There don’t seem to be any hard and fast rules about what it takes to become a dining institution. Is it longevity? Consistency? Innovation and creativity? If the same venue has been dishing up the same menu for decades (satisfactory or otherwise) to its loyal diners, does it count?

I stopped Googling what it takes after quickly realising that every opinion on the topic is different. Most of those online views relate to international or interstate restaurant communities, and most articles left more uncertainty, but as an ever-evolving state that has well and truly earnt our stripes against our eastern counterparts, I say that here in SA, we get to make our own rules.

On their website, press* has claimed the mantle. The restaurant has been taken over recently by hospitality group Another Kind, who decided that their investment deserved a refurb. This turned what was the casual downstairs dining room into a more luxe space, with plastered walls and a fancy bar replacing more humble high tables and stools, while upstairs proved to be a sustainable design and they’ve kept it much as it was.

On longevity, I reckon 13 years is plenty. There are only a dozen or so reputable places around town that have lasted longer, but press* can certainly claim they have built their loyal community over that time. I have dined there regularly since the original opening, and no less than five times since the relaunch this past April. I guess I could just give it my all-round seal of approval and end this review here, but I’m sure you’d like to hear more.

When it comes to consistency, press* has always had it. I only remember good meals, whether it was a casual lunch or higher spec dinner. Their burgers were some of the best in town, and the steak even better. From business lunches to birthdays, press* was often around the top of the list. It’s still around the top of mine.

Innovation and creativity lands at the feet of the newly formed team at press*. First, is Tom Tilbury, who I first came across at Gather Food and Wine in Robe, then followed his move to Gather at Coriole (back in his home town of McLaren Vale) and then into the city where he’s landed as executive chef. He’s backed by some strong industry pros with the likes of Meira Harel (Grossi Florentino, Lake House and Town Mouse in Victoria) and James Spreadbury (ex-Noma in Denmark) both part of management across the group’s venues. At press*, Cameron Burns and Michael Rice head up the floor and bar respectively, and together this team has settled the reinvigorated eatery, ready for its next evolution.

When it comes to ingredients, there are chefs who seem to favour one thing over others, but Tilbury’s culinary arsenal is broad. A seasoned hand that can tenderly treat seafood (like tonight’s Gazander oysters served natural, with a little vinaigrette, or, that garfish with celeriac and apple and some delightful pickled celery with dollops of mustard, all swimming in a light and fragrant emulsion, devoured at my last lunch), but can just as readily whip up a batch of sweet and crispy choux au craquelin and stuff it full of silky chicken liver parfait and confidently call it an entree. The force (to order more) is strong with this one.

From ocean to land, there’s Kangaroo tartare, prepared as quite a basic assembly with diced meat lightly seasoned and leek added as a lighter addition to typical shallot. On top is a pile of crispy potato fries and cured egg yolk shaved to give a salty punch to this unique and tasty spin on tartare. Then comes the steak. This is dry-aged beef, perfectly cooked and in perfect company, with half a baked eggplant coated in a crunchy topping, so good it competes with the hero of the dish with its tender, balanced preparation and flavour.

Kangaroo tartare. Supplied image

Dry-aged steak with a delicious eggplant treatment on the side. Supplied image

Then there are the potato sides, apples of the earth that also compete for attention. First, are scooped-out skins, fried and filled with aioli, sprinkled with more of that cured yolk. Next are rosti – two uniform rectangle forms with dark and crunchy edges and a fluffy interior. These are topped with a generous squirt of green aioli and sprinkled with chives and are utterly moreish.

The press* version of rosti. Supplied image

The final ingredient that brings tables and communities and meals together, of course, is wine. Tonight, it’s been the Vasse Felix Idée Fixe Blanc de Blancs from WA, and a too-easy-to-drink Lamoresca Nerocapitano hailing from Sicily. This last one may not sound familiar but it shows this group has reached far and wide to form a list that favours drinkability and difference over the expected.

Here in Adelaide, we’ve had a bunch of places claim to be a dining institution, or supposedly earn it, be it for years of service or communities built, and I’m here to say that press* stands strong against those stalwarts and deserves to bear the title.

press*

pressfoodandwine.com.au
40 Waymouth Street, Adelaide
(08) 8211 8048

Open

Monday- Friday 12-10pm
Saturday 5:30-11pm