Adelaide’s Raw Bars: Where To Start With Oysters, Crudo and Tartare

South Australians know the value of a raw bar better than most – just ask those Coffin Bay locals about the oysters, for a start. The beauty of the raw bar is in the freshness, with the natural flavours of simple ingredients given room to shine. Whether you’re looking to start a shared meal on the right foot or just grazing with a few glasses of wine, it’s worth taking a close look at small plates and starters like tartare, crudo and freshly shucked local oysters. Here’s where to get some of the best fresh bites in Adelaide.

Arkhé

Arkhé might not strike you as the obvious place to cruise through a raw bar, but while the enormous woodfired oven is very much the centre of the menu, all that flame and char makes the freshness of raw seafood starters that much more inviting. You’ll find two oyster options served with chardonnay vinegar, shallots and chives – local Gazander Pacific out of Coffin Bay and Sydney rock from Appellation Oysters in NSW – but the real star is the raw yellowfin tuna, which comes with a crisp hash brown and horseradish crème fraîche.

Oliveti

Glenelg’s Oliveti pitches itself as being indebted to the traditions of Italian cooking, with a special affinity for the region of Abruzzo. But while the Italian touches are consistent, the menu is worldly enough that diners will rarely feel hemmed in by any strict theme. Its raw bar dishes include the French-leaning Eyre Peninsula oysters with white balsamic vinaigrette and preserved lemon gratin, and Wagyu carpaccio with bonito, capers and rosemary. Keep an eye out at the warm end of the offering too, with Oliveti serving chargrilled octopus with green olives and spicy ’nduja.

Bar Lune

Wine bars are the natural habitat of small plates and drink-friendly raw dishes, so it’s little surprise that Bar Lune has the goods. Head chef Kate Ottens offers up plenty of raw bites, like Smoky Bay oysters from the Eyre Peninsula served with icy tomato granita; beef carpaccio with rich truffle and fresh pickled kohlrabi; and kingfish crudo with citrus, chilli and apple. Pair it all with a few picks from a wine list that leans heavily on SA locals and you’ll be doing just fine.

Eliots

Port Adelaide’s old Colac Hotel got a significant refresh back in 2024 and is now home to a centrepiece restaurant called Eliots, as well as two distilleries, a bar and another diner. If you can drag yourself away from the rest of the precinct, you’ll find a slim menu of contemporary Australian dishes, including a couple of inventive raw starters. There’s a potato rosti topped with Black Angus beef tartare and zingy pickled shallots, but the standout is the shiraz gin-cured salmon served with crème fraîche and chilli crisp.

2KW

Rooftop bar 2KW is all about serving topnotch local wine and small plates with a view to match – and you couldn’t ask for much more. The wine list is a Lord of the Rings-style epic, so grab a round of the bar’s Pacific oysters with rosé mignonette, or a plate of Wagyu tartare with Calabrian anchovies to savour while you flick through the pages.

Peel St

With a mix of Middle Eastern and Asian flavours, Peel St is a proper melting pot that can quickly swing from dishes like hummus to Vietnamese-style grilled beef. However you plan on spending your Peel St round-the-world trip, starting with some shared oysters is a fine idea – here, it’s Coffin Bay oysters from Gazander topped with pomegranate granita. If you’re feeling like more of the Asian flavours, opt for the tuna sashimi with yuzu ponzu, wasabi mayo and puffed rice.

Longplay

If vinyl records with a Euro bistro feel strikes you as your sort of thing, make a beeline for Longplay. The menu naturally matches the bistro styling, with raw bar plates like freshly shucked Coffin Bay oysters with mignonette begging for a glass of crisp Clare Valley riesling on the side. Then there’s that bistro staple, steak tartare, here served with a cured egg yolk and house-made crisps for scooping it all up.

The Broadsheet Dining Program Special Offer of a $50 discount when you spend $250 or more is available when you dine at a Participating Restaurant between 13 January 2026 and 16 December 2026. To be eligible for the Discount Offer, you must make a booking via the NAB Exclusive Booking Link for the Participating Restaurant which is found on the Broadsheet Booking Page and spend a minimum of $250 on your NAB credit card. Between 2 June 2026 and 16 December 2026, Select venues will also accept NAB debit card payments. The Discount Offer will apply at the Restaurant when you pay the final bill amount including GST and service fees and charges (if any) with your NAB credit card (includes a digital NAB credit card) or NAB debit card (includes a digital NAB debit card) at select venues. The Discount Offer is only valid once per booking and will not apply to any split bills and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. For the full Terms and Conditions of this Offer, please click here.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with NAB.