Good Food Guide: Top Shelf
In the new edition of The Advertiser Food Guide, our team reviews more than 150 restaurants, with many appearing for the first time. Here are some of our favourites, with categories to suit all tastes and budgets.
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In the new edition of The Advertiser Food Guide, our team reviews more than 150 restaurants, with many appearing for the first time. Here are some of our favourites, with categories to suit all tastes and budgets.
Assaggio
The flagship of the Assaggio empire – including a stall at the Central Market and a café in Campbelltown – this elegant modern dining room is set in Hyde Park’s commercial heart. Red upholstered chairs and wall panelling make for pleasant acoustics and lend the room a cosy glow. Daily specials might include a truffled mushroom soup jazzed up with the addition of slices of roast duck and a dollop of zabaglione. More traditional fare includes entrees of grilled calamari on a rocket salad, arancini given a twist with a stuffing of chicken and provolone and stuffed zucchini flowers “with summer basil” (in mid-winter). Disappointingly, the pasta list contains no fresh, house-made varieties. A main course of succulent roasted pork rib-eye with candied pears makes up for it. Desserts are suitably festive, among them a luscious orange custard with gold cocoa nibs. An excellent wine list includes numerous Italians.
92 KING WILLIAM ST, HYDE PARK
8272 4748
- OPEN L noon-3pm Mon-Fri D 6pm-late daily
- BILL E $12.90-$20.90 M $25.90-$41.90 D $12.90-$14.90
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef: Camillo Crugnale | Owners: Camillo Crugnale, Jan & Marcin Kierno
- WINE Corkage $20/bottle By the glass 22 @ $7-$25 Bottles $30-$400
Auge
There seems to have been a bit of a shift at Auge lately, away from a worshipful focus on haute cuisine to more homely, approachable Italian fare. Antipasto choices such as grilled eggplant and white bean puree, a bagna cauda (crudites with a hot anchovy and walnut dipping sauce) and risotto balls are classic dishes. An entrée of carpaccio substitutes venison for beef, and pan fried WA sardines are served with a pine nut and raisin dressing. House-made pasta dishes are simple but luscious. Main courses again favour classics like porchetta, slow braised beef cheeks, galletto (spatchcock) and a fish of the day. These dishes are executed with flair and the occasional sparkle – like orange zest and Jerusalem artichoke crisps with the (chewy but tasty) rib eye steak. Desserts are worth lingering over and include zeppole (Neopolitan doughnuts) filled with jelly. The wine list is an excellent mix of locals and Italians.
22 GROTE ST, CITY
8410 9332
- OPEN L noon-3pm Tue-Fri D 6pm-late Tue-Sat
- BILL E $19-$23 M $28-$39 D $16.50
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef: Judyta Slupnicki | Owners: Terry Soukoulis and partners
- WINE Corkage $25/bottle By the glass 12 @ $10-$22 Bottles $55-$450
Botanic Gardens Restaurant
The connection to the gardens outside is strong in this dazzling white-on-white pavilion. Chef Paul Baker makes great use of the garden’s natural resources, with help from some of the garden staff. Sitting in the dining room, a different tree-scape through each window, it seems lunch might have blown in on the wind, depositing a free-form arrangement of leaves, flowers and a few bits and pieces from below the ground. Coated in powdered nori and seared around the edges, tuna riffs with sushi flavours in avocado, pickled kohlrabi, puffed wild rice and a miso dressing. Savannah lamb shoulder braised with barberry, spiced eggplant puree, wilted kale, pickled veg, mustard and rocket leaves, add up to a dish that rocks the Kasbah. A double-decker dessert – a chocolate and Earl Grey jelly underneath, dense choc mousse on top – has intensity, a fine bittersweet balance and an unforgettable mouthfeel.
OFF PLANE TREE DRIVE, CITY
8223 3526
- OPEN B 8.30am-11am Sat-Sun L noon-2.30pm Tue-Sun
- BILL Two courses $52 Three courses $70
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef: Paul Baker | Owners: Blanco Group
- WINE Corkage $22/bottle By the glass 22 @ $7.50-$14.50 Bottles $26.90-$135
Celsius
Owner/chef Ayhan Erkoc has an instinctive gift for contriving dishes that harmonise a full orchestral movement of flavours. Carefully selected ingredients include flowers, leaves and other goodies grown on his family’s farm – a stark contrast to the restaurant’s rather soulless setting in a former nightclub. Best to concentrate on the plates before you in a tasting menu that kicks off with a trio of starters, including linseed cracker with bone marrow custard and a canoe of fish skin filled with roe and almond blossom. Other highlights include raw kingfish daubed with a silky oyster cream; lamb sweetbreads and cauli puree under a crumble of grated almonds, bacon, olives and parsley; and top-grade wagyu with onion and a caramelised yoghurt. A scoop of sorrel ice cream, under a snowdrift of flowers and powdered yoghurt, confirms Celsius remains a must-visit when food is what counts the most.
