Restaurant Botanic

Botanic Gardens Restaurant had long been one of Adelaide’s best dining experiences. But as of 2021, the dated interior of the former tearoom was in desperate need of a revamp. After a month-long closure, the renamed Restaurant Botanic reopened with a new open kitchen and hearth; a curved chef's table with 12 seats watching the action; a 650-bottle wine cellar; and a refreshed dining room.

Also in 2021, Jamie Musgrave joined the team. Now, he’s executive chef – responsible for maintaining the restaurant’s upwards trajectory. Considering Musgrave is following in the footsteps of former exec chef Justin James, one might say the work is cut out for him. (James and his technical cooking garnered Restaurant Botanic national and international recognition, placing it on the influential World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.) But when you consider Musgrave’s pedigree – Rockpool Bar & Grill, native pop-up Fervor and fine diner Vasse Felix – one gets the feeling that the reputation of Restaurant Botanic is in safe hands.

Musgrave’s over-20 tasting menu builds on James’ world-class dining experience. Dishes make use of the garden’s bounty – from bunya and bush tomato to warrigal greens and wattleseed – as well as premium produce from suppliers around the state. His vision is on display in the crocodile-fat tortilla, enriched with croc lard and topped with squid tentacles and saltbush. And a very Aussie high- lowbrow scented emu bush scroll.

Try the Victorian emu flat fillet smoked in paperbark, warrigal greens and karkalla and emu liver made into a paste, completed with a sauce made from fermented onions and preserved truffle. Or, there’s the Sea urchin, bush tomato, desert lime and wattleseed, with sea urchin tongues marinated in bluefin tuna garum. Finish sweet and smoky with the warm paperbark mousse, on strawberry gum jelly and macadamia cake.

Ferments factor heavily in the “temperance menu” – a selection of non-alcoholic drinks including kombucha, infused juices, garden blend teas, mocktails and more. If it’s booze you’re after, there’s an extensive list of new- and old-world wines. Cocktails might include a koji Old-Fashioned, wattleseed Espresso Martini and a Chef’s Negroni with mezcal, whisky and Campari.

The design concept takes inspiration from the surrounds with tones of green and brown and natural elements such as timber, marble, leather and stone (cutlery rests by local furniture maker Peter Fong are made from reclaimed timber). There’s also a ceiling installation of foliage from the garden that changes seasonally.