Eat: Andre's Cucina & Polenta Bar

I almost walked right past Andre’s. Sunken within the unassuming lobby of the Mantra hotel on Frome St, the restaurant itself is small in size but big on heart. Our party managed to sneak in a last minute booking on a recent Friday night, voluntarily signing up for the full experience.

Brightly greeted by a bunch of trendy host and hostesses, we were seated quickly and had beers in hand not long after. We receive a full menu briefing including suggestions for how much to order and what is recommended by our on-the-ball waitress. After much deliberation we are confident with our choices of two appetizers, two vegetable share platters, one platter of meat as well as the compulsory serving of polenta (it is a polenta bar after all).

Food is bought out in waves beginning with the two delicate starters.

Fritto misto di mare – fried Sicilian seafood with lemon aioli.

Ravioli di formaggio con crosta di polenta e salsa picante – polenta crusted cheese ravioli with spicy salsa.

Bagna cauda – fresh raw & blanched vegetable crudités served with hot anchovy dip and crostini.

Assaggini di verdure – all things vegetable including sweet potato crisps, roasted mushrooms, lightly grilled eggplant and zucchini served with jerusalem artichoke puree.

Designed to share, the food is beautifully presented on the table. You really don’t need to order this much, but you probably should.

Delizie del rè, piattata di salumi misti –  selection of finely shaved Italian salami.

Polenta con salsiccia Italiana e salsa – polenta with Italian sausage and tomato salsa.

And then dessert. Bomboloni – banana donuts.

To think that we weren’t even going to order the chocolate mousse! Thank Dad we did.

Chocolate mousse – with nuts and caramel awesomeness.

Andre’s is the kind of place I wouldn’t feel awkward returning to just for dessert. The vibe is right, the place is buzzing and the staff really do know their cuts of meat.

Eat: Celsius Restaurant & Bar

A little while back, I attended the Gourmet Traveller hosted dinner at Celsius Restaurant and Bar. It really was, not just amazing food, but a great dining experience.

Chef Ayhan Erkoc, born in South Australia and raised in Murray Bridge, has thankfully returned to Adelaide after stints at Copenhagen's Noma (voted the world's number one restaurant), as well as Sydney's Pier and Marque restaurant. He sources almost all his ingredients from local producers and grows the majority of his own vegetables, herbs, flowers and greens used throughout the wonderful dishes on offer. Amanda has written a great article about the behind the scenes work Ayhan does over at Lambs’ Ears and Honey.

The whole event was fantastically well run and our little party of three certainly enjoyed ourselves. Wines matched to the courses were supplied by Alpha Box & Dice (McLaren Vale) and my current favourite beer (it’s a rotating list), McLaren Vale Beer Company’s, Vale Ale and Vale Dry were available on arrival while canapés were served.

After a little bit of mingling and a little introduction to the crowd, we weren't waiting long before the food came bustling out.

Raw wild scallops, parsley, finger lime, cucumber balls

Roast Jerusalem artichoke, chicken skin, garlic shoots

Setting the scene. Foraging in the forest with the smell of pine awaking the senses..
Rabbit, forest mushrooms, wild herbs

Chocolate, almond custard, vanilla

This was a slick dining experience. Celsius is definitely on the fine dining radar, but the restaurant offers great value for money if you’re out to impress. Their eight course degustation starts from $120 per person and the mood at night is modern, dark and romantic. Alternatively, you might want to brighten up a workday by taking advantage of affordable lunch specials, with two courses for $30 or three for $40.

Celebrate SA, local talent and local produce at its best.



PS. Much better photos and an in depth review from The Foodologist can be found here.

Eat: Red Ochre Grill

So Ben did eventually get back to me. His surprise? Last minute reservations at the award winning Red Ochre Grill in North Adelaide. A beautiful setting on the River Torrens provides the perfect backdrop for an intimate fine dining experience with views of the city lights and river fountains. The focus is on contemporary Australian food with an emphasis on using local produce.

Our table was situated in the upstairs dining area. On arrival we were immediately and pleasantly greeted by maître d’, Aimie, and our friendly waitress Tamara. The standard was set early and service remained welcoming and efficient throughout the night.

After perusing the menu, I loved the sound of the organic sourdough with various condiments (lemon myrtle butter, tomato and balsamic or locally produced hummus). But we quickly decided against ordering any starters or entrees and went straight to mains – with the aim of saving room for dessert!

If pork is on the menu, odds are I will order it. Ben was tossing up between the Orroroo kangaroo fillet (which sounded marvellous) and the Pepperberry veal shank. He made a quick decision when Aimie returned to take our orders, settling on the shank after she described it as “extremely rich and slowly slowly cooked”. Ben recommended I try the steak fries. And I’m glad I did!

Our meals arrived quickly. My pork tenderloin roulade was beautifully presented. Tiny cubes of crisp bacon and confit yam were scattered across the plate, with sautéed baby spinach, pureed salsa verde and a cranberry apple pickle. There was nothing on the plate I didn’t enjoy. Ben was presented a large shank on a bed of root vegetables, creamed potato and pine mushrooms. A heavily reduced bordelaise sauce came separately.

Ben throwing etiquette out the window and getting stuck into the shank.

If what’s left on the plate is anything to go by.. We were either pretty bloody hungry or the food was too good to leave any behind!

There was no twisting of our arms to view the dessert menu because we didn’t need any twisting. At all. The wattleseed pavlova was deliciously folded with layers of spicy nut paste, served with tangy passionfruit sorbet and poached apricots. Sincere complements to dessert chef Emily Jones, this dessert was close to perfection.

I chose the tasting platter which arrived with a lovely message..

Frozen lemon cream, chocolate cake with lime en glaze and white chocolate parfait with berry jelly. Simple and unpretentious, unfortunately the chocolate cake was dry which let down the overall dish. I think next time I won’t go past the chocolate fondant with rivermint sorbet (allow 20 minutes)!

Creative comfort food inspired by earthy flavours. Thoroughly stuffed, we rolled out of the restaurant very satisfied.