95 GOUGER ST, CITY
8231 6023
- OPEN D 6pm-late Tue-Sat
- BILL E/M $19-$29 D $18 4 courses $80 7 courses $120 10 courses $160
- OWNERS/CHEFS Ayhan Erkoc, Ayhan and Kasim Erkoc
- WINE Corkage $20/bottle By the glass 27 @ $11-$25 Bottles $47-$1200
George’s on Waymouth
During the week, George’s remains a favourite city lunch bolthole – a sea of suits with the proprietor working the room, greeting regulars while rustling up their favourite wine. A leader in the Waymouth St food strip renaissance, the restaurant has expanded its offering from a bedrock of traditional Italian fare to include more innovative dishes like kingfish crudo served with a dainty plate of kohlrabi, lemon and grapefruit, or scallops, pork hock and Jerusalem artichokes soused in a delicious saffron and fennel broth. The housemade pastas are always good; a winter tortellini of local mushrooms is particularly fine. Just as good is the 24-hour cooked pork neck served with morcilla (blood pudding). The large wine list includes Greek and Italian drops and an excellent selection of champagne and cellar reserves. If you can’t manage a full dessert, try the baklava made by George’s mother-in-law.
20 WAYMOUTH ST, CITY
8211 6960
- OPEN 7.30am-5pm Mon 7.30am-late Tue-Fri 6pm-late Sat
- BILL E $19.50-$23 M $31.90-$39 D $13.50-$16.90
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef: Daniel Leyva | Owner: George Kasimatis
- WINE Corkage $25/bottle By the glass 22 @ $6.50-$24 Bottles $33-$780
Jolleys Boathouse
Chef and owner Tony Carroll runs a tight operation on the good ship Jolleys. Gleaming timber floors, spotless white paintwork, top notch service and an idyllic, almost English, outlook that takes in river, bridge, cruising swans and, in the background, the looming carapace of Adelaide Oval, make this perfect for a leisurely lunch or summer dinner. The menu is fresh, clean and satisfying and includes a tasty selection of just-shucked oysters, Angasi, Pacific and Kumamoto, served with a trio of dipping sauces. Start with a plate of jamon iberico or a delicious Thai-style kingfish sashimi. Mains might include wild goat or a light pasta served with shredded beef cheek, spinach, peas and bread crumbs. Even better is the celeriac, nettle, walnut and blue cheese risotto. Leave room for dessert, pavlova with passion fruit curd or peanut and caramel semifreddo, just the fillip before heading across the river to the footy
JOLLEYS LN, CITY
8223 2891
- OPEN L From noon Sun-Fri D From 6pm Mon-Sat
- BILL E $18.50-$30 M $34-$42.50 D $15.50-$26.50
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef/Owner Tony Carroll
- WINE No BYO By the glass 19 @ $10-$22 Bottles $39-$790
Kenji
Two forces drive Kenji Ito, the diminutive chef and owner of Adelaide’s best Japanese restaurant. There’s the rigorous training of a master craftsman appreciated in the perfection of his sushi and sashimi. The other is Willy Wonka in white, playing with exotic ingredients and unlikely combinations. A fillet of kingfish, cured in a seaweed tea, is splotched with Tasmanian white urchin roe and shavings of house-made bottarga (salted fish roe). It’s absurdly powerful, funky and sensual. Or the trio of sushi: squid with a smear of monkfish liver; baby snapper, skin briefly flamed, topped with mustard greens; and seared belly of bluefin tuna and a pepper emulsion. Wow, wow, wow. Land-based produce is given just as much love. Kenji’s pork belly is cooked in three ways in three days, so the flesh is pale and milky-sweet inside, but stained with soy on the surface, and sets a new benchmark for fall-apart tenderness.
