Piccoli Piatti

The team behind Piccoli Piatti – Tomas Smith, Kyle Young and Steph Gibbs – aren’t exactly subtle when it comes to naming their venues. There’s Wing It, the CBD sports bar with a focus on wings, and Therapy Cocktail Bar and La Rambla Tapas Bar on Peel Street both signpost what they’re about pretty clearly.

In Italian, Piccoli Piatti means “small plates”. And that’s exactly what you get here: Italian small plates.

You might start with Coorong beef carpaccio with smoked beetroot, black-garlic aioli and croutons, or Goolwa cockles in white wine with ‘nduja (a spicy, spreadable pork salumi). For something meatier there’s grilled quail with polenta, quince and herb pesto, or 12-hour-cooked lamb shoulder with green-olive tapenade. There are a few fresh pastas too – the crowd-pleasing gnocchi is hand-rolled on-site and smothered in oxtail ragu. Feeling indecisive? Your best bet is the “feed me” option, priced at $40 or $50 a head for groups of four or more.

Puffed-up, Tuscan-style schiacciata (flat bread) stands in for pizza. It’s cooked without toppings, chopped, then finished with fresh ingredients such as burrata and fire-roasted peppers, or white anchovies, cherry tomatoes and pickled garlic.

Slabs of spongy, olive-and-rosemary focaccia are baked fresh daily; find it charred alongside Bottega Rotolo salumi or as part of the simple breakfast menu, which includes house-made granola, schiacciata and a decadent “big breakfast” option (with a vegan alternative).

“Local roots with Italian fruits” is the wine list’s catchphrase – it’s predominantly South Australian with a few European drops. Therapy cocktail whiz Chris Brittain has curated a spritz-y list that pushes past the classics. The Il Fiore blends gin and Cocchi Americano (an aperitif wine) with elderflower, basil, lemon and saffron.