A Champagne cart is the spiffy scene-setter for the sleek new addition to Adelaide’s Festival Plaza, Station Road. Beverage director Mathieu Smeysters rolls between tables, accompanying Louis Roederer and rare grower Champagne with a side of storytelling – a great way to kick off a meal in Adelaide’s CBD.
When Station Road opened in late 2024, the French-inspired bistro was just what the newly developed Festival Plaza needed. Four months on it’s the place to be seen. From Wednesday to Saturday, city workers drop in for moules frites, part of a French Classics lunchtime series, dipping crisp fries in Port Lincoln mussels swimming in white wine and cream broth. Later, a crowd pops in for snacks after a show at the Festival Centre or before events at Adelaide Oval.
With capacity for 110 indoor and 140 outdoor, there’s plenty of space. Inside, bar seating overlooks the kitchen where head chef Baine Stubbs (ex Vue de Monde) and the team assemble snacks. Hand-picked mud crab arrives atop a betel leaf, wrapped around the bite-sized medley of blood lime and preserved chilli.
A slow-cooked egg, yolk separated and gently warmed in the shell, is finished with Leatherwood honey and piped smoked cream, and accompanied by a tiny spoon. The medley of Leatherwood honey and smoked cream are as balanced as the restaurant’s aesthetic; subtle, classy and comforting. Tasmanian sea urchin draped across an omelette sphere is an alluring mouthful.
Lean into larger plates that scream France (riffs on Asian flavours are less enamouring). Tender Abelsway Farm chicken breast (brined in a salt solution, poached in butter at 60 degrees) and confit leg is beautifully executed, as are the baby vegetables poached in butter, salt, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorn and shallot. Rich Southern Rock lobster cannelloni begs to be shared, as do traditional desserts by Parisian-born pastry chef Rosanna Petit (ex Van Bone) who champions Paris-Brest and rum baba heaving with cream and Planteray rum.
Smeysters co-owns Station Road with the crew behind East End Cellars and Mother Vine and his global wine reach is all over the drinks list, from Adelaide Hills’ J & S Fielke Pinot Noir to Portugal’s Henriques & Henriques Madeira Sercial.
Drinks and snacks are on until late Wednesday to Saturday. A cheese trolley with French and local Section 28 cheeses bookends the experience. A fitting fromage finale for a bistro encouraging cork pops night and day.
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