The Best Restaurants in Adelaide Right Now

Adelaide's restaurant scene offers the best value-to-quality ratio of any Australian capital city: the same level of cooking and produce that costs $250-$350 per person in Sydney and Melbourne costs $150-$220 in Adelaide, with no discernible drop in the quality of the kitchen, the wine list, or the service. The access to McLaren Vale, the Barossa, Clare Valley, and the Adelaide Hills' small-scale producers creates a provenance story that Adelaide's best restaurants tell with confidence.

Orana — Jock Zonfrillo's Rundle Street restaurant (before Jock's passing in 2023, Orana continues in his memory and legacy) focused entirely on native Australian ingredients remains one of the most significant restaurants in Australian culinary history. The commitment to working with Aboriginal communities to source and understand native ingredients produced a menu that made a genuine contribution to the question of what Australian food is.

Hentley Farm — in the Barossa Valley (65 minutes from Adelaide), Hentley Farm's tasting menu using the farm's own produce and the Barossa's ingredients represents Australia's best farm-to-table restaurant experience. A full day at Hentley Farm (lunch, winery tour, cellar door) is among Australia's finest food experiences, period.

Africola — Duncan Welgemoed's Africola on East Terrace brings South African-influenced cooking to Adelaide with a boldness and confidence that has made it one of the most discussed Australian restaurants of the last decade. The braai-style cooking, the ferments, the bold spicing, and the natural wine list create a room with a personality entirely its own.

Shobosho — the CBD Japanese-Australian restaurant on Leigh Street provides one of Adelaide's most exciting contemporary dining experiences, with the yakitori and skewer cooking supplemented by a menu that reflects the chef's Japanese training and Australian ingredient access in a room of considerable style.

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