Australia — European Dining Guide

Best Restaurants in Adelaide

South Australia's wine capital. Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant at the 1844 historic vineyard, Africola's Duncan Welgemoed, the densest Barossa-Coonawarra-Adelaide-Hills cellar concentration in Australia, and the country's most comprehensive Shiraz larder.

30+Restaurants Targeted
5Editorial Picks Live
7Occasions Covered

The Adelaide List

Five editorial picks, ranked by the only filter that matters: why you are dining.

$ Under A$50   $$ A$50 to 100   $$$ A$100 to 200   $$$$ A$200+
Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant — Adelaide
1
Impress Clients
Adelaide — Modern South Australian

Penfolds Magill

Modern South Australian $$$$

The 1844 Penfolds historic-vineyard fine-dining anchor. Scott Huggins's two-hatted Magill Estate kitchen with the deepest Penfolds-Grange cellar in any restaurant.

Africola — Adelaide
2
First Date
Adelaide — Modern South African Mediterranean

Africola

Modern South African Mediterranean $$$

Duncan Welgemoed's South African-Mediterranean kitchen. Adelaide's most distinctive contemporary chef-driven dining and the city's most reliable serious-but-relaxed evening.

Restaurant Botanic — Adelaide
3
Proposal
Adelaide — Modern South Australian

Restaurant Botanic

Modern South Australian $$$$

Adelaide Botanic Garden's three-hatted gastronomic flagship. Chef Justin James's contemporary South-Australian tasting kitchen and the city's most internationally recognised dining room.

Sean's Kitchen — Adelaide
4
Close a Deal
Adelaide — Modern American Brasserie

Sean's Kitchen

Modern American Brasserie $$$

Sean Connolly's modern-American brasserie at Skycity Adelaide. The city's most reliable steakhouse-and-cocktail programme and the most polished hotel-fine-dining experience.

Shōbōsho — Adelaide
5
First Date
Adelaide — Japanese Yakitori Omakase

Shōbōsho

Japanese Yakitori Omakase $$$

Adam Liston's chef-driven yakitori-omakase kitchen. Adelaide's most distinctive Japanese contemporary dining and the city's most reliable wood-fired Japanese programme.

Best for First Date in Adelaide

Intimate, conversation-friendly rooms. Impressive without being intimidating. The tables where first impressions are made.

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Best for Business Dinner in Adelaide

Power tables, private rooms, considered wine lists. Where the deal gets done.

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The Top Five in Adelaide

Ranked against a single question: if you had one night in Adelaide, where would you go?

1

Penfolds Magill

Modern South Australian $$$$ Two Hats to Australian Good Food Guide

The 1844 Penfolds historic-vineyard fine-dining anchor. Scott Huggins's two-hatted Magill Estate kitchen with the deepest Penfolds-Grange cellar in any restaurant.

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2

Africola

Modern South African Mediterranean $$$ Adelaide chef-driven institution

Duncan Welgemoed's South African-Mediterranean kitchen. Adelaide's most distinctive contemporary chef-driven dining and the city's most reliable serious-but-relaxed evening.

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3

Restaurant Botanic

Modern South Australian $$$$ Three Hats to Australian Good Food Guide

Adelaide Botanic Garden's three-hatted gastronomic flagship. Chef Justin James's contemporary South-Australian tasting kitchen and the city's most internationally recognised dining room.

View →
4

Sean's Kitchen

Modern American Brasserie $$$ Sean Connolly Skycity Adelaide flagship

Sean Connolly's modern-American brasserie at Skycity Adelaide. The city's most reliable steakhouse-and-cocktail programme and the most polished hotel-fine-dining experience.

View →
5

Shōbōsho

Japanese Yakitori Omakase $$$ Adelaide Japanese yakitori institution

Adam Liston's chef-driven yakitori-omakase kitchen. Adelaide's most distinctive Japanese contemporary dining and the city's most reliable wood-fired Japanese programme.

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The Adelaide Dining Guide

Adelaide sits on the southern coast of Australia at the centre of the country's most concentrated wine-region cluster. The Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and Coonawarra all sit within a 90-minute drive of the Adelaide CBD. The city holds about 1.4 million residents and is the cultural capital of South Australia, with a serious Adelaide Festival cultural programme each March, a string of historic colonial buildings in the CBD, and the country's most comprehensive Shiraz-and-Cabernet cellar concentration.

The dining is correspondingly serious. Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant. At the 1844 historic Penfolds vineyard in the city's eastern foothills. Is the institutional anchor. Africola. Owned by South African-born chef Duncan Welgemoed. Runs the most distinctive contemporary chef-driven kitchen. Restaurant Botanic at the Adelaide Botanic Garden runs the canonical contemporary fine-dining experience. Sean's Kitchen runs the most polished modern-bistro programme. Shōbōsho runs the city's most reliable Japanese yakitori-and-omakase kitchen.

Neighbourhoods

The Adelaide CBD. Running between North Terrace and Wakefield Street. Holds the village hotels, the Adelaide Festival venues, and most fine dining. The Magill Estate quarter (the 1844 Penfolds vineyard, fifteen minutes east of the CBD) holds Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant. The Adelaide Botanic Garden quarter east of the CBD holds Restaurant Botanic. The North Adelaide and Norwood neighbourhoods hold the residential dining cluster.

Reservations & Practical Notes

Penfolds Magill, Restaurant Botanic and Africola must be booked four to six weeks ahead in peak (Adelaide Festival, March; Australian summer, December to February); two to three weeks shoulder. Most CBD brasseries take walk-ins early but reserve aggressively after 21:00. Dress is Adelaide-relaxed. Linen rather than tailored, sandals are acceptable everywhere. Tipping is not standard in Australia; round up 5 to 10 per cent for exceptional service.

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