URBAN BISTRO
160 Fullarton Road
Rose Park South Australia 5067
w www.urbanbistro.com.au
e eat@urbanbistro.com.au contact only email bookings off of their web site
t +61 8 8331 2400
f +61 8 8331 2811
OPEN breakfast and lunch Tuesday to Sunday, dinner Tuesday to Saturday

FOOD Urban Bistro continues to exist without limelight, without multitudinous accolades and it seems they are happy to stay under the radar, stick to what they do well and deliver what they promise. A simple clean modern design the restaurant room has stood the test of time. Sitting on their terrace on a perfect day embellished with chatting trapeze artist parrots overhead and a view across the Victoria Park Race course back to the city Urban worked for me. It also provided a sweet memory of my grandfather, who forbidden from entering a racetrack for some minor gambling misdemeanor in his early marriage used to collect me on the pretext of taking me for a drive. He would park his Pilot at the edge of the track, and sworn to secrecy we would make pretend bets and listen to the races on his transistor radio. That flash of brilliant silk as they raced towards the winning post remains exciting.
Good service staff gravitate to good places and service and Cristian Transchout, a former Bridgewater Mill staffer was immediately in control. “ Glass of fizz? How about the 04 Chandon? ” Menus (clean ones), arrive promptly and without asking their shade was thoughtfully lowered. A thick slice of really good bread from the fantastic Eve’s Organic Bakery and room temperature butter without fridge taint added to the mellowness of the experience. The menu is interesting, as diverse as Australia with dishes with their roots in Asian and Europe and nothing listed appears obviously out of someone’s newest book or TV show.
When questioned about the menu, there were prompt and confident responses and on recommendation the Roast caramel chill pork with blue swimmer crab and pineapple sorbet $19.50 and Handmade parppadelle with chicken livers brandy and sage $28.50 and hand cut chips added out of interest. The 08 Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Moscato was recommended with the chilli pork and was so wonderful. Finely beaded, without the excessive residual sugar or the high alcohol of some Australian Moscatos, this is an Audrey Hepburn wine; lean, elegant and exquisite and with just 7% alcohol we will be looking to make it our summer apperitivo wine. As predicted by Transchout it was perfect match for the mild sweet chilli of the pork and had the strength of palate and sufficient acidity to stand its ground against the crunchy fattiness of the pork belly and the Asian based salad and just adored the pineapple sorbet. The pork was a great dish made even better with a great wine. The parppadelle with chicken livers were presented without silly garnishes and despite the chicken livers being overcooked the overall flavours especially the pasta, which was deeply infused with the sauce was utterly delicious. Cutely presented the chips were fat and tasty but no one (including me) seems able to make them as crunchy and soft centred as my Mum.
Dessert and coffee had to be missed, but on previous visits the generosity of the portions has left the Affogato as an obvious choice. Made with excellent coffee it has never disappointed. Sometimes small things matter a lot, like bread for instance. Bread from Eve’s Organics is less expensive than Bakers’ Delight. Ninety percent of similarly priced full breakfasts (around $16) we have tried in the last six months in Adelaide faltered/failed because of their awful supermarket bread. We figure even toast and anything on it at Urban Bistro would have to be better than most other Adelaide breakfasts, but we are planning to return for the Gratinated lobster Thermidor omelette $24.90 which sounds so, so yummy!

OWNERS — Bethany Finn and Spencer Cole
CHEF — Bethany Finn
RESTAURANT MANAGER — Sally Davey
WINE LIST — Sally Davey