Jonathan VDK
REVIEW
GT 2022 SA Restaurant of the Year
Clam jam? Well, yes please. It’s like a sweet fermented chilli paste. But it’s complicated. Complex. It comes with a duck fat scone. The Country Women’s Association would be shocked, but it’s perfectly salty and crunchy and sits next to a plump lemon-myrtle marron, which in turn sits next to a marron shell stuffed with native herbs grown in Adelaide’s tranquil Botanic Gardens. The lake outside ripples, ducks waddle, and on request a ridiculously large truffle is showcased, not long after its shavings have been delivered. The restaurant here has always been perfectly situated, and has now been injected with wild new life. A new fitout: sage and cream, pendant lighting and wraparound windows into nature. A new chef and a new menu that would be jarring in its surprises if everything didn’t work perfectly. Which it does. The sommelier waxes lyrical about very small-batch wines that frame the food perfectly. A cooking fire blazes in the corner, while an extraordinary palate cleanser of Davidson plum leather wrapped around sorbet with a sprinkle of lemon myrtle does its job with forensic precision. There’s no menu given, just a well-scripted delivery of surprising juxtapositions, sure to thrill.
ABOUT
Restaurant Botanic
Plane Tree Dr, Adelaide, SA
(08) 8223 3526
Chef Justin James
Price guide $$$$
Bookings Recommended
Wheelchair access Yes
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2022
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot of the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 80.
