Sora on Pirie St, Adelaide | SA Weekend restaurant review

Adelaide’s newest glitzy, ritzy rooftop entertainment venue in the CBD is like nothing we’ve seen before. But does the dining experience measure up to the setting?

Executive chef Adam Liston at Sora restaurant and rooftop bar on Pirie St in Adelaide. Picture: Keryn Stevens

South Australia is growing up, Premier Peter Malinauskas declared a few weeks ago.

He was talking about the proposed tower for Festival Plaza.

But all the surrounding commentary about a maturing metropolis and a contentious development could apply equally to Sora.

Adelaide has certainly seen nothing like the high-flying dining and entertainment venue that caps historic Pirie House with a towering neon crown.

While 2KW was the first to capitalise on a CBD rooftop, this represents a different stratosphere of ambition and investment.

The interior of Sora, a new restaurant and rooftop bar on Pirie St in the city. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Sora (Japanese for sky) doesn’t need a view – it is the centre of its own universe.

A glimpse up from the footpath doesn’t prepare you for the impact when you step from the lift on floor nine.

The scale of those arches that light up at night, louvres opening to a starry heaven, the way the terrace morphs into twin levels of dining and bar then expands again at the rear into a late-night club.

The aim, clearly, is to cater for a mix of demographics, from those splashing cash on top-shelf whisky locked in The Vault upstairs, to others happy with a beer.

How these groups and spaces interact through day and night, crowded and quiet, is the multimillion-dollar question.

Cured salmon, apple and fennel at Sora. Picture: supplied.

Sora, the restaurant, spreads across quite a bit of this territory, with tables split between the central hub and a row of booths on the terrace – a division that must be a challenge for service.

A third option is to perch at a counter by the wood oven and grill which are separate from the rest of the kitchen, but with one lonely soul cooking there this night, it isn’t much of a spectacle.

At least not when compared to the flames and theatre of Shobosho, the Leigh St restaurant where Sora’s executive chef Adam Liston made his name, and continues to spend part of his week in addition to the new undertaking.

Roasted barramundi wrapped in nori, creamed corn, rice at Sora. Picture: supplied

Kingfish, smoked cream, cured roe. Picture: supplied

Both places begin with a foundation of Japanese/Korean/Chinese ingredients but, for Sora, Liston has pulled back the powerful, wall-of-umami flavours, and opted for more subtle combinations.

There’s a signature snack to begin, of course – a fried seaweed cracker spread with tofu cream and then piled with a mix of diced tomato, smoked vinegar and kampot pepper, a salsa that would have had more impact if taken from the fridge earlier.

The raw selection includes the usual fish suspects – tuna, kingfish and cured salmon that is underpinned by apple, shaved fennel and pickled wakame.

A raw beef bao sounds compelling, as I imagine a DIY assembly of the black pepper wagyu, green tea pickles, puffed rice and katsuobushi (dried tuna) cream.

What arrives, however, is a chilled mound of the chopped wagyu and other bits, bound in the cream, so the characteristics of each part are deadened somewhat, particularly once put in the bun.

The first of the main courses is barramundi that has been brined with kombu, wrapped in a marinated nori sheet and roasted.

Magical things happen inside the seaweed package, with the skin and fat of the barramundi transforming to a glorious savoury jelly and the flesh gently steaming until it becomes opaque.

On a bed of corn and rice porridge (in the style of congee), this bundle is one of the best fish dishes I’ve eaten for some time; a moment of genius.

The only issue is that the dish belongs to my buddy and, without share plates, I’m left to beg a few tastes while waiting, and waiting, until the fish is long gone, for my pork ribeye to arrive.

Slices of this generously sized cutlet are neatly re-assembled beside the bone with kohlrabi presented as a delicate smoked cream as well as a slaw.

Iridescent orange lap cheong (sausage) oil is surprisingly timid.

Chocolate and berry Japanese 'stone garden' at Sora. Picture: supplied

A Zen garden is the inspiration behind pebbles of chocolate mousse encased in a thin layer of white chocolate turned pale pink with a berry infusion.

Dried green tea sponge is used to create a scattering of “moss” and candied black sesame add bitter/sweet contrast.

It’s a dessert that lives up to its pretty presentation.

Therein lies the challenge for Liston and the rest of those at Sora: living up to the expectations of that ritzy, high-profile setting.

At this early point, not surprisingly, Sora still has some growing up to do.