About an hour after receiving the venue’s liquor licence yesterday, the Staguni team had already welcomed the first deliveries for the wine list. “Right now, there’s a lot of Barossan [wines] from friends and neighbours, because they drove down the road and gave it to us,” owner and executive chef Clare Falzon tells Broadsheet.
The community-focused, farmhouse-style restaurant opened (sort of) last month in a 1922 schoolhouse – part of a wider rejuvenation for the old Marananga school precinct, which is set to become a new food and arts destination in the Barossa.
It’s been a long, sobering wait for liquor licence approval (“This past five weeks has been a great exercise in not only patience, but also gratitude for the community of people around us,” Falzon wrote on Instagram today). But that’s not to say the team’s been idle.
The former Hentley Farm chef has been giving glimpses of what’s to come with a snacky, super seasonal menu (Staguni means seasons in Maltese) of Mediterranean small plates, like Port Lincoln blue mussels in sugo; a summery tomato con pan with zucchini escabeche; and spring greens with ricotta, salted lemon, pecorino and spiced oil.
The dishes have been paired with inventive non-alcoholic cocktails by beverage manager Christopher Stagg, who’s back in SA after 25 years working in top bars in Sydney, New York and London. It’s proven so popular, Falzon’s keeping the formula going, alongside a new lunch and dinner menu, which will be gradually introduced over the next few weeks.
“We had to make a different plan and lots of good things came out of that. One of those is we found people really like this format we’re doing,” says Falzon. “They can come in and have a full lunch or light lunch or one or two things.
“We thought, ‘We’re going into the festive period and that’s the time to spend with friends and family and just enjoy the moment – and this menu works well with that’. Also, the team is comfortable with this menu and we want to be able to look after everyone really well during this time; then we can transition ourselves as well, so everyone is getting the best service.”
The expanded menu will weave in more influences from Falzon’s Maltese heritage, including flavours from neighours like North Africa and Sicily. “There are some flavour profiles and techniques that probably aren’t that prevalent [here],” says Falzon. “[Maltese] is the only Arabic language written in Latin characters, which is a bit of a metaphor for Malta in general – it’s a lot of cultures over many, many years put together into its own unique culture.”
You might start on crusty Maltese bread (hobz tal-Malti) with tomato salsa, capers and shallots before moving onto Limestone Coast pink snapper served with fresh summer veggies in caper-and-lemon butter, or sumac-roasted chicken with lemon-sorrel yoghurt and sesame flatbread. There’ll also be an evolution of that tomato con pan coupled with sardines or tommy ruff in salsa verde.
The former classroom’s original blackboard is now used to scrawl the daily wines by the glass, beginning with drops by Barossa locals Rasa Wines, Reislingfreak, Forage Supply Co, Whistler, Wonderground and Laughing Jack (a back-vintage cabernet sauvignon “for a more traditional but really well-made Barossa red”).
Wines from further afield will come in from Monday, but Falzon is looking at keeping around 40 per cent of the list for Barossan and SA producers. “The idea, even when we’re fully set up and going next year, is to have a pretty concise drinks list, but really dynamic. So kinda like the menu – changing with what’s relevant and suiting the time of year.”
Cocktails include the fruity, fresh Old-School Shake-up (Seppeltsfield Road gin, rhubarb, sake, lemon and passionfruit); a spicy Smoked Paprika and Chilli Margarita (made with fat-washed smoked-paprika-and-chilli tequila); and a tart Staguni Paloma (tequila, grapefruit juice, lime and burnt grapefruit with soda). Non-alcs, like the popular pineapple-sage lemonade and Verdita Tonic (with pineapple, coriander, agave, lime and spice), are staying on the menu.
After weeks of waiting, Falzon is “just very relieved” to finally bring the complete vision of Staguni to the public. “I’ve been building this thing as a concept in my head for years, and once I decided this is what I wanted to do I’ve been very focused and very passionate about it, so to get to start showing people who we are and what we want to bring to the Barossa is really nice.
“Everyone I’ve spoken to [in the community] has been supportive and complimentary. This is why I decided to stay in the Barossa; I’ve found a supportive community here and it’s nice to be around that.”
*Staguni is open at specific times during the festive period. Check its Instagram page for details.
