The Best Restaurants in Adelaide

Adelaide’s restaurant scene combines seriously stylish design with abundant fresh produce from the surrounding wine regions, offering the best of both city and regional dining. Modern Australian cuisine is influenced by food traditions from around the world, which can be found in everything from Afghan comfort food to Parisian classics and what could be Australia’s first pizza restaurant.

The wine lists are equally diverse, including powerful Barossa reds, spritzy natural wines, and everything in between, all served by knowledgeable staff. The best part? Even the extended degustations are reasonably priced, which will please East Coast diners.

Parwana

The New York Times raves about Afghan comfort food.

Since 2009, the Ayubi family has been introducing diners in Adelaide’s inner west to fragrant, flavor-packed Afghan staples. Despite revealing their secrets in a popular cookbook, no home cook can replicate their legendary jewelled rice or banjaan borani (eggplant strips simmered in tomato sauce and a potpourri of spices until soft and falling apart).

The owners use the proceeds from the sale of alcohol to feed the homeless, but the atmosphere is friendly and the colorful interior is packed every night of the week. If you can’t get a reservation, try the city offshoot Kutchi Deli Parwana for lunch.

Osteria Oggi

A seriously cool modern Australian take on Italian cuisine.

Oggi, which opened in 2015 and is worth a visit just for the interior, raised the bar for Adelaide dining. The award-winning fit out is both graceful and modern, drawing inspiration from a light-filled Italian piazza and is equally enticing.

Take a seat at the long concrete bar or one of the comfortable booths and peruse the menu, which changes seasonally and combines Italian tradition with the best local produce. On the deceptively simple menu that emphasizes fresh produce and bold flavors with an Italian-leaning wine list, expect plenty of cured meats and seafood, as well as pasta made fresh daily (Oggi is Italian for “today”).

Sunny’s

In this kitschy laneway joint, come for dinner and stay for a boogie.

Sunny’s was always destined to become a cult classic, sandwiched between a restaurant, a bar, and a nightclub from your favorite 1970s film. And, in any case, this buzzing laneway joint serves some of Adelaide’s best pizzas. The main attraction is fluffy Naples-style pies with just the right amount of chew, while the “not pizza” section of the menu includes wood-roasted veggies and killer fried chicken. Just make sure you have enough energy to hit the dancefloor after. On the menu are charcoal-grilled skewers and whisky highballs.

Leigh Street Wine Room

A stunning design and an excellent wine selection.

This narrow venue, housed in an old dry cleaner’s on super-hip Leigh Street, takes design cues from Parisian bistros visited by the owners on their honeymoon. Before sitting down to elegant European-inspired share plates of housemade pasta, delicate seafood, and proteins cooked over redgum coals, take a seat at the terrazzo bar and gaze up longingly at the enormous wall of natural wines sourced from near and far.

Golden Boy

This bustling hotspot will change your perspective on Thai cuisine.

This elegant spot in a former bar is a far cry from the suburban Thai joints you’re accustomed to, and for good reason. The hardest part is deciding what to order; opt for the tuk tuk sharing menu and the dishes will keep coming until you say stop (though you’ll still have to choose from an excellent wine list and inventive cocktails).

Peel St

Industrial-hip Peel Street nearly single-handedly reinvented Adelaide city dining.

Peel Street is the epicenter of Adelaide’s thriving small bar scene. Before all of that, Peel St restaurant redefined Adelaide urban dining with fab industrial décor and super-generous serves of creative modern Australian cuisine with Asian and Middle Eastern influences. The food (which is listed on a constantly changing blackboard menu) is sublime, and the atmosphere is completely casual: quick-fire, communal, and democratic.

Jasmin Indian Restaurant

Adelaide’s best Indian restaurant is still going strong.

Trends come and go, but this Adelaide institution remains. Generations of diners have made the journey into this unassuming basement, knowing that they will be greeted warmly and served a menu of simple but consistently good subcontinental hits. Jasmin is big-hearted but intimate, and she has just the right amount of flair. And if you know of a better prawn sambal in Adelaide, please let us know.

Shobosho

As you eat flame-grilled Japanese food, converse with the chef.

This izakaya is all about fire, with flame-blackened timbers overlooking an open kitchen filled with smoke and steam. Start with delicate, intensely flavored small bites before progressing to larger share plates that highlight proteins from the yakitori grill and wood oven. Grab one of the eight seats at street level Sho for charcoal-grilled skewers and whisky highballs on tap for an even more intimate experience.

Magill Estate Restaurant

Spend all of your money at Penfolds’ winery restaurant.

Despite being only fifteen minutes from the CBD, Penfolds’ historic Magill Estate vineyard (est. 1844) is far enough into the foothills to provide breathtaking views of the city. They’re matched by seriously sophisticated food; chef Scott Huggins uses the best South African produce in a seven-course tasting menu that can be paired with consistently brilliant wines (go all out and order some Grange – you know you want to).

Aurora

Aurora promises fine dining with a conscience, taking sustainability beyond the plate and into the way employees are treated. The custom-made braai laden with vegetables, meat, and fish in the kitchen hints at produce-driven mod oz with a South African soul food influence. You can order a la carte or indulge in an indulgent degustation, and because the restaurant’s profits help to fund onsite arts venues, there may be jazz, classical, or modern dance performances taking place on any given night throughout the 150-year-old building.

Press* Food & Wine

Hearty meats hit all the right notes.

In the midst of Waymouth Street’s office buildings, industrial Press* serves steak four ways, but it’s the offal that really stands out; if you only order sweetbreads or fried lamb’s brains once, this is the place to do it. Even the vegetable dishes are hearty, though there are a few lighter options. Choose from the bar, a communal bench, or the more formal loft upstairs.

Hey Jupiter

This brasserie hits the sweet spot between tradition and innovation, hidden behind a beautiful tiled facade reminiscent of Paris Metro stations. As a result, it’s as popular with boomers enjoying the chic brasserie vibes as it is with hospo staff ducking in before a shift, and the compact menu, which includes everything from breakfast cassoulet to steak frites, caters to all comers.

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