25 May 2009
Nigel Hopkins
Clarion Hotel Soho, 264 Flinders Street, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
+61 8 8412 5666.
There’s a fair bit about Decant and its Clarion Hotel Soho host that is impressively smart and savvy, from the slick feature lighting to the Kartell chairs and Italian Aribiscato marble bar, not to mention the Missoni linen and fashionable electrical gadgetry in the rooms upstairs. Chef Jonathan Kemble has cut his teeth cooking similarly fashionable but straightforward, flavoursome food at places such as Star of Greece on the southern coast. At Decant, he’s using his local knowledge to run a locavore-focused menu, with all main ingredients sourced within 100km. In Adelaide that’s not such a difficult chore and it enforces a strictly seasonal menu – you won’t find mango or pineapple here. But you will find venison from the Adelaide Hills as a carpaccio with cranberry sorbet, beetroot chips and dark chocolate sauce; or Spencer Gulf bug thermidor (similar looking to the Moreton Bay variety); and Hay Valley lamb rack. The place is tiny – just 22 seats – so booking is essential. The wine list is small, well-priced and interesting.
Open: breakfast daily, lunch Tue-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat. Licensed. Mains $24-$33.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way June 2009