When the sun goes down and the oven fires up, Sunny’s is where you want to be.
The pizza joint and watering hole is part of the rejuvenation of Solomon Street’s Powerplant Building, and so is neighboring coffee spot Fairweather. We first encountered Sunny’s Pizza when it was little more than a concrete slab. Now open, the venue is everything we were promised and more.
Sunny’s is “a bar that serves pizza”, according to co-owner Andy Nowell. It’s also a laneway window to perch at and share a rosé with colleagues after work; a booth where friends can grab a bite before heading out; and a dance floor where you can boogie until the wee hours to trashy ’80s pop you’d never normally hear in public.
It’s the combined work of a ragtag team of hospo devotees including Nowell, Josh Dolman, Rob Denisoff and Ashley Wilson. With designers StudioGram they have created a diner that excels in delivering what so many venues overlook – fun. It’s often rowdy and unashamedly kitsch.
It’s not often we talk about the inside of toilet bowls (it’s not often we find a reason to). But we do recommend checking out the “porcelain canvases” on which Adelaide artist Gerry Wedd has hand-painted portraits of the owners’ dogs. Yes, you're reading that correctly.
A fortnight ago at the opening tables were pushed back, the decks were spinning and the mirror ball bounced specks of coloured light off sweaty bodies and glistening, melted cheese. It’s indicative of the atmosphere Sunny’s is going for.
The pizza is crispy and fluffy with toppings full of flavour, such as eggplant parmigana, San Marzano tomatoes, confit garlic and basil. And ham, pineapple and green-chilli verde. There is also an aptly described selection of “Not Pizza” accompaniments.
The wine list is brief and considered and everything is available by the glass. Three beers pour on tap (currently Stone & Wood Larger, Pirate Life Throwback IPA and Hawkers Pale) with plenty more cold tins in the fridge.
Sunny's Pizza
17 Solomon Street, Adelaide
facebook.com/sunnys.partysize
Hours:
Wed to Sat 4pm–2am
