The 56 Best Places to Eat in Adelaide

This is the casual kitchen at the Penfolds Magill Estate, a winery restaurant where the vines roll down toward the Adelaide skyline and nobody has to pretend they came for anything but the wine. The menu runs to share plates, a grill, and a pasta alla Norma that keeps things pleasantly simple. The fancier tasting-menu sibling, a Michelin 2-star, sits nearby, which is the only reason anyone here wears a blazer.

The open hearth in the middle of the room isn't décor; it's the kitchen's organizing principle, and everything on the menu follows that logic. This is a fire-led modern Australian restaurant in Norwood where wood smoke finds its way into vegetables and seafood as readily as into the dry-aged beef and Wagyu the place is known for. Jake Kellie, who came up at Burnt Ends, runs the hearth with an ease that keeps it from feeling like a stunt. Ranked 16th on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list.

The dining room sits inside the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, which means fifty-plus acres of garden are essentially the mood lighting. This is a tasting-menu restaurant where the kitchen, led by Jamie Musgrave, builds each course around native ingredients and seasonal botanicals foraged or sourced from what's growing nearby. The Australian Good Food Guide awarded it four Chef Hats. Dress accordingly and clear the evening.

Aurora is a fine-dining restaurant on the ground floor of a visual arts museum, which means you can take in the art and then watch someone cook over open flame with equal seriousness. The kitchen is open, the cooking is modern Australian with a passport full of stamps, and the vegetarian plates get real attention. It holds a Michelin star, and the room is polished but relaxed enough that nobody will check your shoes.

Africola is a loud, South African-leaning restaurant on East Terrace where the music is part of the seasoning and nobody is whispering. The counter seats let you watch the cooks work the grill, and the house chilli sauce shows up on the peri-peri chicken whether you ask or not. The Afrotini sets the tone early, and the "feed me" option spares you the burden of deciding. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and One Chef Hat.

Golden Boy is a modern Thai restaurant facing the Botanical Garden, with a wraparound terrace that fills up at lunch and stays that way into the evening. Daytime is à la carte, while dinner hands the steering wheel to the kitchen in a "Tuk Tuk" style spread built for groups who like to pass plates and argue over the last bite. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, so book ahead unless you enjoy hovering.

Esmay is a seasonal, farm-to-table restaurant tucked into the Hackney Hotel, with one Michelin star and a sunlit dining room that feels more relaxed than the star suggests. The counter seats put you within heckling range of the chefs, which is half the entertainment. The cooking follows the calendar and has a sense of humor about it, and dessert leans on parsnip and potato, vegetables that rarely get this far.

A one-off sculptural chandelier, locally made and named for light, anchors the room at this all-day European restaurant on North Terrace. The Art Nouveau bones give it genuine atmosphere, and the kitchen leans on regional producers to do the talking. It runs from morning coffee through cocktails at dusk, so the crowd shifts considerably depending on when you arrive. The Australian Good Food Guide has given it two Chef Hats.

Station Road is a dressy, grown-up restaurant on the first floor of Festival Tower, with a polished marble bar, a wine cellar on proud display, and terrace seating for anyone who likes their lunch with a view of Adelaide. The kitchen plays it French, leaning on local produce, and finishes with a Paris-Brest and a cheese trolley, so skipping dessert here would be a bold act of self-restraint. It's listed in the Michelin Guide.

Allegra sits upstairs from a pizzeria, and the only thing the two floors share is a wood-fired oven that does double duty. Up top is a fully vegan tasting menu of five courses that changes monthly, with the flame-kissed cabbage making it clear nobody here is apologizing for the lack of meat. It's a sit-down, dress-a-little-nicer affair with a loyal following, so book well ahead. Michelin lists it as a Selected Restaurant.

South Australia's growers and winemakers effectively double as the kitchen team here, which tells you everything about what kind of restaurant and bar Fino Vino is. The menu tracks local seasons with the dedication of someone who has the farmer's number saved in their phone. Hospitality is warm without being performative. The Australian Good Food Guide awarded it a Chef Hat.

Herringbone is a Mediterranean restaurant where the open kitchen is lined with jars of spices and the clatter of the cooks doubles as the soundtrack. The cooking leans on Australian produce with a Mediterranean accent, so expect plates to share, a buzzy room, and locals who treat a table here as a standing appointment. It holds an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat and a spot in the Michelin Guide as a Selected Restaurant.

