Located in the brand-new Saints Shopping Centre in Salisbury Plains, Saint’s Kitchen has set the bar high by bringing in the big guns with a dynamic variety of pizzas, burgers, waffles and hearty pasta meals for all to enjoy.

We had the opportunity to try a few dishes and let me tell you, from the elegant presentation, the taste of each dish and the warm and efficient service, it did not disappoint. Our waitress was also very helpful with the menu and even advised us as to what sort of cocktail would suite us depending on our palates.

We did not get any entree because we couldn’t wait to get our hands dirty on the irresistible mains. We came at lunch time and if we could try all of the dishes, we would have. So we settled with what we wanted the most.

Salmon – With their own homemade dukkah crusted on the salmon fillet, we found this dish to be simple yet satisfying especially with the crunch of the salmon crispy skin, the way it’s supposed to be. Served with pan fried broccolini, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach and hollandaise sauce, this makes for a lovely healthy lunch that is light yet filling.

Squid Super Salad – This dish is dairy free. Lightly fried salt and pepper squid on a bed of well tossed fresh vegetables including rockets, red cabbage, julienne carrots, cucumber and a generous amount of kale and parsley. This gorgeous combination is complemented by the mouth tingling flavours of lemon & lime vinaigrette mixed with balsamic glaze. This is definitely one of my favourites.

Saint’s Special Pizza – A credit to its name, this, among many other pizzas was the one we just had to try. All pizzas are available in your choice of 9inch or 12inch. What makes this pizza so special? To begin with, ingredients such as ham and salami are sourced locally from the Barossa, together with some kalamata olives, sliced tomato, roast capsicum and some Spanish onion to bring it home.

Calzone Rustico –The moment this dish came out, we knew it would be an amazing one. The smell of the ham coming through sealed the deal. Could this be better than the Saint’s Special Pizza? It features the same ingredients yet with the added ragu, mushrooms and extra shaved parmesan, as you can probably imagine, it’s cheesy with a ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation. I highly recommend it.

Spaghettini Ragu – Rich slow cooked traditional beef ragu with shaved parmesan, just like Nonna makes it! Our eyes were set on this dish when it came out because we love our pasta and you could see the amount of effort the chef put into the presentation details that we just couldn’t resist. With a little more cracked pepper and cooked to al dente perfection, this is the go-to comfort food you’ll want for nothing.

Chargrilled Chicken – Smothered in Napoletana sauce, you almost wouldn’t notice that it’s chargrilled. Accompanied with some salad and chips, we found the chicken breast so tender and the sauce so tasty, we demolished the lot in a heartbeat.

T’nasty Burger – Our absolute favourite. Buttermilk fried chicken breast with super crispy Barossa bacon (emphasis on the super!) It also came with grilled pineapple rings, cheese, lettuce and buttermilk ranch sauce in lightly toasted brioche buns. Need we say more? No. Why? Because we knew we had you at “buttermilk fried chicken”.

Our journey did not end there. We thought it must be happy hour somewhere so we decided to get some cocktails only to find out that Saint’s Kitchen also offers breakfast cocktails! They have Saint’s Mimosa, Espresso Mart Creamy, and the Spiked Iced Tea, a little less dangerous than the good old long island iced tea but what a way to start the day!

They also have quite a range of desserts and we were lucky to sample a few;

Strawberry Waffles – This was impressive. We love our waffles crispy on the outer part but still very soft and buttery on the inside. And this was it. We couldn’t fault it.

Butterscotch Pancakes – We don’t mind having this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Two stacks of fluffy pancakes with butterscotch sauce topped with caramel popcorn and mascarpone cheese, who could resist? That’s right, nobody.

The restaurant has been opened for public and operating for less than a month but is already quite popular among the locals in the Northern suburbs. Saint’s Kitchen is now offering $10 burger with chips every Monday and $12 large pizza every Tuesday from 11.30am onwards. Starting in July they will also have some specials on their menu that will change monthly. So make sure to keep an eye on that.

Words by Dee Pene from Adelaide Food Authority

WHERE: Shop 14, 83 Saints Rd, Salisbury Plain