad lift doors near our table open frequently during dinner but none of those exiting show much inclination to linger. In fact, we have M&M pretty much to ourselves for much of the night.

What are they missing? For a start, there is the ingredient-led, locally focused, seasonally aware, Mediterranean-leaning style of cooking you won’t find much around the corner. Chef Gabriele Pezzimenti was raised in the Michelin-starred establishment run by his parents in Italy but this is far more grounded. That said, his first menu is a real mixed bag with a structure that seems like it might have been put together by a committee or popular vote. To start, zucchini flowers stuffed with a ricotta and herb blend are encased in a snappy fried batter. They are laid on a splotch of romesco sauce and then buried beneath an avalanche of shredded parmesan which seems a little excessive.

Beef brisket at Market & Meander, Hotel Indigo. Picture Adam Bruzzone

Beef cheeks are cooked to the point where every fibre has collapsed before being shaped into small logs, coated in Panko crumbs and fried until dark brown. They are topped with a salad of raw Jerusalem artichoke, parsley and more shredded cheese, this time from local hero Section 28.

Mains are dominated by ingredients grilled or smoked on a “parilla”, the Argentinian barbecue. Two of these are vegetable based, three seafood and one beef. A separate page lists two pastas and a roasted chicken in various servings but no other red meat.

Five Spencer Gulf prawns have had the shell around their midriffs peeled away for their dance on the grill. They are big fellas indeed but so they would want to be at close to $8 a pop – particularly when accompanied by only a “rustic” salad of parsley sprigs, caper berries and chunky cubes of lemon flesh that would be better finely chopped.

Fish cakes and poached eggs, plus bacon. Picture: Dianne Mattsson

A slab of brisket smoked, slow cooked and then fried to crisp the exterior is plonked on to a bed of mash made by someone who clearly isn’t shy with the butter. A well-balanced reduction sauce is pooled around the base, while iridescent rings and ends of pickled red onion on top look like they’ve landed from another planet.

Dining space at Market & Meander, Hotel Indigo. Picture Adam Bruzzone

A splash of bush apple gin is added to a crème fraiche pannacotta that is set in a bowl, even though it contains more than enough gelatin to stand up on its own. Slices of fresh fig and a heavy dusting of dried raspberries cover the surface of the cream.

After dinner we take the copper lift to the rooftop, where Merrymaker bar has its own striking design, a seafood-based tapas menu and a few larger parties.

It’s easy to imagine sitting in the fading sunlight, looking over Gouger St, ordering sardines on toast and lobster rolls while sipping a glass of prosecco. Just the kind of thing a former premier had in mind for his city all those years ago.