I can usually tell how good a restaurant is by how busy it is. I’ve walked past Daniel’s many times and I’ve never seen this place full. I must admit, I was a bit reluctant to come here because of this, but I decided to give this place a go.

The restaurant is in a pretty good location. Occupying a corner in the centre of Rundle Street, it has the advantage of having extra frontage for natural light. The building area itself is a bit unique. The place is long and narrow with the kitchen and main dining area upstairs. I think one of the main selling points at this place is the upstairs outdoor dining area and the views that you get with it.

The name of this place is a bit generic, so for someone who’s never been here before, I wasn’t sure what I was in for. For the record, Daniel’s specialises in steak, seafood and pasta. For a place that was recently renovated, I fail to be impressed. The ceramic floor tiling reminds me of something you would find in a suburban house several decades old. The mirror at the base of the stairs is quite deceptive and I kept on thinking the toilets were in the opposite direction. The colour scheme of the entire place just doesn’t seem to work.

On this particular occasion, I ordered the Chicken Schnitzel Parmigiana. The meal arrived 15 minutes after ordering and all meals arrived at the same time. The dish itself looked OK but the taste was a whole different story. My chicken was thin, small and overcooked. The schnitzel coating was soggy and tasted like it was reheated in the microwave. The Napoletana sauce was bland and was just there for colour. The mozzarella topping was generous and was a light golden brown. The few bits of ham sprinkled on top really didn’t do much for the dish.

The salad was fresh, however a bit conservative in regards to portion. There was just one slice of cucumber, an eighth of a tomato and the rest was lettuce. A vinaigrette dressing was used and was not over applied. If anything was good on the plate, it was the chips. A nice golden brown colour indicated they were cooked to perfection. Crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. The chicken salt that they used was pretty good. I really should have just ordered the chips and nothing else.

One of the positives about this place are the staff that work here. They were friendly and inviting, attentive but not overbearing. The service was exceptional with their prompt drink delivery to the clearing of our tables. The lack of customers at this place meant that the atmosphere was quite relaxed without too much noise. Their menu prices are more expensive than what they’re worth. My meal definitely wasn’t worth the $23.90 that I paid for it and I could have got something much cheaper, better and satisfying at the nearby pub. In fact, I could have made it better myself.

At the end of the day, you come to a restaurant for the food. I just felt eating here was a major disappointment. I will never be back.

WHERE: 225 Rundle St, Adelaide