Category: Lifestyle

Port Adelaide’s secret spots – 5 places to discover

There’s always something happening in Port Adelaide but this historic suburb still contains some hidden venues and cafes not yet on everyone’s radar.

Whether you’re seeking a night out on the town, a quiet drink, or freshly baked goods, the Port has something to satisfy locals and visitors alike – and all within walking distance of each other.

Milledge’s Distillation

Opening in late 2022, this warehouse venue operated by a gin-distilling family has swiftly become a go-to for celebrating milestone birthdays and community events.

A dog-friendly cafe by day serving up a mean toastie – the parmesan crust on the BLT is particularly tasty – the light and airy space with formica tables and mismatched chairs is relaxed and inviting.

The hanging disco ball gives the game away to what happens after hours on the weekend when it turns into a bar, music venue, and party space for hire. Enjoy a bespoke beverage made with the family-owned small batch, hand-crafted gin or vodka, or one of the Greenock Brewers beers on tap.

8A Todd St, Port Adelaide

Studio 99 Art and Whisky

New owners Amanda Kirby, Ben Conrades, and Donovan Christie took over the reins of Port Adelaide’s best-kept secret 12 months ago, seeking to maintain its core while expanding the drinks list and events.

Tucked away off Lipson Street, the former foundry’s rustic features are offset by crisp white walls, which are adorned with the work of local artists curated by Christie and rotated quarterly.

With a mission to boast 99 whiskeys, they cater to both novice and seasoned whiskey enthusiasts. But don’t worry – if whiskey isn’t your thing, you’ll find a decent selection of wine, beer, and a cocktail menu to enjoy in the front courtyard.

99 Lipson St, Port Adelaide

10 Gallon Hat

Since opening earlier this year, the new 10 Gallon Hat has brought contemporary bar vibes to St Vincent St with its subtle Mid-Western touches.

Co-owners Dylan Nettleton and Stacey Costopoulos did much of the renovation themselves on the 150-year-old building, which has been in the family for many years. They have successfully maintained its charm in keeping with the historical surroundings.

With a background in hospitality and managing bars, including Melbourne’s The Great Northern Hotel, Nettleton is keen to stock a range of craft beer, South Australian wines, and high-end liquor. The bar menu has been created by their friend Chris Smith, chef at Myrtle Wine Bar in Melbourne.

158 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide

Lipson Street Collective

A blackboard A-frame sign on the footpath of a dusty Lipson Street is the only giveaway that there is a warm and bustling bakery inside the warehouse. Well used for baking in the past (it used to house Adelaide fav Soi Boi), a new collaborative baking venture has opened, specialising in sourdough and baked treats.

Choose from traditional country-style, cranberry and walnut or a spicier jalapeno sourdough, focaccia, or inside-out grilled cheese sandwiches for your next carb fix. And you won’t be able to resist the sweet and savoury offerings of @butter.canteen bakers including carrot cake, brownies, cookies, ‘green’ pasties, sausage rolls and ham and cheese rolls. Heaven.

49/51a Lipson St, Port Adelaide

Dutch Coffee lab

While it’s not much of a secret for Port Adelaide locals, this specialty coffee roaster and café serves up the best flat white in the whole of the Le Fevre Peninsula.

The coffee is strong and comes with homemade Dutch baked treats (try the butter cake and Stroopwafel brownies), plus satisfying toasties served with a side of crisps. Their new cold drip will also get you through the hot South Australian summers too.

255 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide

July 28, 2024
Want to reduce food waste? Foraging is your friend

The ABC’s War on Waste program has been stirring up a lot of debate about our plastic waste and the sheer amount of food we’re discarding on a daily basis. And it’s a good thing.

Being confronted by the statistics on how many plastic toothbrushes end up on this tiny island in the Pacific Ocean has made me vow to buy a bamboo one instead.

But being green or waste wise doesn’t just have to be for those living in the inner city. Reusing and choosing second hand are options for us all.

I’m all about second hand clothes, furniture and anything else that’s still serviceable. Thanks to the generosity of friends and family we have managed to gather most of our baby needs for our impending arrival without actually having to go into a store with the words ‘bunting’ in it.