Kiin is a modern Thai restaurant on Angas Street that does its best work after dark, though it also opens for lunch. You choose between counter seats facing the kitchen and cozier tables, and either way you'll want to book ahead. The menu is split into four sections, so the staff walk you through it like a short orientation. It's a dinner out, not a quick curry, and the Michelin Guide has listed it as a Selected Restaurant.

ODE Bistro is a small, dimly lit North Adelaide dining room where the lighting is low enough that nobody has to see your phone, though you won't reach for it anyway. The kitchen applies French and Spanish technique to the chef's Asian heritage, which is how udon ends up in a cacio e pepe. Expect tasting-menu-adjacent polish with a bistro's loosened collar. It's listed in the Michelin Guide and holds One Chef Hat.

Orso is a neighborhood restaurant in a Victorian building on Kensington Road, with bluestone walls and a veranda trimmed in cast-iron lacework, so you'll want to look like you meant to come. Regulars drift in and out while the room keeps things loose, and the kitchen takes the seasonal fish and the open-fire cooking far more seriously than the mood suggests. The wine list leans Australian, French, and Italian.

Osteria Oggi is an Italian restaurant on Pirie Street where you can claim a seat at the bar if you're flying solo, or take a spot at the long wooden tables in the back and let the room sort out your social life. The menu leans toward sharing, with two tasting menus for people who'd rather not decide. It holds a Michelin Guide selection and one Good Food Guide Chef Hat, and the kitchen takes feeding you personally.

The open grill is the centerpiece here, not just the cooking method, and the whole room is arranged around watching things burn in the best possible sense. Carnivore is a Mediterranean steakhouse on Port Road where premium cuts share the menu with seafood, and the wine list runs local and international. It holds an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat, which fits the polished, fire-forward room. A solid pick when someone else is expensing dinner.

French fine dining on the ninth floor of the Sofitel Adelaide, where the city spreads out below and the menu works through classic technique with locally sourced produce. The room is formal enough that you'll want to dress for it, and the wine list is the kind you actually read rather than skim. Holding an Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hat, it earns the occasion.

Velvet banquettes, golden lamplight, and the kind of live music that makes you order another glass of wine: La Louisiane is a French restaurant doing old-world Paris in the Adelaide CBD, and doing it without apology. The menu runs escargot through to crème brûlée with a ribeye in between, which is to say it knows exactly what it is. An Australian Good Food Guide One Chef Hat. Linger, obviously.

Fine dining inside a restored heritage house, with a glass atrium flooding the room in natural light. Lenzerheide sits on Belair Road in Hawthorn, a few minutes from the city, doing the kind of polished, seasonal European cooking that requires a reservation and probably your better shoes. Service is attentive without being theatrical. The Australian Good Food Guide awarded it a Chef Hat.

A fusion restaurant in the Adelaide CBD where seasonal Australian produce gets pulled toward global influences without any particular apology for it. The room has a rustic-contemporary feel that leans into sharing plates and noise, the kind of place where the table next to you orders something you immediately wish you'd noticed. The Australian Good Food Guide awarded it a Chef Hat.

A laneway Italian tucked into Exchange Place, Pinco Italo runs on the philosophy that dinner should take a while. The menu moves between comforting classics and sharper contemporary plates, all built for sharing, and the drinks list is put together with care. It's warm and unpretentious in the way that's harder to pull off than it looks, and the Australian Good Food Guide has given it a Chef Hat to prove the kitchen is keeping pace.

Dinner here is dinner and a show, in the most literal sense: chefs work a teppan grill tableside while you sit close enough to feel the heat. Samurai is a teppanyaki restaurant on King William Road, the kind of place where Wagyu lands in front of you still sizzling. The Australian Good Food Guide gave it a Chef Hat. Groups and corporate bookings fill the room, which means the energy tends toward celebration whether you planned on that or not.

Bar Torino is a casual Italian restaurant on Hutt Street, behind a black facade that looks like it has secrets and mostly just has anchovy crostini. Inside, a black-and-white mosaic floor and low, moody lighting do most of the stylish-bar work. The kitchen cooks regional Italian with Mediterranean detours, and the wood-roasted chicken is sized for two. It holds a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand.

A neighborhood French bistro on King William Road, where the posters and pendant lights have the look down so cold you half expect a waiter to sigh at you in the right accent. The menu runs the greatest hits: onion soup, duck confit, escargots, a chicken liver terrine you'll claim is for sharing. It's relaxed, not stiff, and it holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, so the bill stays friendly.

