Natural wines and top-notch snacks star at this cosmopolitan bar where the Euro vibes are strong while it remains quintessentially Adelaide – a genuine spot for all occasions.
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This intimate natural-wine den in a former dry-cleaners charged onto Adelaide’s drinking and dining scene in 2019, immediately raising the bar for its off-piste drops, smart snacks and award-winning design. It’s been through a few changes since then, but it remains a steadfast spot for excellent drinks and top-flight food in gorgeous surrounds.
The bar takes its cues from hotspots like Sydney’s 10 William St and P Franco in London where the wine offering is backed by tight food menus, with a fun nod to its former tenant in the old lightbox out the front that still reads “dry-cleaners”. Inside, a striking terrazzo bar and floor, exposed acoustic wall panelling, eclectic framed prints and an impressive arched ceiling form the setting for the hundreds of minimal-intervention drops lining the shelves and a food menu by Adelaide-born chef Peter Orr, who cut his teeth at Michelin-starred venues in London and made his mark at Parisian wine bar Au Passage before the pandemic brought him home.
Since opening, in 2019, this place has become an instant classic. There are few better spots to perch at the bar with a wine in one hand and a snack in the other. Sit back and order the chef’s selection. It will save you the struggle of choosing from the likes of oozy Italian burrata cheese with heritage tomatoes and red-wine dressing, raw scallops with green tomato, finger lime and yoghurt dressing, and quail coated in peanut sauce and crisp shallots. Heftier plates include Kerwee wagyu rib-eye with star anise-braised carrots, and grilled pork chop with chickpea chips and harissa. Then strike up a conversation with the affable staff, who’ll recommend a glass (or bottle) of lo-fi wine from as nearby as Basket Range to the tiny Château-Chalon region in France’s Côtes du Jura or the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains in Trentino, Italy. Whether you want bubbly and light, bright and vibrant, textural and structured or round and plush, there’s something for you here, no matter what wine creed you observe.
Beyond the wines there are classic cocktails such as Martini, an Old Fashioned and a Negroni, along with a local Ambleside gin with the classic Indian-style Mischief Brew Bengal Tonic, and left-of-centre beers from the likes of Garage Project and Wildflower. Add a cool soundtrack of soul, R&B, indie and disco tunes and this is a place where you can easily – and happily – lose a few hours.
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