Some people like to have brand new things and that’s fine – but when you see how much stuff is out there already – and in good nick – then it seems a waste not to give it a second (or third) life.

It’s the same when it comes to food. The idea of dumpster diving might not be everyone’s thing, but don’t discount the food that is hanging overhead or growing in the verges near your home.

One of my favourite hobbies is to scour my neighbourhood for verge-side figs and overhanging lemons.

Passionfruit is another exciting find. I’d never seen passionfruit growing before I moved to my suburb and I love their exotic looking flowers and greenish purple fruit.

I never buy figs but when I forage a bounty during the summer months I eat them fresh, roast them up with mascarpone and honey, or use the runt of the litter in a cake.

Quinces, crab apples and oranges can be the bright spots outside of the warmer months and don’t overlook herbs – keep a look out for bushes of hardy rosemary, mint or parsley peaking through a fence or growing wild in a verge. A few springs won’t be missed.

I’ve yet to experiment with foraging weeds, mushrooms and the like, but hope to branch out after doing a tour first like this one, or taking a look at the indigenous foods that are right under our noses.

If you’re after a more organised foraging experience, check out The Growing Abundance Project in Castlemaine, Victoria where volunteers get a third of the fruit picked during a harvest of an orchard, with the rest going to the tree owner and community organisations.

The Project is currently running a crowd-sourcing campaign to help purchase equipment for their café, The Local. This café is all about growing and eating healthy local food, harvesting from orchards and backyards and growing the local food economy. You’ll be supporting them safe in the knowledge that 100% of profits go back into supporting the Harvest program and other ethical food initiatives.

There’s still time to pitch in if you’re keen to support a local initiative doing some sustainable and tasty things.

Apples anyone? Head along to an orchard harvest with The Growing Abundance Project. Photo: Annie Spratt.

June 1, 2017
Appreciating gin

I’ve always thought I hated gin. That sharp reminder of alcohol as it hits the back of the throat, and its reputation as a tear-inducing, mascara-ruining tipple. But could a gin masterclass change my mind? I was keen to find out.

On a dreary Melbourne day, I joined 13 other friends at the cosy Bad Frankie to listen to owner and Australian-spirit enthusiast Sebastian Costello wax lyrical about gin.

Settling in with a 313 Dry gin and tonic spiced with a sprinkling of dry wattle seed, we learn of the spirit’s infamous past, its years in the wilderness as the poor cousin to whiskey and vodka, and its renaissance.

During prohibition in the United States, ethanol was banned but industrious types instead turned to cleaning ethanol which they mixed in the bath with juniper, and other flavours to cut the alcohol. This fusion was coined ‘bathtub gin’ but its future was short lived with the Government cottoning on and adding poison to cleaning ethanol to stop its abuse.

It’s only been in the past few decades that gin has been seen as a top-shelf spirit like whiskey with the introduction of new wave gins like Hendricks playing around with different botanicals and elevating it beyond the Old London gin of juniper and lemon peel.

And a bunch of passionate and proud Australian gin makers are in on the act, keen to see the local versions thrive.

When Seb set up the bar in 2014 there were 23 Australian gins on offer, now there are 82 available featuring both traditional and native ingredients.

We’re given a lesson in the different botanicals used in combinations to flavour the gin. Added to juniper can be anything from aniseed, cardamom, salt bush and angelica root.

We bury our noses into glass jars, pinch the ingredients between our fingers and breathe deeply. Like wine, these are the flavours we will pick up during the tastings.

An Archie Rose gin is first off the rank, its woody aroma sticking on the palette as we swish it around our mouths, swallow and breathe like we have been shown.

The next is sweeter, a Melbourne Gin Company drop that has been made using grapefruit, macadamia and sandalwood, followed by the crowd favourite, Kangaroo Island Spirits O Gin with native coastal daisy (like rosemary) the hero ingredient.

A West Winds has a salty taste, fitting its nautical design, while the Four Pillars blows you away with its high alcohol content, and rich orange, finger lime and aniseed afternotes.

The afternoon has definitely given me a better appreciation of what goes into making a good quality gin and I think it’s a spirit I could definitely get used to – paired with some tonic of course.

See what’s on offer for World Gin Day, Saturday 11 June.

June 11, 2016