Gondola Gondola is a casual Thai and Vietnamese spot on Peel Street, where wood paneling and colorful neon do the work of a plane ticket to Southeast Asia. The menu is built for sharing, so the sensible move is bringing friends and ordering a little of everything, rather than guarding one plate like it owes you money. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and yes, there's a tiramisu made with Thai milk tea.

A tiny Mexican taqueria in Port Adelaide where the name reads less like branding and more like a warning, because the handful of seats go fast and the people in the know book ahead. The corn tortillas are made in house, and a good seat lets you watch the tortilla machine do its thing behind the counter. Chips and guacamole come first, Latin music fills the gaps, and it holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

This is a family-run Vietnamese restaurant on Glen Osmond Road where the smell of the kitchen reaches you before the door closes behind you. It's casual and reasonably priced, a Michelin Bib Gourmand holder, and the room stays full enough that a walk-in table feels like a small victory. The spring rolls are built for sharing, a rule that tends to dissolve once they arrive. There's a short local wine list, too.

Pantry on Prospect goes by POP, which is the sort of nickname you only earn when the neighborhood has adopted you. It's half deli, half casual restaurant, so you can leave with a jar of pickles whether you came for lunch or dinner. The menu leans local and seasonal, with sharing boards and Coffin Bay oysters. Dress is whatever you wore to the shops, and it carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Part Time Lover is a bistro on King William Street that runs from breakfast through late-night cocktails, so you can commit to it for an entire day without anyone checking your references. The room is warm timber inside with a sunny terrace out front, and the menu is shareable, modern Australian with Asian and Mediterranean detours. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and weekends fill up fast, so book ahead.

Parwana is a casual Afghan restaurant on Henley Beach Road where the food arrives to share and the naan does most of the work that cutlery gets blamed for. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which is the guide's polite way of saying you won't need to sell anything. Come with a crowd, order the rice and the grilled lamb, and don't worry about the fork. Nobody's grading.

Stamps is a neighborhood restaurant in a former post office, and it still takes the mail seriously, just in the form of a pie of the day. A husband-and-wife team runs the room with the kind of easy service that makes you linger over a short list of Australian wines. The specials board is long enough to cause indecision, and the warm donuts at the end settle the argument. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Sunny's Pizza is a casual pizzeria tucked into the middle of Adelaide, with booths, counter seats and tables that fill up fast enough that you'll want a reservation. The pizzas come hand-stretched and crisp, and the chicken tenders and potatoes are the sort of side orders that start quietly stealing the show. It's the Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand territory, which here means generous portions and no tablecloth anxiety.

Agapi is a neighborhood Greek restaurant on a boutique-lined stretch of King William Road, easy to spot by its black exterior. Inside, painted frescoes cover the walls, which seems fitting for a place built around dips, grilled octopus, and moussaka. The roasted lamb shoulder takes its time, so bring a group and book ahead. It's a sit-down dinner with a bottle of wine, not a quick souvlaki on your way somewhere else.

Anchovy Bandit is a casual pizza joint on Prospect Road where the menu also moonlights as a film festival, with a two-course "short film" and a four-course "Directors Cut" for people who'd rather not choose. Pies run from plain to king prawns and truffle prosciutto, there's a lobster pasta you have to order two days ahead, and the cocktails are good. It's a Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant, and the mood stays relaxed.

Chianti is a family-run Italian restaurant on Hutt Street that has been feeding Adelaide longer than most of its regulars have had opinions about pasta. The cooking sticks to regional classics and leaves the reinventing to other people, so expect rabbit pappardelle, a Tuscan half chicken, and panna cotta to finish. The Michelin Guide lists it as a Selected Restaurant, and the welcome is warm enough that nobody gets rushed.

Fugazzi is an Italian-American restaurant in central Adelaide that borrows heavily from New York, right down to the red walls, marble counters, and booths built for leaning in. The menu runs to handmade pasta, wood-grilled seafood and meat, and a tiramisu finished tableside, which turns dessert into a small stage production. It's lively and dressy enough for an occasion, and it holds a spot in the Michelin Guide as a Selected Restaurant.

Huami is a Chinese restaurant upstairs at the SkyCity casino, which is either a red flag or a plot twist, and the contemporary dining room says plot twist. The kitchen cooks regional dishes from across China, and a wood-fired duck oven sits in full view of the tables, so you can watch your dinner get ideas. Weekend dim sum comes with tea pairings. It holds a Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant listing.

