The City Awards: All the winners revealed
FROM the small bar that started it all, to the theatre that has stood for more than a century, the winners of the inaugural The City Awards represent a city proud of its roots and on the way up.
FROM the small bar that started it all, to the theatre that has stood for more than a century, the winners of the inaugural The City Awards represent a city proud of its roots and on the way up.
The winners across the 21 categories — such as Best Café, Best Theatre and Best Gallery — have been announced at a cocktail reception at Keith Murdoch House.
Nearly 3000 readers took up the challenge and voted in the online survey, the massive number of names on the shortlist proving the city and North Adelaide has no shortage of great coffee spots, restaurants, fashion labels and food strips.
A panel of judges including Messenger Community News editor-in-chief Jessica Leo, Renew Adelaide’s Lily Jacobs and Adelaide City Council business growth adviser David West chose the winners from each category’s shortlist, which was determined through the public vote.
The short-listed businesses and initiatives demonstrated just how much the city had evolved over the past 12 months — for example one of the finalists in the small-bar category (La Buvette Drinkery) is only three months old.
The City editor Kara Jung — who was also part of the final judging panel — said the awards, sponsored by Adelaide City Council, celebrated Adelaide’s transformation.
“From our energetic arts culture to our inspired dining scene, Adelaide is a great place to work, live, play and do business right now and The City Awards celebrate that,” she said.
“If you’re looking for the ultimate to-do list of where to eat, drink, shop and be merry in our great city just check out our winners. Congratulations to them all.”
Messenger Community news editor-in-chief Jessica Leo says the awards are a great pat on the back for some of the city and North Adelaide’s best haunts.
“The City Awards serve as a fantastic reminder of how lucky we are to have such fabulous food, festivities and amenities right in the heart of Adelaide,” Ms Leo said.
For Italian traveller Emanuele Tonon, 22, Adelaide has proven to be a friendly, beautiful place to temporarily call home.
He descended on our flat plains in January and will stay in town on a working visa until December. He joined fellow Italian backpacker Sara Veraldi, 27, making use of the award-winning free City Bikes service in our top-voted open space, The Botanic Gardens.
“But, I want to extend the visa and stay in Adelaide,” he says.
“I’ve been to Melbourne but I always come back here, it’s beautiful.”
ALL THE WINNERS
Best small bar: Udaberri
It’s the small bar that started it all. As popular for its Pintxos (the Basque regions’s version of tapas) as it is for its wine, this rustic, Spanish style bar continues to draw a crowd.
Rob Dinnen and Rowan Edwards opened this Leigh St haunt three years ago, back when a liquor license was much harder to obtain.
Best pub/bar: The Exeter
This grungy Rundle St destination covered with posters has never tried to be anything it’s not. Put simply, it is what it is, and that is a classic pub full of cold beer, staple meals like curries and schnitzels and general good vibes. It’s a favourite for many uni students and also a good place for comedian-spotting come Fringe time. And there’s nothing like cramming into the back room to enjoy a local gig.
Best new restaurant: Sean’s Kitchen
This is accessible comfort food, or, as chef Sean Connolly puts it: “food for the soul”. Menu items vary from duck fat chips and mac and cheese to Steamed Cone Bay Barramundi and Spencer Gulf Prawn Linguine. A complete overhaul of the former North restaurant.
Best established restaurant: Chianti Classico
Though its history dates back to 1985, this classic eatery is often referred to an ‘Adelaide institution’. It has remained innovative while staying true to its traditional Italian roots.
Chef Tobias Gush has come on board as a co-owner with original owners Frank and Maria Favaro.
Best restaurant overall: Press* food & wine
This versatile restaurant works for any occasion, whether it’s a business lunch, date night or just a fun evening out with friends. Sensational food — its namesake burger still reigns supreme — great service from well informed staff, and a dark, urban fitout make Press* everything a good restaurant should be. Owners Simon Kardachi, Andrew Davies, Sally Davey, Tim White and Eloise Riggs brought the place to life five years ago, helping Waymouth St evolve into the foodie destination it is today.
Best coffee: Coffee Branch
These Leigh St legends continue to deliver consistent brews using Five Senses beans and local Tweedvale milk. A look at the line spilling to the door each morning shows how dedicated people are to a quality cup. Owner Josh Baker is a coffee master.
Best cafe: E for Ethel
A homely place guaranteed to deliver the warm and fuzzies. A cup of coffee with a chocolate freckle and fortune note? Yes please. Service is friendly and the all-day breakfast-style menu shows love to local producers such as La Casa Del Formaggio and de Groot coffee. It also doubles as a gift shop, with owners Daniel Harland and Amanda Matulick sourcing some of the cutest handmade Australian items around.
Best lunch-on-the-run: Sit-Lo
A quick, tasty and reasonably priced meal is all you need come lunchtime, and this Vietnamese eatery delivers on all accounts. Menu items include cold rolls, steam buns, banh mi and pho in a cup, as well as traditional beverages like Vietnamese iced coffee. Stare at the bike wall while you wait and lunch is served in no time.
