Seven to Try: All the New Adelaide Restaurant, Cafe and Bar Openings We Got Excited About in January, 2024

Last year’s venue openings were no scrubs. But, if January is anything to go by, 2024 looks like it could outpace its predecessor in both the quality and quantity of new venues. Here – in alphabetical order – are all the openings Broadsheet got excited about last month.

This new Central Market spot from the aunty-nephew duo behind Angler in Stirling is a new, 100 per cent traceable-seafood shop and eatery. The sustainability angle might not seem like a radical proposition in 2024, but mislabelling on ocean products often stops consumers from making better seafood choices. Fair Seafood claims to be the first and only Australian seafood wholesaler and retailer to provide 100 per cent traceability on all its products. You can pick up prawn cocktails, lobster rolls, dry-aged sashimi, fish’n’chips and mussel hotpots.

Despite Gelato Messina co-owners Nick and Danny Palumbo coming from Adelaide, it took them 22 years to open their first South Australian site. There has been the occasional pop-up in Adelaide, but the first store opened on January 29, 2024 in Kent Town. There’s a 40-flavour cabinet featuring 35 signature flavours and five limited-edition specials, as well as playfully shaped gelato cakes and jars of house-made dulce de leche and “Messintella” choc-hazelnut spread to take home. The shop’s interior has a mid-century aesthetic and terrazzo-speckled flooring courtesy of Adelaide-born design studio Sans-Arc.

Good Burger’s very good burgers are expertly flipped by chef Ashley Peek (ex-Our Food Project). Among them is the eponymous Good Burger, a classic cheeseburger with two smashed beef patties, cheese, pickles, onion and “good sauce”. There is also the slightly fancier Daw Park Cheeseburger, which replaces pickles with cornichons, onion with shallots and regular cheese with raclette. And a vegan number with a faux-meat patty from Buds Burger, peppers and crisp fried potato. The drinks list includes spiked sodas, cocktails made with Never Never Distilling Co spirits, and a house beer by Bridge Road Brewers, plus wines by the glass, bottle or half-bottle.

Technically Home of Plenty actually opened late last year but the eclectic cellar door in a 150-year-old shearing shed just missed out on our end of year list. It’s by Ben Shaw and located on his family’s property and it acts as an unconventional cellar door for Shaw’s wine label (of the same name). His goal is for his wine’s to be “fun, easy and approachable”, and with bright labels emblazoned with psychedelic stick figures, he’s met the brief. The venue has a Mediterranean-meets-Palm Springs vibe and an indoor-outdoor feel. There are tastings for $10, spritzes and a snacky Med-leaning menu, and an on-site orchard, pool, tennis, and volleyball court (which Shaw plans to open for special events), which all absolutely seal the deal on this Currency Creek spot.

For chef Simon Ming, the first step to opening his North Adelaide restaurant was telling his parents he was quitting his engineering job in China to follow his dream of becoming a chef. It was undoubtedly a tough conversation but he tells Broadsheet he’s never regretted it for a moment. After moving to Australia and training at Le Cordon Bleu, Ming cut his teeth at a string of highly acclaimed restaurants including Brae in Victoria, Jock Zonfrillo’s Orana and Arhke. It was at the latter he met award-winning sommelier Bhatia Dheeraj with whom he’s opened Odé. The menu is largely modern Australian with distinct French, Chinese, Italian and Japanese influences. There are flamed shallot pancakes with spiced yoghurt; udon with blue swimmer crab; and fish en papillote with a eucalyptus beurre blanc.

The family behind Adelaide institution Chianti has just opened a new restaurant in the 100-acre Carrick Hill estate in the foothills. Casual Italian-inflected eatery Rozelle’s and an adjacent 200-person events space, The Pavilion, were part of a $7.2 million development that has panoramic windows looking out to the gardens, the city and the ocean.

With ultra-hip branding (courtesy of owner Matthew Raymond’s design background) and a commitment to not take itself too seriously, Work brings a new energy to the city cafe scene. “We’re not selling ‘specialty coffee’. We’re just doing good coffee, really well,” says Raymond. There’s a signature blend from Rio Coffee, and grab-and-go sandwiches and pastries from Prove.

Additional reporting by Daniela Frangos, Tomas Telegramma, Tim Watts and Nicole Wedding.