Best Restaurants in Adelaide City
There's a huge concentration of restaurants in Adelaide city, with many of the heavy hitters found on and around Leigh and Peel Streets. But there’s also an eclectic bunch at Rundle Street’s east end that includes swish Asian diners, good-times Greek and the inimitable Africola.
Whatever your budget, occasion or preferred cuisine, this guide can help. Know this, though: it is large. There are more than 50 venues listed below, which is the number we feel is necessary to really do justice to the city’s restaurant scene.
Restaurant
La Louisiane
Descend to the basement of a heritage city space to find this moody, late-night brasserie from the Nola and Shotgun Willies teams. It’s serving up French fare, live jazz and one of the best Martinis in town – but it’s here for a good time, not a long time.
Restaurant
A Prayer for the Wild at Heart
This unpretentious brasserie will take you from breakfast right through to dinner. Expect a menu spanning flat iron steaks with cafe de Paris butter, and ricotta and truffle gnudi. Plus, afternoon snacks and special reserve wines from France and beyond.
Restaurant
Valentino’s
Fill your plate with a selection of antipasto, pizza al taglio, stuffed eggplant, slow-cooked meatballs, hearty roasts and more, then try to leave room for a strong line-up of Italian pastries, or kick on into evening with cocktails.
Restaurant
Aunty Meg’s Kitchen
After eight years of serving a taste of her home at events and catering gigs, Meg Barathlall has opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant in the former Kutchi Deli Parwana site. Come for koeksisters (syrupy fried doughnuts), samosas, curry and rice, and roti rolls stuffed with lamb meatballs.
Restaurant
Contemporary Japanese Deli
Tucked away in the city’s Dacosta Arcade, this homey Japanese eatery serves some of Adelaide’s best – and most affordable – lunch fare. Think ramens, curries, bento boxes and more, courtesy of a father-and-son team drawing on more than two decades’ experience.
Restaurant
Shomen
A hole-in-the-wall ramen shop by the Shobosho crew.
Restaurant
Minimono
One of Adelaide's most prolific restaurateurs is behind this compact yet sophisticated ramen and curry bar. Roll in big steaming bowls of 12-hour pork tonkotsu, soupless tantanmen and several original styles of ramen.
Restaurant
Aurora
This socially sustainable restaurant at Adelaide’s multi-level Light precinct is helmed by a top chef with Michelin star cred. Come for dishes influenced by global cuisines and native Australian produce.
Restaurant
Koomo
At this Japanese fusion restaurant on the 10th floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel, you'll find the stars of Japanese cuisine, rare whiskies from the country's reserve, and sweeping skyline views.
Restaurant
Fugazzi Bar & Dining Room
It’s all about decadent dining at this New York-Style Italian Restaurant. Riffs on traditional dishes include “Roman Vegemite” soldiers, lasagne pizza and steak frites with Italian bearnaise. Settle into one of the intimate booths or get a ringside seat at the striking marble bar.
Restaurant
Daughter in Law Adelaide
At this colourful pan-Indian restaurant, you'll find Melbourne chef and restaurateur Jessi Singh's takes on self-described "unauthentic" Indian cuisine. There are naan pizzas, tandoor-fired dishes, Indian-inspired cocktails and a roving champagne and whisky trolley.
Restaurant
Eleven
This ambitious all-day venue comprises an elegant fine-diner serving degustations, and an open-air cafe and bar serving upmarket snacks and local wines. Find them both inside a handsome courtyard in the city centre.
Restaurant
Fishbank
At this ambitious seafood restaurant from the 2KW team, you'll find everything from fish and chips to beluga caviar, plus a raw bar, an ocean-themed video installation and fish-themed cocktails.
Restaurant
Cheekies Hot Chicken
The hottest chicken here comes coated in a blend of four different chillies, including the infamous Carolina reaper.
Restaurant
Busan Baby
This spot brings Korean street food to Morphett Street. There’s also spongy, fluffy chiffon cake and that bulgogi beef ramen dish from Parasite.
Restaurant
Gunbae Chicken and Beer
Korean fried chicken is all over town, but Gunbae is one of the best. The menu is blissfully simple: chicken (brined for 12 hours before being fried), beer and Korean sides including kimchi pancakes, mandoo salads and rice balls.
Restaurant
Part Time Lover
Boozy, casual, fun – this Palm Springs-inspired all-day diner is a chill hangout for grown-ups.
Restaurant
Fino Vino
Fino at Seppeltsfield is a Barossa icon, so expectations were high for its first urban outpost. Good news: this charming 70-seat wine bar and restaurant delivers. The food is simple and elegant, with next to nothing wasted. A 100-strong wine list is backed up by a range of sherries.
Restaurant
Plus 82 Pocha
Listen to K-pop while you eat fried chicken and kimchi until late.
Restaurant
The Guardsman
This all-day dining hall at the old Adelaide Railway Station is a triple threat. It's a cafe, bar and restaurant that opens early and closes late. Whether you’re a commuter looking for a coffee and a small bite, or you’re from farther afield and want to sit down to a steak and a Martini, you’ll be well catered for here.
