Festival of Food
Modern Australian
Dinner Review
As I eat my way through the list of fantastic restaurants participating in the Festival of Food and with a cultural culinary crusade through South East Asia under a week away, I thought it was only fitting to engorge myself on some home grown game meat. What better place to do so than my favourite Modern Australian restaurant the iconic Red Ochre. This visit marked my 4th consecutive year tasting their fare for the Festival of Food. Tucked away from the tree lined War Memorial Drive and picturesquely situated on the River Torrens, Red Ochre offers an upstairs dining experience overlooking glistening Adelaide city reflections.
It was to be a family affair for this meal as I know that my parents share my views on Australiana style cuisine. With a bottle of Two Hands 2006 Bella’s Garden wine under my arm, we climbed the stairway and entered our domain. We were greeted by our lovely auburn haired waitress for the evening and asked for our booking details. Unfortunately my week old booking had been misplaced or misspelt, but thankfully they accommodated us and lead us to our table close to the window with breathtaking panoramic skyline scenery.
We were promptly informed of the $20 corkage fee for the wine, as I acknowledged and politely asked for it to be decanted. The waitress actioned my request without hesitation, but unfortunately poured the wine straight away, without letting the stunning six year old Barossa Shiraz breathe properly. This was a missed opportunity to upsell on a menu item such as a palate cleansing ale.
Service was swift and after a five minute browse of the mains, we were asked if we were ready to order. We made the following selections:
Mum: Gawler River prosciutto wrapped chicken, soft herb stuffing, confit leg, sweet potato, toasted cashews, baby spinach, salsa verde, cranberry and native apple pickle.
Dad: North Queensland Fortune Bay barramundi with creamed cauliflower, shelled peas and sweet corn, soft herbs, tea soaked raisins and desert lime chermoula.
Myself: Orroroo kangaroo fillet char grilled with a ragu of du Puy lentils, spiced carrot and drunken pear, orange blossom water and cardamom sauce (recommended medium-rare).
Side Dishes: Truffle mash, with black truffle salsa. Portobello mushrooms, sautéed with garlic butter & crispy shallots.
We were greeted by our first course tasting plate which consisted of Queensland blue pumpkin soup with aniseed myrtle coconut cream, Woodside goats curd noisette with liquid beetroot and a crocodile fish cake with Vietnamese lemon myrtle pickle. The pumpkin soup had perfect thickness which was lightened by the aniseed myrtle coconut foam. The goats curd noisette had a crisp crumb with a silky inner filling on a sweet, yet perfectly rounded beetroot base, while the crocodile fish cake was fried to perfection, ensuring not to dry out the challenging texture of crocodile, complemented perfectly by the subtly sour pickle.
As people started filtering into the restaurant, the service started to fizzle a tad and we sat in conversation for around 15 minutes with dirty dishes lingering under our noses. The restaurant staff seemed to not have a designated zone, but rather be tending to tables as required. This certainly didn’t detract from their friendly interaction or willingness to attend to our needs, but it did seem to cause some unnecessary chaos, as I noticed other patrons with looks of bewilderment on their faces as they lingered patiently.
As our mains arrived, my level of anticipation skyrocketed. Red Ochre is the only restaurant I have confidence in to cook my kangaroo perfectly (apart from myself of course). As it was placed down in-front of me, there was an instantaneous reaction that lit me up like a Christmas tree in a child like fascination at the reliability of their chef and kitchen staff in cooking this ultra-lean marsupial to absolute perfection. The lentils were soft with mild sweetness from the orange blossom water and cardamom sauce which complimented its smeared carrot companion in a married flavour sensation.
Mums’ prosciutto wrapped chicken dish was succulent and presented elegantly which splashes of colour across the plate. There was clear definition between the various components to ensure their individuality and complexity were kept separate. Dads’ barramundi had a crisp, browned skin with moist flesh laid out on a well manicured bed of creamed cauliflower. The truffle mash was velvety with the luxuriant linger you would expect from the fungal gold of the earth. Unfortunately the only thing that let down our mains was the delayed service of the Portobello mushrooms which arrived just as I closed my knife and fork to signify the end of my meal. Luckily they looked so scrumptious that I could not resist.
Feeling overwhelmed by the quality our mains, I was somewhat put out when the miniscule quandong and macadamia rocky road arrived (I had flashbacks to a previous review at their sister restaurant Panacea where we were served finger sized churros). It was a little slapdash and required something a bit more substantial. On the other side of the coin, we were offered other desserts from their menu at a discounted Festival of Food rate which countered the lack of sugary provisions.
Overall, Red Ochre remains my favourite modern Australian restaurant in Adelaide. They are consistent in their preparation and presentation of quality game meats. With only a few minor service glitches the staff were prepared to go the extra mile and always offer an inviting and appreciative smile.
Dinner Monday – Thursday $32.50
Dinner Friday $35.00
*Bookings and brochure essential. Quote ‘Festival of Food’ when booking
**Full menu options also available
Where: War Memorial Drive Adelaide 5000
Trading: Mon – Sat 6:00pm – late
Website: redochre.com.au
Contact: (08) 8211 8555
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
