I love trying out new places and when I heard this place opened several weeks ago, I couldn’t wait to check it out.

Not much imagination went into the naming of this place. Peel Street is located on Peel Street. The decor is stylish and chique, with a warehouse feel about it. The exposed ceilings and walls, the luxurious stone bar bench top, the use of timber furnishings, and the natural earth colour tones, bring a sense of warmth to this place. During the day, some areas are better lit than others and while there’s plenty of ventilation from the open bench area at the front, I don’t think there is enough natural light coming into the building.

The food here is a combination of small tapas items to more satisfying mains. While the trend these days seems to be that there is only one menu on a big black chalkboard, I find this to be more of a hindrance than a novelty. Unless you’re sitting several metres away in line of the chalkboard, you won’t be able to see the menu properly. They even put two tables right next to the chalkboard. One female customer sitting next to the menu appeared uncomfortable as everyone was staring in her direction as they were deciding what to order. One staff member said they didn’t have time to print off the menus, but seriously, they should have been available from day one.

Then there is the construction work that is happening upstairs. With the amount of banging going on, you would think you were in a war zone. The amount of dust and debris falling from the exposed ceiling was simply unacceptable. The staff kept on apologising and that they had told the workers to stop working during lunchtime, but really, this place shouldn’t be open. I initially sat next to the chalkboard menu and the subsequently moved to the open window bench, but I still couldn’t escape any of the construction work. With every bang, people were ducking for cover. I even saw one couple move to a more safer region. I hadn’t even ordered food yet, and I was almost regretting coming here.

Today, I ordered the Chargrilled Cornfed Chicken with Kasundi, Baby Carrots, Feta and Coriander. The dish came out after a 45 minute wait, but was delicious! For the $27 price tag, you get half a spatchcock ($46 for a whole one) which was beautifully presented. The serving size was a bit on the conservative side, but the quality of the dish made up for it. The chicken was perfectly cooked and well marinated in the kasundi (a rich tomato sauce of Indian origin). The baby carrots were soft and delicate, and the feta cheese was fresh. There was a bit of construction work happening while I was eating, and there was probably a bit of sawdust in my meal, but it still tasted great!

There service here was good for the most part, although we kept on hearing apologies, which must have been embarrassing. The waitress that was serving us looked too serious and it wouldn’t have hurt had she smiled once in a while. The atmosphere here was vibrant, not from the crowds, but from the construction work happening upstairs. The menu items here are way overpriced. It’s not like I’m dining at a high end restaurant with silver service. My $27 lunch was probably only worth $20 at best, and there’s no way I’d fork out $46 for lunch!

The food here was excellent and the decor comes a close second. Everything else about this place was disappointing.

WHERE: 9 Peel St, Adelaide