Restaurant
House of George
The second iteration of East Terrace taverna Yiasou George is as fun as ever. But this time around, one of Adelaide's best chefs is turning out Ritz crackers topped with café de Vardon butter, smoked whiting and salmon roe; plus a rotisserie spin on Yiasou George’s signature lamb.
Restaurant
May Q
This restaurant’s line-up of Korean classics is bolstered by a sizable collection of sojus to enjoy with your meal.
Restaurant
Fung Shing
A late-night favourite for fast and friendly Chinese dishes.
Restaurant
Betty’s Burgers & Concrete Co
A Queensland-born boutique burger chain serving burgers and frozen-custard desserts it calls “concretes”. Despite being a chain, the quality of the burgers has remained consistently excellent – and attractively priced – over the years.
Restaurant
Herringbone
On a leafy Adelaide corner is one the city’s benchmark diners. Quentin Whittle’s borderless menu looks to Asia and the Middle East for cues – but everything’s done in a way that feels effortless. This is casual, modern Australian dining at its best.
Restaurant
Maison Clement
A French-Australian patisserie and cafe from a talented pastry chef.
Restaurant
Restaurant Botanic
Crocodile-fat tortilla. Emu fillet smoked in paperback. Sea urchin tongues. Restaurant Botanic serves one of the most exciting tasting menus in the country, driven by produce from the surrounding 51-hectare gardens. Executive chef Jamie Musgrave is at the peak of his powers here.
Restaurant
2KW
This refined rooftop restaurant and bar is one of Adelaide's best rooftops. For good reason, from up high you can see out over the Governor's garden and the city.
Restaurant
Midnight Spaghetti
Home-style Italian food and Euro-kitsch above one of Adelaide’s favourite pubs.
Restaurant
Akimitsu
Japan’s award-winning tempura restaurant.
Restaurant
Lantern by Nu
Chef Nu Suandokmai is trading in refined, upscale dining for Thai home cooking.
Restaurant
Shobosho
An Asian-inspired “fire house” from restaurateur Simon Kardachi.
Restaurant
Sunny's Pizza
You'll ask yourself the following when you enter this neon-lit gem: is Sunny’s a pizza joint that also happens to feel like a house party? Or is it a bar with DJs and primo pizza? Happily, the answer is “yes” to both.
Restaurant
Osteria Oggi
This diner raised the bar for Italian food in Adelaide when it opened in 2015, and it's just as good as ever. Visit for excellent hand-made pasta, hearty share-plates and one of the best cellars in town. It's all set within one of South Australia's most awarded restaurant interiors.
Restaurant
Peel St
Perusing Peel Street’s giant blackboard menu feels like an Adelaide rite of passage. On it you’ll find dishes mixing Asian and Middle Eastern influences, with a dash of laneway attitude. Sit at the bar, order well and enjoy the hum of the space.
Restaurant
Africola
Adelaide meets Africa to create a singular restaurant unlike anything Australia's seen before. Even though Africola’s been at it since 2014, everything – from the signature peri peri chicken to the finely-tuned service – is sharper than ever.
Bar
99 Gang Social
American-style burgers, beef rendang hoagies and tropical cocktails are the signatures at Gang Gang’s disco-ready burger bar. After the dinner trade, a floating DJ booth provides danceable tunes till late.
Bar
Leigh Street Wine Room
A former drycleaner is the setting for one of Adelaide's most exciting drinking dens – a cosy, cleverly designed natural-wine bar serving world-class vino and inventive plates by a young chef with Michelin Star cred.
Restaurant
Ballaboosta
Where the Mediterranean meets the Middle East. Starters hew towards the Middle East, while the wood oven in the corner delivers pizzas and house-made pita bread.
Restaurant
Press Food & Wine
Set inside an old printing house, this influential eatery was among the city’s first to champion nose-to-tail cooking back when it was a novel concept. Local and ethical produce is still the focus, as is a dedication to SA wines and sharp service. An elegant dining room ties it all together.
Restaurant
Bread & Bone
This late-night CBD haunt dishes out great burgers, hot dogs and more to hungry revellers stopping by for a feed before bed.
Restaurant
Golden Boy
Don't let the name or the fun atmosphere fool you. When you try Golden Boy’s energetic modern takes on Thai cuisine (and cocktails to match), you’ll know this place isn’t messing around. Go for the Tuk Tuk menu – you won’t regret it.
Restaurant
Pizza e Mozzarella Bar
Forget fryers and pans. These Southern Italian dishes are cooked solely in brick ovens.
Restaurant
Soi 38
In the old Pirie Street Subway, this hawker-turned-restaurant continues its vision of regional Thai cooking in a sleek, modern space. Come for elevated takes of classic curries, grilled meats inspired by the country's north, and plenty of fiery wok drama.
Restaurant
Fair Seafood
The team behind Stirling’s fave fish’n’chipper is behind this 100 per cent traceable seafood shop and eatery in the Central Market. Come for dry-aged sashimi and wines, and leave with fresh fish to cook at home.
Restaurant
Belles Hot Chicken Adelaide
The Melbourne-bred chain is bringing its Nashville-hot tenders, chicken sandwiches and boozy slushies to South Australia – for good this time.
Restaurant
Monica
With a 2am licence, this 40-seater – with an inventive cocktail list and a variety of small snack plates – fits perfectly into any night out.
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