Seeking restaurants in Adelaide ?Matilda, anyone

Hi
We will be spending a few days in Adelaide in August and would appreciate restaurant recommendations. We will be based in the city centre and will be without a vehicle.
We enjoy most cuisines and don't mind paying for quality.
I am also looking forward to maybe doing a little cooking as the central market will be nearby and has fabulous produce.
cheers
Barb

Hi Barb

Here are some places I’d send a friend to.

In the city square:

Jolley’s Boathouse, in the city, down on the banks of the River Torrens. The food’s always been good when I’ve eaten there. Although the menu is not particularly adventurous (chicken, duck, pork, lamb, steak, fish, one or two vegetarian offerings) it’s treated well, and the wine list is fine.

Rigoni’s, in Leigh St, in the city (between Hindley St and Currie St, so it’s easy to find). Classic classy Italian. Great for lunch as well as evening. You probably need to book, even at lunch time.

The Greek on Halifax. On Halifax St in the city. Traditional Greek food, great for lunch or a late breakfast, as well as dinner at night. I like the braised goat and have it just about every second time we go there.

Café Michael 2 – a cheap and cheerful Thai restaurant in Rundle Street. They make the BEST green chicken curry, and their other food is good. Quite authentic – the kitchen is run as a very tight ship by a Thai family.

Pondok Bali, in Pulteney Street. Balinese and Indonesian food. Been there for years.

For a pot of tea during the day, Saldechin on King William Street (down the North Terrace end). The building is very grand – used to be the head office branch of a bank, so it’s all polished granite and marble and high carved ceilings. The place began as an upmarket Chinese tea house; it is now much more European than Chinese, although you can still buy Chinese porcelain jars and carved sandalwood fans as well as food and drink. I’ve had dinner there – it was good, but I recommend it for tea/coffee or a drink rather than a meal.

A short cab ride away from the city centre:

The Spice Kitchen/Dhaba Hut. On Kensington Rd at Leabrook, about 15 minutes by cab from the city centre, in the eastern suburbs. The BEST Indian restaurant in Adelaide. Curries with a delicate touch.

Magill Estate Restaurant, about 15 minutes out of the city by taxi, eastern suburbs. Very special wine list (it’s a Penfolds-linked restaurant) and great food, a little on the adventurous side. You can have a degustation with matching wines if you like to try lots of stuff. Take out a bank loan, though, it ain’t cheap. But it’s good.

Parwana, an Afghani restaurant on Henley Beach Road just outside the city to the west. Ten minutes by cab. Unprepossessing shop-front, in the middle of renovations at present. But the food! Fragrant, subtle, just beautiful! Strictly BYO as the Muslim owners do not sell alcohol. But they are happy for you to bring your own and charge a modest corkage, which is donated to charity. I went there a couple of weeks back for my birthday; never tried Afghani food before, and I was very impressed.

Other stuff:

If you are staying near to Gouger Street, that street is full of restaurants, so a wander up and down might reveal somewhere else you’d like to try.

Don't forget to go to Haigh's on the corner of Rundle Mall and King William Street if you like chocolates. The sparkling shiraz truffles and the coffee creams are to die for.

And, as you already know, the Central Market is great for fresh fruit & veg, cheese, and all sorts of foodie oddities – happy shopping and cooking!

Happy to give more suggestions if you want!

best, Matilda

[Robin Garr]

Jolley’s Boathouse

I've eaten there! Nice place, very nice atmosphere.

Yeah, isn't it great?

In the summer time when the evenings are long and warm, it's a lovely place to watch the rowers on the river and the sun on the water.

Matilda, Hi.....

Considering that you and I have fun teasing each other from time to time when it comes to sparkling Shiraz, I will confess that I am even willing to forgive you for "sparkling Shiraz truffles"

Best
Rogov

Here are some places I’d send a friend to.

Quite a list!

Maybe the Adelaide tourist board should sponsor a "Friends of Matilda' fine dining club...

cheers,

Mike

Matilda Hi and many thanks, that is a fantastic help.
Now I just need to extend my holidays so I can do them all!!LOL

Sparkling shiraz truffles!! wow even himself (not a sweet tooth) might get interested in that.
Again thank you.

barb

Hi again, Barb -

The Francophile and I went to the Dhaba restaurant last Sunday night with a group. It has undergone some changes. The food is still top quality, but there has been a shift to a more 'moderne' individual approach since last time we were there. A larger proportion of dishes are offered as individual serves that are difficult to share with others - two of us ordered biryani which came in an individual copper pot with a pastry cover, and a small array of side things on our plate. They still offer a banquet option for easy sharing with a group but seem to be steering people away from throwing it all in the middle and sharing around the table.

Food still very good, though.

Another alternative for Indian food in Adelaide is the Jasmin, in Hindmarsh Square. http://www.jasmin.com.au/ This started out more than 30 years ago as a take-away curry shop in a beach-side suburb where I was living at the time. After a few years they moved up market and took up the location in HIndmarsh Square, where they've been ever since. The vindaloo is superb.

Many more thanks Matilda.
Only a month to go! I think I get nearly as much fun out of the planning as I do the holiday.

Barb, how did the holiday in Adelaide go?

Hi Matilda
Glad to see you back, sounds like you had a great time.
We went to Perth first where the highlight (and a major reason for the trip other than friends and family) was the Mundaring Truffle Festival, a fun weekend can be had there. We had tickets for two major events, a Master class and a long table lunch and they were both really good. I have details if anyone cares for further food and wine info.from these events.
We had a nice break in Adelaide on the way home. The weather was pretty awful but so be it.
somehow I have currently misplaced my notes from Adelaide so it is impressions only not detail

We stayed at the Franklin apartments which were very central and excellent value.
I didn't end up doing any cooking, breakfast was taken at different places at the Central Market, one lunchtime we spent at the food hall (for those who don't know Central Market the food hall is a bit like a Singapore Hawker centre with lots of small stalls selling a wide variety of mostly Asian foods. The Western bit comes in there being a liquor stall as well so one can have that glass of wine or beer!) It is a fun way to build your own yum cha style meal.

Rigoni's Hmm, well it is a great space, nicely appointed, nicely lit, The floor staff were excellent, professional, knowledgeable friendly but not over the top. The menu sounded exciting and it took a while for choices to be made.
Sadly the food did not live up to the otherwise high standards. Tepid soup, undercooked ravioli (the chef claimed it was al dente but pasta is one thing I know a lot about and it was undercooked) and mains which were underwhelming. Our waiter sensed our disappointment and provided a comp. liqueur to finish, and explained that the Exec Chef was not on duty.
Perhaps it was just one of those nights for the kitchen. Never mind.

Jolleys Boathouse was the venue for a splendid lunch. The weather had improved so it was indeed jolly to be by the river with sunshine sparkling on the water etc. This meal ticked all the boxes ambience, service food were all excellent.

We also dined at Mesa Lunga a tapas, sangria bar which was fun. We tried a variety of the tapas which were very good, they do main dishes and pizzas which from those around us looked pretty good as well. Modern and buzzy.

And for fun we caught the train back to Melbourne. A relaxing finish to the holiday. That's where the market came in, again. I had heard the food on the train was -well - train food -so we bought some nice deli stuff at the market for the journey, a good move!
And now here we are back at the coal face.

Again thanks for your help with recos.
best
Barb