Restaurant News

Hot Plates: Stone’s Throw, Adelaide

Norwood goes gastro with the tasting menu at Quentin Whittle's new restaurant, where Middle Eastern and Asian flavours combine.

By David Sly
Salmon sashimi with tahini yoghurt
City laneways aren't the only places in Adelaide abuzz with gastronomic good vibes - the suburbs have their surprises too. In Norwood, Quentin Whittle, late of The Stranded Store in Colonel Light Gardens, is creating excitement borrowing boldly from many cultures, stamping his dishes with generosity and distinctive flair. Salmon sashimi with tahini yoghurt sets the mood, an assertively seasoned but vivacious combination brought to life with green and red chilli, candied walnuts, onion, a big handful of chopped herbs, salmon roe and a sprinkling of sumac.
A red curry of confit duck legs in the form of a huge salad pulls together influences from Asia, the Middle East and Mediterranean: coconut milk in its northern Thai sauce is tempered by Sichuan pepper, mandarin rind, roasted apple eggplants and again big handfuls of chopped fresh herbs. Another generous salad of roasted red and golden beetroot wedges on smoked celeriac purée with orange-spiked labne, pepitas, roasted almonds, pumpkin seeds and candied pear, is reminiscent of Jordan Theodoros's vibrant food philosophy at Peel Street in Adelaide, but embraces a strikingly different set of flavours.
Confit duck red curry.
It's ideal food to share, exploring vast terrain within a $55 tasting, and for smaller parties (or more modest appetites) there's plenty of flair on the bar menu as well. Breezy service and an exciting wine list stacked with crisp Mediterranean varieties complement a delightful setting - a big open atrium at the rear of the building, ablaze with natural light.
Stone Throw's interior.
When this eatery was known as Grace The Establishment, under previous owners, it provided a significant launching pad for major cooking talents Lachlan Colwill (Hentley Farm) and Paul Baker (Botanic Gardens Restaurant). On the strength of Stone's Throw's current showing, Quentin Whittle's star may well be expected to follow the same lofty trajectory.
Stone's Throw, 127 The Parade, Norwood, SA, (08) 8333 1007, stones-throw.com.au