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Ember Pizza

18-28 Tanunda Road, Nuriootpa, SA, 5355
Phone
(08) 7523 3960
Website
emberpizza.com.au
Instagram
@emberpizzabarossa

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 13 Jun 2023

By
Nick Ryan

A casual place turning out great wood-fired pizzas alongside smart local wines and seriously enticing cocktails, Ember is as close as it gets to a sure-fire hit.

Why you goIt’s not difficult to make a pizza, but it’s damn hard to make a great one. And Ember Pizza makes a truly great one. It’s the pedigree of the place that helps. The brains behind Barossa favourite Harvest Kitchen, Pete Little and Alex Potarzycki, joined forces with Barossa Distilling Company’s Neil Bullock to establish something the region had been missing – a casual place turning out great wood-fired pizzas alongside smart local wines and seriously enticing cocktails. Obviously the locals lap it up, but for those who visit the region to dive into a maelstrom of wine tastings and fancy dinners, it offers the relaxed respite that any trip of that nature needs. Sometimes you just need a pizza, and it's in those times you’ll be glad this place is here.
Why you stayThere’s no such thing as a sure-fire hit in the restaurant game, but Ember Pizza was always going to come close. You can just tell there’s a dream-team at work here. The big picture is cleverly conceived and the little details never neglected. Pizza is the focus and gets the love it deserves – 72-hour ferments for the dough, hand-rolled and topped simply with high-end, locally sourced ingredients – but the side attractions have much to commend them as well. As you’d expect, ingredients are of the highest quality, service is relaxed but perfectly polished and the room just hums with the energy of locals and visitors mopping up every last drop of a really good time.
What drink to order

When a restaurant is partly owned by the bloke who runs the distillery next door, you'd be wise to take your seat in a cocktail frame of mind. Or perhaps take yourself through a mini-tasting of Barossa Distilling Company gins served simply with great tonic. This being the Barossa, you can rest assured the wine will be good, too. Even if it doesn’t come to your table as you might expect. In partnership with local winemakers, Ember offers a rotating range of local wines in kegs, small-batch wines from small producers tapped from the keg into glass or carafe. And the legendary David Franz Scrumpy is here, too. If you know, you know.

 

Why we love itThe old real-estate cliché about location comes to mind here. Ember sits within a precinct dedicated to life’s pleasures, situated on the site of the historic old Penfolds winery. Right next door is sister business the Barossa Distilling Company’s tasting room and cocktail bar, and Penfolds still maintains a tasting room at the place where it produced some of Australia’s most legendary wines. The neighbours include a craft-beer and whisky bar, an artisan coffee-roaster, an ice-cream parlour and another Dan’s Directory favourite, the brilliant First Drop Cellar Door and Tapas Bar at the Home of the Brave. We’re not saying that everything required to sustain human life can be found here, but it comes pretty close.
Regular’s tipIf you’re one of those people who believe the most beautiful phrase in the English language is “all you can eat pizza” you might want to plan your trip to Ember for a Wednesday or Thursday night. Or both. On these nights of dinner service only, Ember invites you to hand over a very modest sum and eat an immodest amount of pizza. Sides are included, too. This must be one of the best dining deals anywhere in the country and it’s just about worth the trip to the Barossa for this alone.
Don’t leave withoutWhen one of South Australia’s best distillery tasting rooms sits just next door, it would be remiss to not pop in and try the spirits on offer. Housed in the old Penfolds distillery, the Barossa Distilling tasting room resonates with history while pointing to a bright future for artisanal distilling in the region. Being the Barossa, there’s obviously a brilliant shiraz gin to try, or delve a bit deeper with the Generations gin, a beautifully balanced spirit built on a dozen different botanicals including nearby Riverland citrus and toasted oak in a nod to the region’s winemaking heart.
Who to takeThe kids, the relatives, the neighbours, strangers you pass in the street – in short, anybody and everybody. Ember is the kind of place you enjoy as a couple but love as a group. There’s a generosity and warmth here that just lends itself to large gatherings of hungry people in search of nourishment in every sense.
Authour image
Nick RyanNick Ryan turned a natural thirst into something resembling a career, writing about drinks for publications such as The Australian, The World of Fine Wine and The Robb Report.
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Drinks DirectoryKiller cocktailsRestaurantMeal and a bevGood for groupsFamily affairTakeawaysVego Food OptionsWheelchair accessibleRegional SANon-alc OptionsCasual catch-upOutdoor area
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