Graze: Coober Pedy picks

Coober Pedy is a must-stopover township for its mining history, underground digs, and, a couple of cut-above jolly good feeds.

The Outback Bar and Grill in Coober Pedy

A good steak, a fair schnitty, or prized fish ’n’chips are fair expectations in country

pubs and diners. Sometimes, there are surprises.

On a road trip from Darwin to Adelaide, we see all of the above, bar the fish. One friend pipes every time: “If you can’t see water, don’t order the fish”. Fair enough.

Coober Pedy is a must-stopover township for its mining history, underground digs, and, a couple of cut-above jolly good feeds.

The combo yiros plate at Outback Bar & Grill

We hear a lot about John’s Pizza Bar and Restaurant, a longtime Coober Pedy institution that finally changed hands a couple of years ago, and has survived the transition. It’s still pulling crowds to the super-clean outlet serving Coat of Arms pizzas.

An adjacent room of tables is not particularly cosy, so takeaway is best. The pizza recipe must have been part of the handover, with firm bases nicely soft at the edges, and, even after a dawdle back to the hotel in a box, never soggy in the middle. There’s no emu mettwurst tonight, so ours is loaded with extra roo, cranberry and camembert. It’s a fun souvenir meal in this desert setting, the textures and flavours all good.

Dining in is better further up the road, at the Outback Bar and Grill. There are burgers and steaks, but a definite Greek influence leads us to a simple combo yiros plate, filled to the edges with tender to toasty lamb and chicken, a small tumble of crisp salad, basic chips and pita.

Wines by the glass are generous pours, the house red a $6 bargain, from a laminated wine list complete with wine notes. Are those notes serious, or perhaps tongue-in-cheek in this cafeteria setting?

Outback Bar & Grill’s ekmek kataifi

It’s a nice change from the stopover pub meals, and there’s a dessert fridge filled with pastries. A New York cheesecake is soundly upstaged by traditional ekmek kataifi, a creamy custard slice topped with syrup-doused shredded pastry yet somehow not cloyingly sweet at all.

The people running both places are so nice. Give them a go.