With polished cement floors and extended, dark ceilings and walls lined with modern art paintings, The Hindley Bar and Grill exudes a hip, industrial New York vibe. With a striking bar along one side and a wood fire oven and coffee station on the other, it fully embodies not only an all day dining destination open for lunch as well as dinner, but also breakfast seven days a week and weekend brunch. By day the natural light source amplifies the character of the decoration. By night, the warm, dim lighting, creates a relaxing ambience in the rustic yet contemporary venue. Upstairs is HQ Complex – Adelaide’s most iconic nightclub. “There really is something for everyone at the new HQ Complex,” says Director Stephen Rose.

The last time we were at The Hindley Bar and Grill, we had a taste of their weekend brunch offering. Now we return to the hip all day dining venue on Hindley Street’s West End for their new Autumn menu rolled out by Head Chef Shane Piercy, the talent with a more than notable past having worked in some of the best kitchens in Adelaide’s renowned establishments like the Lion Hotel, Public Caffe and The Sauce Restaurant in Dulwich.

“I designed this menu with sharing in mind,” says Shane Piercy. The menu has been passionately developed to showcase fresh local produce with an emphasis on grilled and wood oven dishes.

To start off our gastronomic expedition, we try a few Entrees, and what better way than with a selection of Oysters – Natural and Kilpatrick. The oysters au natural (with a twist of lemon and red wine shallot vinegar) were fresh and delicious, and we know there is no faulting a fresh oyster. Topped with chopped bacon and wood oven baked, the Kilpatrick oysters gave the pearl of the sea a nice variation.

The Arancini Balls served with roast garlic aiolo came next. In their most ideal form, these little morsels of risotto are packed with oozy mozzarella and subtle tomato sauce on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside.

Another favourite of entrée of ours, which is also a Vegan and Gluten Free is the Wood Oven Baked Haloumi. The baked cheese is served in a hot dish and adorned with sweetened currants and walnuts. Altogether the components make up a beautiful play on flavours of sweet and salty, and textures of soft and crunchy.

When thinking of food to share, one would almost immediately think of pizza. Amongst a selection of Wood Oven Pizzas is the Margherita – The dough is light and crispy on the outside and also airy yet fluffy on the inside (a result of the crew’s painstaking efforts over the last 3 months to create the perfect base), and the simple flavours of stracciatella, fresh basil, olive oil and heirloom tomato makes this classic a faultless choice.

We try a few other delicious items like the Wood Oven Roasted ½ Chicken, 6 hour Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder and 1kg Rib Eye. The Wood Oven Roasted Chicken is cooked to perfection, with succulent and juicy meat that easily falls off the bone. It sits on a pumpkin puree that is creamy and velvety, complimenting the savoury meat it is presented with.

The Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder does not pale in comparison. Served with Duck Fat Potatoes, and from being cooked over a lengthy period of time, the meat is meltingly delicious. To top it all off, the dish also comes with a special Mint Jelly. The contrasting elements put together so cleverly in this lamb dish really showcases the sophistication of the autumn menu.

Another protein-rich menu item is the 1kg Rib Eye. Also designed to share, the steak is served with a side of crispy potato wedges, roasted baby carrots and savoury gravy. The steak is incredibly tender, juicy and almost buttery to the taste. The baby carrots have been caramelised through the roasting process, adding a complimentary sweet taste to the contrastingly salty and smooth and thick gravy.

To seal up the night’s already spectacular offerings, we are served a Baked Lemon Tart with Fresh Berries and a Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and Double Cream.

I love Lemon Tarts, so this is nothing less of a treat. Before even tasting it, the dessert is already a feast for the eyes. The pastry crust is soft but still crunchy, the tart rich in zest from the lemon, and the berries and cream add freshness and sweetness into the mix.

Last of all is the Sticky Date Pudding. In my mind I begin to create a hard-to-reach, almost unachievable checklist for a divine sticky date pudding as I take careful, critical bites into the creation in front of me. The pudding has a fluffy and moist texture, check. Butterscotch sauce is a sweet, molten, velvety, golden, creamy and rich river of goodness, check. Double Cream – thick and milky in all its glory – check. It confirms the existence of a nectar God.

With all it has to offer, the Hindley’s menu has exceeded our expectations. Paired with the amazing ambience in the restaurant and the attentive and friendly staff, a dining experience at this venue redefines what it is like to enjoy a visit to Hindley Street’s revamped West End.

Special thanks to Girl About Town and The Hindley for inviting us to relish in a truly enjoyable dinner event.

The Hindley Bar and Grill is open from Monday – Friday: 8am till late and Saturday & Sunday: 10am till late.

Words by Yasmine Yusuri

WHERE: 149 Hindley St, Adelaide