Featuring: Apoteca, Sidewood Estate Restaurant and Cellar Door, Mum Cha…

FOR nearly 20 years the Apothecary 1878 has remained a somewhat secretive oasis in the darkest depths of Hindley Street, winning many awards for its extraordinary wine lists curated by its remarkable owner-manager Paola Coro.
While these have perhaps been the Apothecary’s defining feature and ensured its success, its cooking has also been consistently good, while gorgeous restored mahogany pharmacy cabinets, originally from London and dating from 1878 – hence the name – line the walls. Thonet chairs, solid marble tables and tumbled marble floor tiles completed what felt like a very European bar experience.
But Coro decided it was time for a change and a refresh, with a new name Apoteca and a new look, with its previously frosted front windows now inviting outsiders to peer in or sit at footpath tables. The 142-year-old pharmacy cabinets have gained new life with mirrored interiors lit by strip lights; indeed the whole place seems to have gained a lighter, brighter feel to it.
The same can be said for head chef Mirco Ruthoff’s menu. Although he continues to follow the tradition set by his talented predecessors with contemporary, wine-friendly dishes, his menu now is divided into Ante Cibum (appetisers), Vitamins, Proteins and Side Effects, with a short list of First Aid dishes at the bar.
While the larger Protein dishes include attractions such as a pork tomahawk steak with spring onion and ginger sauce, or a Cape Grim striploin with salsa verde, the savvy way to eat here is to order from the range of smaller dishes and ask for them each to be paired with 75ml or even smaller serves of wine.
With 300 or so labels in her cellar, Paola Coro enjoys any opportunity to lead her customers through a procession of tastes and flavours as you graze through a series of dishes such as kingfish ceviche with jalapeno pepper, a wedge of iceberg lettuce and a citrus dressing, wedges of roast pumpkin with Persian fetta, zhug (a herb sauce) and macadamia or Portobello mushroom with cubes of taleggio cheese and egg yolk. Basically, simple dishes, nothing too overworked, with great produce and lots of flavour.
Look for special wine tastings and dinners, such as the Dinner with Cristal 2012, and a selection of other Roederer Champagnes, held in May this year. Apoteca, 118 Hindley Street, Adelaide. Open for dinner daily. Phone (08) 8212 9099.
Many diners will have enjoyed chef Ali Seedsman’s cooking over the years, from Bathers Pavillion and Bayswater Brasseries in Sydney to the Universal Wine Bar and Penfolds Magill Estate in Adelaide, with the last seven years at the popular Walk the Talk cafe in Verdun with husband Russell “Rusty” Marchant as manager.
Now the pair have moved to rather more glamorous surroundings not so far away at the new Sidewood Estate Restaurant and Cellar Door, just outside Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. It’s a major investment by owners Owen and Cassandra Inglis, who established their wine and cider brand in 2004 and previously operated a small tasting room at Maximilian’s Restaurant in nearby Verdun.

Now on a 20ha property that’s home to the region’s oldest apple orchard, the multi-award-winning winery now produces 50,000 cases of premium wine a year. Their new cellar door seeks to cover all bases by offering everything from VIP day beds to petanque and lawn bowls and a kids’ nature playground. It looks good too, with ‘cathedral-style’ Victorian Ash timber trusses, a fine collection of Australian artwork, a huge outdoor decked area and a two-way fireplace clad in local stone.
But for many the star of the show, apart from the wines of course, will be Seedsman’s down to earth cooking. Neither a trend setter nor follower, her dishes are invariably interesting, well made and straightforward, generous and full of flavour. If only every chef could do the same.
Start with a shared plate of prosciutto with roasted peperonata, Persian feta and wood oven bread and follow it with crisply grilled chicken breast with rendered down caramelised shallots and crisp chat potatoes, or spiced barramundi with a cauliflower and star anise puree and scorched spring onions. Good vegetarian dishes include fried haloumi cheese with roast pumpkin salad, greens and orange blossom butter.
There’s also a wood-fired pizza oven in the kitchen, and again Seedsman keeps that simple with toppings ranging from a simple margherita to garlic prawns with tomato and salsa verde. Sidewood Restaurant, 6 River Road, Hahndorf. Open for lunch Mon, Wed-Sun and dinner Fri-Sat. Phone (08) 8388 1157.
It’s always a risk taking over a site that has seen not one but two failed ventures – Iberia and Jock Zonfrillo’s Italian wine bar Mallozi – but with new owners who include some of Adelaide’s most experienced hospitality people, Mum Cha has hit the ground running.
It’s a new idea, too, basically a dumpling snack shop/restaurant, rather far removed from the other ventures of its owners, which includes East End Cellars, Amalfi and Mother Vine. The key to it is Hong Kong-born chef Kwan Yi (Connie) Ying, for whom the yum cha tradition of snacks and tea (hence the cha) was part of daily life.
Benches, stools and chairs are squeezed into a tiny space and also on the footpath where the tables are overlooked by those seated along the open front window bench, witnessing the passing parade. The yum cha-style menu is brief with eight dim sum including terrific pork and cabbage pot stickers with red vinegar, crisp lamb and chive wontons with a fiery chilli oil, and pork broth-filled dumplings with aged vinegar and ginger.
While the shallot pancakes are irresistible, the best of the hot dishes is chicken rice with ginger shallot oil and chilli paste. Given the teams wine background the wine list, though tiny, is full of interest, but the food calls out for a long neck Tsingtao beer. Mum Cha, 279 Rundle St, Adelaide. Open for lunch Mon-Sat, dinner Tues-Sat. Phone (08) 8223 2210.