In light of the good weather this week, we made our way to the tropical Hawaiian-themed restaurant Beach Bum, located on the bustling O’Connell Street in North Adelaide. Encompassing a quirky cool wood-pannelled fit-out, a bar area and restaurant space, brick walls and scribbles blackboard signage, the whole space is seriously kitsch.
We came in for an early dinner at 5PM and the restaurant was mostly empty due to the odd time, however the venue still had a warm and welcoming atmosphere with friendly, attentive staff seeing to us right away. Working off of just $80 between two, we browsed the menu to suss out just how much food we could get.
The funky wood-clad interior design at Beach Bum.
We were not left disappointed as we flicked through the menu; everything sounded absolutely delicious and was totally reasonably priced, with ‘Aloha Starters’ averaging around $10 each and the ‘Hawaiian Plates’ mains ranging between $17 and $23. The seafood plates were a little more expensive but not by much, with a price range of $18-$27. Our decision-making was tough for this one as everything sounded mouth-watering, but we eventually made up our minds!
To start, we ordered the Scallop Open Wanton, complete with seared king scallops, black beans, ginger, cucumber, cilantro, avocado, lettuce and green lime on a crispy wanton. The textures came together wonderfully for this dish, with the crunch of the wanton complementing the soft, squishy scallop. Our second starter was the Resort Salmon Ceviche comprising of raw Tasmanian salmon, grapefruit, avocado, corn and basil with tumeric lime dressing and poppy seed. Citrusy and fresh, this dish simply melted in our mouths in an instant. We particularly loved the addition of zesty grapefruit!
Scallop Open Wantons.
Resort Salmon Ceviche.
For mains, we enjoyed three dishes: the Miso Soba Noodles Soup, the Sunfrider Prawn Burger and the Tuna Hawaiian Poke. The prawn burger consisted of sweet brioche bun with grilled prawns, chipotle mayo, guacamole and lettuce with a significantly big side of chips. The chips were particularly more-ish, offering a delightfully crunchy texture and a generous amount of salt. However, it was the burger that stole our hearts, with the creamy-rich and spicy mayo being the highlight. They weren’t skimpy on the prawns either, with fat juicy prawns filling the burger out. It was a meatier dish than we were expecting at first, which is probably why we were so impressed.
Sunfrider Prawn Burger.
The Tuna Poke was recommended by our waiter, who explained the Poke as their ‘most popular dish’, with tuna being the favourite option. We were super glad he suggested this dish, as it was perhaps one of the best Poke bowls we’ve had (although we have honestly not tried too many Poke places yet). You’ve no doubt heard of the Poke Bowl; it is a traditional Hawaiian dish and also happens to be a huge trend in food right now, with the latest craze Poke Me having just opened in the CBD.
Tuna Hawaiian Poke Bowl.
Beach Bum do the dish excellently, creating the perfect balance of ingredients. Edamame beans, green onion, toasted sesame, nori, avocado, seaweed salad, pickled ginger and tuna with pickled carrot and gochujang mayo is paired with a base of choice, either white rice, brown rice, soba noodles or salad. We opted for the traditional white rice. Being a refreshing and dense dish complete with an aesthetically pleasing, colourful presentation and delectably hot sauce, Beach Bum’s Poke a crowd favourite.
Miso Soba Noodles Soup.
The Miso Soup was light on the stomach compared to the other dishes, yet held quite a strong flavour profile with the taste of seaweed being super potent. There was noticeably quite a lot of seaweed in there too, so it is probably a dish suited to more of an acquired taste. We enjoyed it nevertheless.
All that delectable goodness for $80 was pretty damn good, and at the end of it we simply couldn’t finish the lot. We packed all of the leftovers up for tomorrow’s lunch and left the restaurant seriously satisfied.
Beach Bum’s bar space.
If you’re after a place that offers cheap eats and a funky vibe, then we highly recommend Beach Bum for your next get together with friends or casual outing. To find out more or check out the menu, click here.
