The area around the Cathedral is called "The City" and it's a bit like Wall Street in New York - full of bankers and financial institutions. But there's also a fancy shopping centre there called One New Change. I spent a bit of time in that shopping centre - not for commercial reasons, but for culinary ones. Because inside this modern, glass building you'll find Barbecoa, one of the restaurants in Jamie Oliver's ever-growing empire. The number of cocktails and heaped plates of BBQ I devoured there are lost to history, but I will never forget our work Christmas lunch in 2010 when, quite by chance, Jamie Oliver came into the restaurant and was gracious enough to have a photo with us. I was never lucky enough to meet Jamie again, either at the restaurant or at his Recipease place in Clapham, the restaurant/school/retail store around the corner from where I was living for a time. But suffice it to say that my admiration for Jamie, his cooking style, and his approach to food, continues.
The restaurant has also breathed life back into a gorgeous piece of Adelaide's architectural history. The Art Deco-style building was designed in 1938 and housed a number of banks over the years. It has now been heritage-listed, and Jamie's developers have obviously been very sympathetic to that. The opulent marble flooring and imposing columns are all still there, but downstairs the bank vaults have been converted into the toilets (authentic, porcelain "Crappers" too - check out the photos below!).
My parents and I had lunch at Jamie's at 2.30pm, which is pretty late in the day, but it was the earliest we could get in. And that's on a Monday, which says quite a lot about how positively Adelaide diners have responded to Jamie's latest venture.
In spite of the hour, our stomach grumbles were totally worth it. The menu reflects the breadth of Italian cuisine - meats, fish, vegetables, cheeses, and tasting plates/boards too. How was I expected to narrow it all down? So we didn't - we just ate a bit of everything. In addition to the amazing pasta, you definitely need to try the polenta chips, the risotto balls (arancini) and the tutti frutti lemon meringue pie...so good! But of course, you also need to do as we did and wash it down with local South Australian ciders and wines - a total treat!
As we were leaving today, a small crowd had already gathered on the footpath outside to come in for the start of the dinner rush. I got the sense it was going to be another busy evening for the cheerful, charming staff. The phrase "laughing all the way to the bank" also sprang to mind, but that seems totally appropriate, given the restaurant's previous tenants. This new restaurant is a great addition to Jamie's food family, and a real coup for the city.