Latteria is a Milanese-leaning Italian restaurant on a corner of Hutt Street, where the first order of business is an aperitivo and a snack, a porchetta bun or fried risotto, before anyone gets serious about dinner. The pasta is made in house, and the staff will steer you if you freeze. Everyone arrives well dressed, as though the negroni sbagliato came with a dress code. It's listed in the Michelin Guide as a Selected Restaurant.

The sign out front still says dry cleaner, a leftover from a previous tenant that has fooled more than a few walk-ins. Inside is a small, cozy Italian-leaning wine bar with counter seats, a scatter of bistro tables, and elbow room that's strictly theoretical, so you'll end up on a first-name basis with your neighbors. Focaccia and olive oil show up while you decide, pasta does most of the talking, and Michelin lists it as a Selected Restaurant.

This is a casual Texas-style barbecue joint in Port Adelaide, parked next to the lighthouse, which is not a sentence you expect to write about brisket. The menu stays short and meaty, with pulled pork, wings, and sides like collard greens and corn bread, all made in-house. The terrace runs year-round under heaters, so a cold South Australian evening is no excuse. The cocktails are stronger than the setting suggests.

A modern Vietnamese restaurant on Rundle Street, where the menu takes liberties and doesn't apologize for them. Pho shows up as dumplings, and dessert pours fish sauce into the butterscotch. The front terrace gets the best view of the street's nightly foot traffic, so you can eat grilled squid in chili butter while watching other people decide where to eat. It's a mid-priced, come-as-you-are sort of place with a Michelin Guide listing.

Pastel Wine Bar is a North Adelaide wine bar that took its name seriously, with pastel paintings on the walls and a room that's casual without looking like it didn't try. The menu wanders from Southeast Asia to the Mediterranean to South America, which is how a spanakopita spring roll ends up on the table. It handles a date or a loud group equally well, and it's usually busy either way.

Pearl is a casual seafood restaurant parked beside the Aldinga Beach Boat Ramp, so your lunch has a view of Gulf St Vincent and, occasionally, a trailer being reversed with great confidence. The menu sticks to South Australian waters, and the kitchen cooks it simply. Flip-flops and sunburn fit in fine. Michelin lists it as a Selected Restaurant, which is a lot of recognition for a place next to a boat ramp.

Press* Food and Wine is a stylish city restaurant near Light Square with a bistro's laid-back attitude and a bar that's doing most of the flirting. Window booths face the street, and the tables inside are intimate enough that you'll know your neighbor's order. The kitchen pairs European habits with local ingredients, so the menu can put kangaroo tartare and a mushroom pithiver in the same breath. There's a tasting menu if you'd like the chef to explain themselves.

Shōbōsho is a wood-fire izakaya on a Leigh Street block that never quite goes to sleep, all dim light, dark timber, and a long counter facing the open kitchen. Nearly everything gets a turn over the flames, including the leeks, which tells you how committed they are. There's sake to go with it and cocktails to start, and the staff are charming enough that ordering a second round feels like their idea.

Soi 38 is a Thai restaurant on Pirie Street named for a Bangkok street food strip, which is a bold move for a dining room done up almost entirely in white. Nobody here is eating off plastic stools, and the chef's years cooking in Thailand show up in regional dishes that stay faithful while allowing a little fun. It's a Michelin Guide Selected restaurant, and the curry list runs long enough to settle most arguments.

Tarantino's is a moody, candlelit restaurant on the edge of Adelaide's East End, with the dim, leather-booth atmosphere of a New York steakhouse that took a wrong turn into South Australia. Nearly every small table faces the open kitchen and its wood-fired grill, so dinner comes with a view of the fire. Expect to spend real money, especially if the lobster pasta gets involved, and to be Michelin Guide Selected.

The Kitchen is a casino-adjacent steakhouse dressed as a railway station, right down to a kitchen laid out like a train, which feels like a lot of commitment to a bit. A big charcoal grill anchors the open kitchen and handles everything from carrots to Australian beef, and the tomahawk and lamb shoulder are built for sharing. It's a Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant, so wear something nicer than your commuter clothes.

Yakisan is a dress-up-for-it Japanese-leaning restaurant on O'Connell Street, where a jade marble counter fronts an open fire and a big oven, and a DJ is working somewhere behind the private booths. There's a sky deck for people who like to be seen from above, and a back bar for the ones who prefer to be seen later. Steak is the main event, and the dinner bill will tell you it's a night out. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant.