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The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide to Try in 2026
Adelaide’s dining scene has welcomed a fresh crop of restaurants, from polished new openings to relaxed neighbourhood favourites. These are the tables on our radar.
Adelaide’s newest restaurants are proof the city’s dining scene keeps getting better. This guide rounds up the best new openings across the city and beyond for 2026, from polished dining rooms built for celebrations and date nights to easy lunchtime spots for a catch-up.
Think bold flavours, clever drinks and the kind of wine lists you’d expect from South Australia, plus a few spaces so good you’ll want to linger. Ready to find your new go-to? Here’s where to start your search.
In This Guide
- The Best New Restaurants in the Adelaide CBD
- The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide’s Western Suburbs
- The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide’s Eastern Suburbs
- The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide’s Northern Suburbs
- The Best New Restaurants in the Adelaide Hills
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Best New Restaurants in Adelaide:
The Best New Restaurants in the Adelaide CBD
Barro
Barro is the CBD debut from husband-and-wife duo Alejandro Huerta and Galia Valadez, and the credentials alone are worth paying attention to. Alejandro has cooked at Pujol, Noma and Alinea, three of the most acclaimed restaurants on the planet, yet Barro is a deliberate departure from that world. This is a small room with a big heart and a Mexican soul, a wine bar where catch-ups turn into long nights and nobody rushes the bill.
The menu goes well beyond tacos, with traditional dishes like mole and consomme sitting alongside thoughtfully incorporated South Australian produce. Galia’s pastry background shapes a dessert menu that gives Mexican sweets the serious attention they deserve, while the drinks list is led by award-winning bartender Eduardo Conde, whose cocktail program explores the full breadth of Mexican spirits, poured to be shared and savoured. Not quite traditional, not quite expected, Barro is one of Adelaide’s most exciting openings of the year.
Suburb: Adelaide West End
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Mexican
Best For: Date night, special occasion, cocktail lovers
Le Mistral
Rundle Street has taken on a distinctly French accent with the arrival of Le Mistral, a wine bar and bistro from Matthieu Mioche and Christopher Richards built around long lunches, unhurried dinners and the kind of hospitality that makes you forget the time.
Every meal opens with a complimentary amuse-bouche before settling into bistro staples done with real conviction: bechamel-baked scallops, beef tartare, a croque monsieur with a cheese pull worth the photo, a French onion soup with genuine depth. Come midday, the $35 steak frites is reason enough to linger. Pastry Chef Camille Dalla Favera, born into generations of French boulangeries, handles dessert, while Christopher has poured his own touch into six signature cocktails. Olive greens and sunshine yellows set the scene, and the name, borrowed from the wind that rolls through Provence, says it all.
Suburb: Rundle Street, Adelaide
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: French
Best For: Long lunch, date night, wine lovers
Italian Street Kitchen
Italian Street Kitchen has its first South Australian home in the CBD, and it has something to say. The space is warm and relaxed, built for long lunches and slower evenings, with a drinks list that weaves SA favourites alongside Italian classics. The menu plays Italian tradition against Australian creativity in genuinely clever ways, with house-made pasta and wood-fired pizza joined by limited-run specials that lean adventurous. Think truffle tiramisu and truffle lasagne.
This is Blue Coral Concepts’ first South Australian venue, but the group also operates Ribs & Burgers and Five Guys nationally, and Managing Director Gareth Howard has made no secret of his appetite for Adelaide. Something tells us this is just the beginning.
Suburb: Adelaide CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Italian
Best For: Long lunch, group dining, wine lovers, weekend plans
Okatsu
Okatsu brings a quietly elevated take on Japanese comfort dining to King William Street, with katsu at the heart of the menu. The hero is the premium pork loin tonkatsu — tender, juicy, and coated in a crisp house-made panko crumb — alongside chicken and king prawn variations, plus a cheese-filled pork katsu with molten mozzarella at its centre for the ultimate crispy-outside, melty-inside moment.
Beyond the katsu, the menu leans into comforting Japanese staples with honey butter corn ribs, fried kimchi gyoza, curry don, salmon don, and warming noodle bowls designed for easy, everyday dining. Inside, soft lighting, natural timber, and muted olive tones give the CBD spot a calm, design-led feel that makes slowing down over dinner feel effortless.
Suburb: Adelaide CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Quick bite, solo dining, date night, weekend plans
Angry Penguin
Angry Penguin is the Adelaide Festival Centre’s destination restaurant, fusing South Australia’s rebellious creative legacy with refined European dining. Executive Chef Alex Katsman leads the kitchen, crafting a seasonal menu that celebrates local produce through refined techniques. Guests can expect modern Australian dishes with nostalgic nods to the 1920s and 70s, featuring highlights like Coffin Bay oysters with gin sorbet and chargrilled Coonawarra eye fillet.
The space is a living gallery, named after the 1940s Angry Penguins modernist movement. Designed by Studio Nine Architects, the interiors draw inspiration from Sidney Nolan’s 1973 portrait of the fictitious poet Ern Malley, which takes centre stage on loan from the Art Gallery of South Australia. Bespoke blue leather “Festival Chairs” by local artisans Andrew Carvolth and Jon Goulder further anchor the restaurant in Adelaide’s design history. Whether for morning pastries, a long lunch, or a sophisticated pre-show dinner, Angry Penguin offers a front-row seat to the Karrawirra Pari/River Torrens.
Suburb: Adelaide CBD
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Best For: Special occasion, date night, business lunch, group dining
The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide’s Western Suburbs
Jasmine’s
The former HNLY site has been reimagined as Jasmine’s, a 130-seat modern Mediterranean and Italian restaurant bringing a little more polish to the Henley Beach dining scene. From the Chahoud Group, with Melbourne chef Jimmy Garside of Julietta and Mamasita behind the menu, it’s a place for wood-fired plates, handmade pasta, thick-crust pizza and a cocktail or two on the wraparound deck.
Begin with small plates of wood-fired flatbread, burrata and tuna crudo, then turn to the fire for grilled prawns with nduja butter and lemon, char-grilled steak with baharat and cipollini onions, or pork tomahawk with agrodolce and cavolo nero. There’s a generous pasta offering, too, including wagyu beef and ox cheek ragu, roast chicken moghrabieh and cacio e pepe. The thick-crust pizzas are equally tempting, with calabrese, prawn and mortadella, pistachio and white sauce among the options, and every pizza is available to take away.
Upstairs, the setting is warm and polished, with timber panelling, marble tables and long banquettes opening onto a wraparound deck overlooking the coast. Settle in with a Jasmine’s Negroni or Ibisco Limoncello spritz, then leave room for the chocolate mousse, which arrives from a roving dessert trolley for a suitably theatrical finish.
Suburb: Henley Beach
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Italian
Best For: Waterfront, long lunch, cocktail lovers, outdoor dining
Need To Know: Bookings recommended, walk-ins welcome. Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday and lunch Friday to Sunday.
The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide’s Eastern Suburbs
New Shanghai
There’s a new reason to make a dumpling date at Burnside Village, with New Shanghai bringing its Shanghainese favourites to Glenside. The Australian family-owned restaurant, which has been serving its signature xiao long bao for more than three decades, has opened its biggest Adelaide venue yet, with handmade dumplings, buns, dim sum, noodles and Shanghai-style classics on the menu.
The real draw is the dumpling theatre, where chefs hand-fold xiao long bao and buns behind glass as you dine. The 304-seat space takes its cues from 1930s Shanghai, with rich red and green tones, brass details and a Shanghai skyline woven through the interiors. Settle in for a long lunch on the terrace, stop by The Bund for a Shanghai gin cocktail or book one of three private dining rooms for a group feast. On weekends, there’s Shanghai-style yum cha, too.
Suburb: Glenside
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Chinese
Best For: Group dining, long lunch, outdoor dining, cocktail lovers, weekend plans
The Best New Restaurants in Adelaide’s Northern Suburbs
Picoso Mexican Bar y Cocina
Prospect has a new spot for margaritas and contemporary Mexican fare, with Picoso Mexican Bar y Cocina on Prospect Road. The menu heroes bold, modern Mexican shared plates — think ceviche blanco, fish tacos and aged mole poblano with braised short rib — from a kitchen led by Chef Oliver Luxton, who’s done time at some seriously respected addresses across London, New Zealand and Australia. Meanwhile, the playful pink fit-out and alfresco dining area set the scene for long, margarita-filled catch-ups. And Picoso isn’t stopping at Prospect, with the team flagging plans for a second Adelaide location at Riverlea Park.
Suburb: Prospect
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Mexican
Best For: Group dining, cocktail lovers, outdoor dining, date night, weekend plans
Pantry on Prospect
Think you’ve seen everything Prospect has to offer? Think again. Pantry on Prospect (PoP), from Adelaide culinary duo Themis Chryssidis and Callum Hann, is part pantry, part neighbourhood restaurant and a celebration of South Australian flavour from shelf to plate.
The pantry is the star – over 200 items to browse and buy, from The Lost Loaf sourdough and local cheeses, to cured meats, spices, condiments, sweets, and house-made pastries. Then there’s the restaurant: breakfast Friday to Sunday, lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday, all built around those same pantry ingredients. No fixed cuisine, just dishes that showcase the producers behind every bite.
Suburb: Prospect
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Best For: Breakfast, brunch, quick bite, locals
Need To Know: Breakfast Friday to Sunday, lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday.
The Best New Restaurants in the Adelaide Hills
Restaurant Aptos
Adelaide’s most anticipated dining experience, Restaurant Aptos has transformed a 158-year-old church in Stirling into an immersive, multi-level culinary world from Chef Justin James and designers Williams Burton Leopardi.
Following his acclaim at Restaurant Botanic, Justin has created something less formal and more cinematic: a three-hour, three-floor journey for just 14 guests at a time. Think Scandinavian restraint meets Japanese elegance, layered with mood, texture and theatre. A 16-course tasting menu unfolds slowly, with lounge-style seating, curated soundscapes, and an experience designed to be felt as much as tasted.
The same historic site is also home to new bars, Bar Cruz, a lively, come-as-you-are dining and cocktail space, and Bar Mary, an upstairs whisky den made for lingering late.
Suburb: Stirling
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Best For: Special occasion, date night, weekend plans
Need To Know: Bookings essential.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Best New Restaurants in Adelaide
Beyond the CBD, several suburbs have welcomed notable openings. Prospect Road in Adelaide’s north is home to Picoso Mexican Bar y Cocina, serving modern Mexican shared plates, and Pantry on Prospect, a pantry and neighbourhood restaurant from Themis Chryssidis and Callum Hann. To the east, New Shanghai has opened its biggest Adelaide venue at Burnside Village in Glenside, complete with a glass-fronted Dumpling Theatre and open-air terrace. On the coast, Jasmine’s brings Italian dining to Henley Beach, while in the Adelaide Hills, Restaurant Aptos offers a 16-course tasting menu in a converted church in Stirling.
The best new restaurants in Adelaide include Barro, a Mexican wine bar in the CBD from Alejandro Huerta and Galia Valadez, and Le Mistral, a French bistro on Rundle Street. Angry Penguin at the Adelaide Festival Centre brings modern Australian dining with views of the Karrawirra Pari/River Torrens, while Jasmine’s has reimagined the former HNLY site at Henley Beach as a 130-seat Italian restaurant. In the Adelaide Hills, Restaurant Aptos serves a 16-course tasting menu inside a converted 158-year-old church in Stirling, and Prospect Road has welcomed both Picoso and Pantry on Prospect.
The Adelaide CBD has welcomed several notable openings. Barro is a small Mexican wine bar with a cocktail program led by bartender Eduardo Conde, while Le Mistral brings French bistro dining and a $35 lunchtime steak frites to Rundle Street. Italian Street Kitchen has opened its first South Australian venue, serving house-made pasta and wood-fired pizza, and Okatsu specialises in Japanese katsu on King William Street. Angry Penguin, the Adelaide Festival Centre’s destination restaurant, completes the CBD’s new arrivals with a modern Australian menu from Executive Chef Alex Katsman.
Jasmine’s is the standout new beachside restaurant in Adelaide, occupying the former HNLY site at Henley Beach. From the Chahoud Group, with Melbourne chef Jimmy Garside of Julietta and Mamasita behind the menu, it serves wood-fired plates, handmade pasta and thick-crust pizza, with every pizza available to take away. Upstairs, a wraparound deck overlooks the coast, making it a strong choice for a Jasmine’s Negroni or Ibisco Limoncello spritz. Jasmine’s opens for dinner Tuesday to Sunday and lunch Friday to Sunday, with bookings recommended and walk-ins welcome.
For a special occasion, Restaurant Aptos in Stirling is the most ambitious new opening near Adelaide. Chef Justin James, previously acclaimed at Restaurant Botanic, leads a three-hour, three-floor journey for just 14 guests at a time inside a 158-year-old church, built around a 16-course tasting menu. Bookings are essential. Closer to the city, Angry Penguin at the Adelaide Festival Centre suits celebrations and pre-show dinners, with dishes like Coffin Bay oysters with gin sorbet and chargrilled Coonawarra eye fillet served in a dining room centred on Sidney Nolan’s 1973 portrait of Ern Malley.
Booking policies vary across Adelaide’s new restaurants. Restaurant Aptos in Stirling requires bookings, as its tasting menu seats just 14 guests at a time, so reserving well ahead is the safest approach. Jasmine’s at Henley Beach recommends bookings but also welcomes walk-ins, which suits beach days that turn into an unplanned lunch or dinner. For CBD openings such as Barro, Le Mistral and Okatsu, check each venue’s website or social channels before heading out, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, as demand for new restaurants tends to run high in the first months after opening.
Loving our roundup of the best new restaurants in Adelaide to try in 2026 and itching for more foodie inspo? Continue to discover the most delicious meals in Adelaide with the best Italian and French in town.