Best beer garden: The Ed Castle
Gorgeous green foliage overhangs this spacious beer garden making it a scenic spot for sunny days. With plenty of undercover seating, it’s also fine during the cooler months — just rug up. Best enjoyed with a $5 pint and a $10 pub meal.
Best food strip: Gouger St
This cultural boulevard really has something for everyone. A melting pot of cultures bouncing off the vibes of the Central Market, the strip is the go-to place for Asian fare or classic haunts such as Star of Siam and Gaucho’s. Laneways such as Field and Market streets are adding other elements to the constantly evolving street. With Lucky Lupitas on its way and a bunch of other Latino restaurants slated to open mid year, it looks like it’s only getting better.
Best new development: Adelaide Oval
There’s no denying what Adelaide Oval has done for the city. The buzz in the air when footy fans are spilling out from restaurants and cafes and trekking to the oval together says it all. Good seating, brilliant views, proximity to food and toilets, plus its very own restaurant (Hill of Grace) makes this redevelopment a clear success.
Best new interior fitout: Jamie’s Italian
What has been done to the former Westpac building is nothing short of spectacular. There aren’t many places where a trip to the bathroom can be considered exciting, but heading underground to see how the old bank vaults have been transformed into quirky rest rooms is a mini adventure and a nice ode to the building’s former life as a bank. Of course it’s the restaurant itself which is most impressive — a lush, elegant environment with seven chandeliers, a marble antipasto bar and large windows allowing plenty of natural light.
Best Splash initiative: Adelaide Night Market
It’s an impressive feat for one man to run a market. Brian Lew has managed to pull it off with his foodie/fashion market that activated the unused Prince Henry Gardens and brought people to the city on a Sunday night. A nice way to finish off the weekend.
Best gallery: Art Gallery of SA
Director Nick Mitzevich has breathed new life into the gallery with a steady calendar of successful exhibitions such as Fashion Icons and Turner from the Tate. Not only is it full of thought-provoking pieces, the gallery has plenty of free workshops for children and adults, tours and a beautiful cafe and shop.
Best street art Zhivago laneway, Currie St
Zhivago nightclub gave street artist Rock free reign over this laneway about eight years ago and he’s been curating it ever since. The club pioneered this concept and now many other clubs are embracing street art like this. Rock has rounded up many talented street artists from Adelaide and interstate to brighten the walls, and the look is constantly changing.
Best live music venue: The Grace Emily
The Grace is synonymous with live music. There’s a gig on pretty much every night, and local, original music is championed here. Most musos around town have graced the stage here at some point. Also home to the legendary open mic night, Billy Bob’s BBQ Jam.
Best theatre: Her Majesty’s Theatre
She’s not bad for a centenarian, Her Maj. There’s still a certain magic about dressing up and settling in for a show at this grand old theatre. Originally named The Tivoli, the theatre has hosted many acting greats over the years such as Lauren Bacall, Rowan Atkinson and Dame Judi Dench.
Best lunchtime leisure: Music in the Lane
There’s no doubt Adelaide is home to some achingly good musical talents. Listening to performers strum their stuff while sitting on the benches outside Pilgrim Uniting Church and tucking into lunch was a welcome break to the work day.
Best free fun: City bikes
Super popular with tourists, but us locals love it too. Being able to hop on a bike and dash around the city or hit the river trail — for free — is bliss. With around 20 hire hot spots in the city and North Adelaide, there’s practically a bike on every corner. A great collaboration between Bike SA and Adelaide City Council.
Best open space: The Botanic Gardens
Ah, the serenity. The beauty of the Botanic Gardens cannot be beat — shade and sun, cute duck families wandering around, exotic plant gardens and space. Housing the Santos Museum of Economic Botany — the only museum of its type in the world — the Diggers garden shop and a stunning restaurant, there’s a discovery to be made on each visit. A welcome oasis when the hustle and bustle of the parallel shopping strips is too much.
Best fashion boutique: Miss Gladys Sym Choon
Both guys and gals can walk into this fashion emporium and emerge with a new outfit, shoes and accessories to match. As well as having an awesome variety of threads, this Rundle St haunt also has quite an impressive history. It was established by a 16 year old Miss Gladys Sym Choon in 1928, who was the first woman to incorporate a business in SA and was part of the only Chinese family on Rundle St at the time. Joff Chappel and his fashion designer partner Razak have been at the helm since the early ‘90s.
Best local fashion label: Finders Keepers
Finders Keepers was the first brand off the ranks when Dean and Melanie Flintoft founded Australian Fashion Labels in 2007. Now celebs such as Nicole Scherzinger, FKA Twigs, Jessica Alba and the Kardashians are among those wearing its killer designs. Head designer Kate Anderson departed the company earlier this year and now Melanie is back designing for the brand. A local success story.