mid-year wrap
Adelaide's Best Restaurants of 2024 (So Far)
If 2023 was a satisfying slow burn of openings, 2024 has been an all-out avalanche, such is the regular roll out of restaurants – many of which lean Mediterranean.
Words by Lucy Bell Bird · Published on 25 Jun 2024
At the end of last year, we described Adelaide’s restaurant scene as offering a smouldering slow burn. As we touch base mid-way through 2024, it’s clear restaurateurs are picking up the pace – which is heartening in a year stained by a slew of closures and struggles in the face of inflation, rising interest rates and ongoing staff shortages.
The venues on this list are overwhelmingly European – with a notable exception in the form of Terry Intarakhamhaeng’s Thai Guy – and lean toward comforting classics with big plates of pasta, Venetian snacks and Mediterranean meze.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the new restaurants in Adelaide that have caught our eye so far this year – with a few honourable mentions.
Credit: Aces, Adelaide CBD | Photography: Kelsey Zafiridis
When Aces opened in Chinatown in late March this year, it was the culmination of 30 years of work from the Fantasia family, who originally opened Aces in the Central Market in the ’90s. Aces’ original location closed in early 2022 but has now reopened as an ambitious 140-seat eatery with a dance floor, DJ booths and a “yum-ciao” menu. Aces opened with a menu from Tom Tilbury (who earlier this week wrapped up at the venue). Dishes include meatballs in a Fantasia classic “Sunday sauce”; chilli-topped southern rock lobster ravioli; mafaldine with duck and fig ragu with ricotta salata; and a spaghetti vongole à la Golden Century, (inspired by the Sydney Chinatown institution). The whole restaurant has a New York-Italian-inspired insouciance, with accents of deep broody red echoing the neighbouring Chinatown paifang archway.
Credit: Latteria, Adelaide CBD | Photography: Kelsey Zafiridis
Okay, we’ll level with you: technically Latteria isn’t a restaurant. It’s a bar that serves great food, but the all-day menu that shifts seamlessly from lunch to aperitivo hour to dinner has allowed it to sneak onto this list. The tip to navigate the menu is to go long on snacks, with risotto al salto (risotto pan-fried until crispy and then served on a creamy parmigiano base with a chicken jus and bonito flakes); a savoury cannolo with whipped ricotta, prosciutto and spiced honey; and chargrilled octopus skewers with crispy polenta. The corner spot comes from the Osteria Oggi crew and is built around a central bar with high stools where you can pick up a tipple like a Negroni Sbagliato and the Breakfast in Milan cocktail, inspired by cappuccino and croissant.
Named after co-owner Tom James-Wallace’s tiny ancestral town in Abruzzo, Oliveti is a 100-seat venue from the Embr Hospitality group (Don’s Deli, Bar Lune, Spread and more). Co-owner Sam Worrall-Thompson refers to the menu as “flirting between a pasta bar and a steakhouse” with a broad Mediterranean influence. There’s plenty of pasta (Oliveti will eventually supply house-made pasta to all the venues in the group) including a pleasing curly gigli with zucchini, peas and ricotta salata; and snacks including a puffy gnocco fritto with mortadella. There’s also seafood – in keeping with the venue’s beachy location – with oysters with cucumber and chilli oil, chargrilled octopus and a requisite kingfish crudo.
Credit: Ondeen, Verdun | Photography: Kelsey Zafiridis
Ondeen might be one of the Adelaide Hills’ most thrilling food and drink pairings. A menu by Topiary’s Kane Pollard, who’s bringing his locavore philosophy to the equation, meets small-batch spirits by Full Circle inside a heritage homestead in Verdun with spectacular countryside views. As part-owner and culinary director, Pollard’s à la carte and set menu offerings embrace the bounty of the landscape. Opening menu highlights included brined tomato and smoked mussels on fried toast; pickled sardines served with cauliflower cream and sweet corn; and a honey malt crème caramel with fresh honeycomb. In harmony with Pollard’s closed-loop cooking, head distiller and Ondeen co-owner Rose Kentish offers multiple Full Circle spirit tastings including a vodka and gin tasting, a liqueur tasting, a whisky tasting and a non-alcoholic tasting.
Cicchetti are ubiquitous in Venice – usually in the form of bread topped with sardines in an onion dressing or baccala mantecato (whipped salted cod). These snacks join other Venetian classics to make up the bulk of the menu at Paul Serafin’s Osteria Polpo. There’s risotto with chicken liver; brothy rice and peas; and classics like spaghetti vongole with Goolwa pippies and beef shin ravioli served with bone marrow and a parmesan and sage butter sauce. Australian interpretations including kangaroo tartare with saltbush. There are no gondoliers or waterways nearby, but there is a view overlooking verdant Victoria Park, and a couple of olive trees out front making this restaurant the closest thing you can find to Venice in Adelaide.
Set in the 100-acre Carrick Hill with sprawling lawns, manicured hedges, a pear arbour and a rose garden straight out of Jane Austen, Rozelle’s, from the family behind Chianti and Bar Torino, is the ideal setting for a long lunch. Executive chef Josh Cooke ’s menu goes long on produce-driven Italian dishes like artichoke fritti with salsa verde, baked rigatoni alla vodka and pizzas made with four-day-fermented poolish dough. Wrap things up with a limoncello cannolo, tiramisu or some scones with clotted cream (appropriate to the very proper setting).
Above all else, this fast-paced all-day diner prides itself on its warmth and hospitality. The menu is Mediterranean, with chef Stewart Wesson describing it as “a bit of Greek, some Cypriot and borderline Croatian cuisine with some Italian and Spanish thrown in as well”. There are meze-style grazing snacks like puffy pita (think an Adelaide’s version of Sydney’s cult Totti’s bread), sopressa and grilled octopus while mains lean towards simple proteins.
Credit: The Thai Guy, Kensington Park | Photography: Kelsey Zafiridis
When Terry Intarakhamhaeng opened Soi 38 in 2014, he took the name from Bangkok’s famous street food market. Soi 38 has since evolved considerably but with his new restaurant Intarakhamhaeng is going back to his roots to bring a contemporary snapshot of Bangkok’s street food scene to Magill Road. Start with snacks like deep-fried roti swiped through a curry dip before moving onto the signature DIY betel leaf wraps clutching tofu, prawn or crispy pork. You can also expect a few Soi 38 classics like som tum (green papaya salad), Nomad Farms beef massaman and red duck curry.
La Louisiane, Adelaide CBD: Former Restaurant Hubert head chef Alexis Besseau stepped up to fill a gap in Adelaide’s dining scene with a proper French bistro. The venue first opened as a pop-up (which scored a spot on our best restaurants of 2023 list) but on April 2 the Big Easy group announced the venue would stay open permanently. La Louisiane is a moody underground spot serving classic brasserie fare. Expect steak frites, pate en croute, gruyere cheese soufflé, snails and crème brûlée. Also: French wines (and French varietals from local vineyards) as well as classic cocktails including a standout house Martini.
Rosemont Hall (Mr Chan & Sunnys Shop), Prospect: Rosemont Hall was gutted by a fire in 2021 that destroyed its two restaurants. After two years the venues have risen from the ashes. The capacity has doubled to 200 while retaining the same 1920s feel. Mr Chan is Shanghainese while Sunnys Shop is inspired by a sultry Phuket diner.
Additional reporting by Daniela Frangos with Dan Cunningham, Kurtis Eichler, Katie Spain and Tim Watts.
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