RESTAURATEUR Simon Kardachi built his considerable Adelaide empire (Press Food & Wine, Melt, Shobosho, Osteria Oggi, SeaSalt to name some of it) on his first restaurant, the Melting Pot, a tiny but characterful suburban eatery that attracted a succession of highly successful chefs.
But after 20 years and a couple of attempts at a revival, the magic had faded. But in typical fashion, Kardachi waved his magic wand, gave the restaurant a whole new identity and focus, and renamed it Nido (“nest” in Italian) with last year’s Australian young Chef of the Year Max Sharrad in charge of the stoves.
Rarely has a new restaurant in Adelaide hit the ground running quite as fast as Nido, seemingly an instant success from day one. Sharrad has drawn on his family’s northern Friuli Venezia Giulia background to create a neighbourhood bistro and aperitivo bar featuring artisanal cured meats and salumi, bar snacks and larger plates featuring hand-made pastas and grilled meats.
His menu includes brilliantly tweaked Italian classics such as rootello bonito, a take on vitello tonnato made to order with freshly chopped kangaroo, bonito flakes in kewpie mayonnaise and shaved, cured egg yolk, or squid ink cavotelli poached in “crazy water” with local pippis and Coorong mulloway.
There’s no better way to start a meal at Nido than a plate of whipped Kangaroo Island ricotta with local honey mopped up with puffy, deep-fried gnocco fritto – and to end it with a crunchy sfoglietelle with a tiramisu filling. Nido, 160 King William Rd, Hyde Park. Open for breakfast Sunday, lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday; phone (08) 8373 2044.
In another move away from fine dining to a more approachable and popular style of dining, chef Emma McCaskill has made a seamless transition from fine dining (Sat Bains in the UK, Narisawa in Tokyo, Magill Estate, Tetsuya’s, Ezard) to brew-pub menu at Sparkke at the Whitmore, working with head brewer Agi Gajic to create innovative dishes using original brews direct from the onsite 800L 2-vessel nano-brewery.
Sparkke is the new identity of the formerly very run down, 180-year-old Whitmore Hotel, which has been gutted and reshaped at a cost of $1.8 million to give it a highly contemporary identity under its all-female ownership and management. McCaskill, who has carved out a global career in sustainable and seasonal fine dining, is sourcing fresh and local produce, supporting independent farmers and working towards a minimal waste, socially aware kitchen.
Sparkke’s menu is as innovative as its surroundings, starting with featherlight grilled roti and dahl butter, followed by small dishes such as pork and ginger dumplings in a chicken bone broth with fresh coriander. Larger dishes include drunken chicken, poached in chicken broth and ginger beer then deep fried, served on chilli sauce with chunky cucumber and watermelon radish salad and ginger beer vinaigrette. Hardly your everyday pub tucker.
McCaskill’s Indian family heritage shows in dishes such as sweet and sour baby squid given an Indian twist with tomato chutney and preserved lemon, or prawns in a creamy, smoky brinjal.
Those seeking more traditional pub tucker will enjoy treats such as a chuck steak cheeseburger. There’s a good wine list (and an excellent in-house bottle shop), but it’s hard to resist that brewery and its excellent beers. Sparkke at the Whitmore, 317 Morphett St, Adelaide. Open for lunch and dinner daily; phone (08) 7123 0808.
A place must have something going for it when it’s hidden in the back blocks of the Adelaide Hills, 25 minutes by car from the city, yet still attracts a weekend crowd of hundreds.
It helps that Lot 100, set on an 84ha property, is also the location of a $4.5 million production facility and cellar door for a collaborative group that includes a winery, brewery, cider maker and distiller, so there’s plenty to drink. But the kitchen, fronting a vast, barn-like dining room and terrace, has pizza master Tom Bugner (ex Pizza e Mozzarella) in charge of the wood oven and ex-Orana head chef Shannon Fleming at the stoves, and that’s almost as big an attraction.
The Italian-influenced menu could have you start with blistered, grilled Port Lincoln sardines on an intense, slightly smoky tomato sauce, perhaps raw kingfish with wild fennel, roasted cherries and rocket oil, or maybe an antipasti plate featuring the best locally made cheeses and salumi. Look for daily specials like rotisserie-cooked baby chicken, rolled and rotisserie-roasted pork belly, finished in the wood oven to crisp up the skin, stuffed with herbs on a pile of cavolo nero with romesco sauce, though the tempting baked gnocchi with melted fontina cheese is winter comfort food personified.
If you can draw your attention away from the 40 or so taps at the bar, there’s also the opportunity to check Sascha La Forgia’s newest offerings at Adelaide Hills Distillery, including his native grain whiskey, with wattleseed a feature in the mash, and his apple brandy, an Australian version of Calvados. Lot 100, Chambers Rd, Hay Valley. Open for lunch Thursday to Sunday; phone (08) 7077 2888.