5/242 HUTT ST, CITY
8232 0944
- OPEN D 6pm-late Mon-Sat
- BILL E $16.50-$23 M $31-$39 D $15-$16
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef/owner Kenji Ito
- WINE Corkage $18/bottle By the glass 13@ $9-$14.50 Bottles $35-$200
Magill Estate
Magill Estate’s view and the cellar remain unchanged but in other ways the restaurant is very different, and ultimately more appealing. The makeover of the dining room might be quirky in places but the hallmark of quality and craftsmanship is evident all round, from the sensous curved blackwood tables to the hand-blown glass spheres hanging overhead. Husband-and-wife Scott Huggins and Emma McCaskill select their own raw materials carefully and hone them with precision and restraint. The prime ingredients constantly shine through, from the tiger prawns kept in a tank in the kitchen before being fried and plated under a cabbage leaf canopy, to superb Mayura wagyu with broccoli and macadamia emulsion, to the creations of dessert queen Emma Shearer. Wine packages include the chance to sip Grange and other Penfolds treasures, reason enough to book.
78 PENFOLD RD, MAGILL
8301 5551
- OPEN L from noon Sun D 6.30pm-late Wed-Sat
- BILL 7 course $175pp Wine matches $100/$250pp
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chefs: Scott Huggins, Emma McCaskill | Owner: Penfolds
- WINE No BYO By glass 38 @$10-$170 Bottles $40-$100,000
Orana
Orana is the embodiment of Jock Zonfrillo’s long-held passion for the potential of Australia’s native pantry. In a modest upstairs dining room, aided by a young but accomplished crew, he serves up peas and weeds picked in the Adelaide Hills, succulents from coastal rocks and dunes, exotic berries, leaves and fruit from suppliers across the country. There is a lot to take in, particularly when dinner opens with a salvo of 20 snacks that has more “wow” moments than most full meals. A cleansing native salad paves the way to raw mulloway with appealing little beads of seaweed; kangaroo with mountain pepper; and the supreme luxury of a marron tail with finger lime and myrtle leaves. To finish the set buttermilk with strawberry and eucalyptus oil tops everything that has come before. Orana is a game-changer that has justifiably grabbed national attention and made it our unanimous choice as Restaurant of the Year.
285 RUNDLE ST, CITY
8232 3444
- OPEN L Book 12.30pm or 1pm Fri D Book 6pm, 7pm, 8pm Tue-Sat
- BILL Set menus L $80 ($150 with matched wine) D $155 ($295 matched wine)
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chefs: Jock Zonfrillo, Shannon Fleming | Owner: Jock Zonfrillo
- WINE No BYO By the glass 16 @ $12-$55 Bottles $40-$495
Red Ochre Grill
Set on an elevated platform overlooking a well-lit Torrens and city skyline, Red Ochre Grill shows Adelaide at its best. A great place to take international visitors, the place can be full of people and still feel subdued and serene. The food is tinted into a desert hue by the various additions of Australian bush spices. The entrée of salt and pepper crocodile is less of crocodile and more of garnishes, but it accomplishes that “been there, done that” experience. Your international guests will likewise love the kangaroo grill, which even as a local meets the top echelon of kangaroo expectations. The self-described sexy desserts shouldn’t be overlooked, with unique native flavours adding a surprising and refreshing twist to some well-known options, such as the native brulee trio or the lemon myrtle panna cotta with rosella flower jelly.
WAR MEMORIAL DRIVE, CITY
8211 8555
- OPEN D 6pm-late Mon-Sat Bill E $16.50-$22
- BILL M $29-$40 D $14.90-$17.50
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef: John Kennedy | Owner: Ray Maujer
- WINE Corkage $20/bottle By the glass 28@ $9 to $12 Bottles $38-$990
Windy Point
As the lights of the city sparkle below at this perennially popular hilltop eyrie, this special occasion but family-friendly restaurant runs like clockwork with solicitous, seamless service and loads of fine-dining flourishes. Wine pours are generous and the food serves pub-sized, so go easy if you plan dessert. The contemporary menu sits on an old fashioned bedrock of best quality, regional produce: Barossa chicken coq au vin with king oyster mushroom and parsnip cream or chateaubriand of Murray Valley export grade beef fillet. There’s even fish and chips albeit oysters and rock ling wrapped in a crunch-perfect ale batter. An unctuous soft white polenta is topped with wild mushrooms gathered in Uraidla; handmade gnocchi comes with a creamy sauce of barramundi and capers. And if you’ve a birthday or anniversary to celebrate, the sizable chocolate ‘Melange for Two’ tops off a bells and whistles dinner.
WINDY POINT, BELAIR
8278 8255
- OPEN B/L 9am-4pm Sun (café) D 6pm –late Tue-Sat (café) Mon-Sat (restaurant)
- BILL E $16.50-$25.50 M $32.50-$49.50 D $16.50-$33.90
- OWNERS/CHEFS Chef/Owner Justin Miles
- WINE Corkage $25/bottle By the glass 26 @ $11-$15.50 Bottles $39-$955
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