Adelaide’s award-wining Restaurant Orana will welcome a new venue to the fold when chef Jock Zonfrillo launches Bistro Blackwood on 20 September.
The new bistro dining venue will open following a floor-to-ceiling refit of the ground floor space below fine diner, Restaurant Orana. White marble tables, leather banquette seating and lively open kitchen will fill the area that previously housed Blackwood and Street-ADL.
Guided by restaurant manager Greta Wohlstadt and head chef Sam Christopher, staff will work across both venues, with chefs applying skills and experiences from Restaurant Orana to the dishes at Bistro Blackwood.
“It’s a space for our chefs to be creative and really participate in how a restaurant works from managing budgets to starting each day at the markets or on the phone with our organic farmers,” says Zonfrillo.
“Blackwood is unique because it fits into the ‘bistro’ pigeonhole without compromising the chefs’ creative liberty.
“We’re executing Blackwood in a way that’s meaningful which is part of the rich fabric we’re hoping to build.”
A rotating, collaborative menu that champions the restaurant’s sustainable food philosophy will offer a playful take on bistro classics. Diners can expect dishes like smoked Goolwa pippies dressed with crème fraîche and beach succulents; fire-pit chicken with cos salad; and steak tartare. A local-leaning wine list will showcase lo-fi producers, with guests also able to order off Restaurant Orana’s 400-bottled spread, curated by sommelier Brent Mayeaux.
“We’ll serve a seasonally evolving menu with daily specials drawing from the same indigenous ingredients and techniques that we bring to life at Orana,” says Zonfrillo. “It’s the same style, but more approachable and there’ll even be something for kids.”
The launch comes on the back of a stellar year for the Scottish-born chef. After leaping 17 spots to secure place 31 on AFR’s Top 100 Restaurant’s list, Restaurant Orana was crowned Australia’s Best Restaurant by Gourmet Traveller.
In July, Zonfrillo announced a partnership between The Orana Foundation — a not-for-profit venture that aims to preserve and promote indigenous food culture — and the University of Adelaide that will see a native wild foods database built alongside other initiatives to develop Australia’s native food industry.
Image: Jacqui Way