Special Order: Three Top Places To Eat & Drink in Adelaide
Whether it’s a romantic date for two, a family outing or dinner and drinks with friends, here are three of our favourite spots in Adelaide.
Pan & Vine
Fresh ingredients that are locally sourced is the MO of Pan & Vine. Opened by brothers Anthony and Luke Savas in Kent Town before it was cool, this neighbourhood pizza bar has been redefining what people should expect from a casual eatery and the city-fringe suburb since 2018.
Quality drives everything Pan & Vine produces. Its bases are rolled from naturally leavened sourdough that’s proved for three days, adding to the initial texture and flavour.
Fired in a stone-based gas oven (which can fit an impressive 16 13-inch pizza bases), the mature dough produces a thin base with the right amount of crispiness. This lets the pizza flavours do all the talking.
Top picks include the Spicy Boy – a red-sauce pie with pepperoni and nduja, topped with tomato, onion and a sprinkling of chilli for a little bit of kick – and the Mushroom Ragu, coated with a generous amount of mozzarella, olive oil and parsley. And while Pan & Vine gives a respectful nod towards the traditional toppings found in the dish’s homeland of Italy, they don't shy away from Aussie classics like ham and pineapple, either.
However, pizza isn’t the only thing Pan & Vine excel at. Bowls of pasta are generous in both size and flavour. Fettuccine and spaghetti noodles or the pillowy dumpling base of gnocchi are covered in a homemade sauce of your choosing (think Bolognese, Pomodoro and alla pana). There’s even ample starters to entertain your taste buds (the panko-crumbed eggplant fries and mushroom arancini get a big tick in our book) and a healthy serving of tiramisu for dessert (recommended for two people but easily conquered by one).
This is all served inside Pan & Vine’s modern take on a traditional pizza bar. Forest green tiles and contemporary artwork by local creatives Hari Koutlakis and Boneyard Trader create a cosy yet sophisticated vibe that’s enough reason to devour your pie or pasta in-store. Settle in for an evening of Italian cuisine that’s grounded in South Australian flavours and a drinks list that follows suit.
Let the Alpha Box & Dice wine flow or indulge in one of Pan & Vine’s signature $12 Negronis – the accessible price point doesn’t see the cocktail’s quality suffer and makes for the perfect post-feed finish!
Where: Shop 3/58 King William Street, Kent Town
Follow: @pan_n_vine
GET TO KNOW PAN & VINE
A two-minute speed-date with Pan & Vine’s pizza professional (and co-founder), Anthony Savas.
Favourite name on the pizza menu"?
The Artie Bucco (olive oil, shredded mozzarella, mushroom and artichoke topped with truffle oil) is named after the chef in The Sopranos.
How much do you love a Negroni?
A lot. The Pan & Vine staff finished five litres of Negroni at our End of Fringe party.
How do you make your Negronis?
We follow a classic Negroni recipe (gin, vermouth, Campari) and serve it with a not-so-classic garnish – a dehydrated orange with a light coat of cinnamon sugar. One of our original customers has his own bell that he rings every time he wants another Negroni!
Craziest story in the Pan & Vine history books?
Too many to choose from! When we celebrated the closing night of Fringe one year, a staff member put on an impromptu comedy set. We also had a resident possum at the Fringe who would wait patiently for pineapple every night.
Go to knock off?
The staff favourite is a Fernet Branca with coke – an Argentinian classic.
Ambra Spirits
Thebarton’s winding backstreets are home to everything bespoke: independent breweries, coffee spots and a local distillery that’s serving some of the most authentic Limoncello in Australia.
For 26 years, Ambra Spirits has brought the flavours of the Amalfi Coast to Adelaide, its through traditionally inspired spirits and liqueurs crafted from generations-old recipes. They were Australia’s first local Limoncello makers in 1998 and today, its award-winning, spiked lemon signature is only one reason why its recently renovated distillery door is a must-vist.
Days well spent at Ambra Spirits start with a G&T cocktail tree – an innovative tasting of the distillery’s four signature gins – followed by spuntini-style plates to share (the anchovy soldiers and fried chicken fritti with hot honey are a winner) and rounds of Ambra’s impressive cocktails. If a morning session is more your style, book in for the Bottomless Sunday brunch and let the limoncello spritzes flow.
And if you need more reasons to visit the boutique distillery door and cocktail bar, check out Ambra’s stacked social schedule. Wednesdays are reserved for pasta night ($39 will get you an entrée, pasta main and warm spiced wine); Thursdays are when you can pair half a dozen fresh oysters with a mini martini flight. Don’t forget to pop past for The Weekly Fifty quiz night on Fridays!
Where: 43 Phillips Street, Thebarton
Follow: @ambraspirits
Aurora
Expect food that’ll make you ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at fine-dining institution Aurora. Part of not-for-profit immersive art haven ILA (also home to The Lab and The Light Room), this restaurant has received countless rave reviews from critics since opening in 2021 (and garnered 13 Chef Hats from the Australian Good Food Guide) for good reason.
A purpose-built braai stands at the heart of Aurora’s open-plan kitchen – a fire-driven instrument from South Africa that delivers a toasted char to the ingredients that pass over its grill. The contemporary menu remains internationally skewed: think plates of Spencer Gulf prawns with muhammara and nduja, lamb served three ways with sage pesto and marsala gravy, and venison tartare with black garlic and crispy artichoke chips.
However, worldwide flavours are balanced by produce sourced from local suppliers and driven by South Australia’s seasons – an opportunity for Aurora to always evolve its offering, keep food miles low and retain its sustainable streak. This philosophy is further reflected in the restaurant’s wine list, where drops sourced from hard-to-find, small-batch vineyards in South Australia are the star of the show.
But this Light Square venue is more than its revered hospitality reputation. You can also dine here with the comfort that your five-star feed creates real-world change. The profits from Aurora are invested back into The ILA Foundation, a social enterprise dedicated to developing innovative and immersive spaces for independent creatives to experiment with light, art and technology.
Where: 63 Light Square, Adelaide
Follow: @aurora_adl
