Blackwood on Rundle Street

Below one of Adelaide’s top restaurants, residents will find yet another exciting new addition to our ever-growing Rundle Street East. Everyone, we’d like to introduce you to Orana’s sister restaurant, Blackwood.

Launched just last month, Blackwood now stands in place of where Street ADL used to reside at 285 Rundle St, offering a menu significantly different, yet similar to that of Orana above. Blackwood strives for a more affordable alternative to Orana, yielding the very best of Australian culture, ingredients and low-intervention wines under one roof. (Please note: Street ADL lovers, fear not, for Street are not leaving us forever. They will be relocating to Henley Beach and you can keep updated via their Facebook.)

The fitout has changed only slightly, but minimal changes have made all the difference. Blackwood encompasses an approachable, homely vibe with wooden floorboards and furniture under a rustic ceiling, yet also exudes that sense of fine dining that you wouldn’t otherwise experience at home. Long share tables have been replaced with separated tables of fours and twos, and the walls have been updated with beautiful photographs of native ingredients and the restaurant, as well an almost tribal-influenced mural on the wall to the left.

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Blackwood fitout.

Currently, the menu operates with lunch and dinner combined as one, serving a selection of entrees, mains, desserts and even a degustation tasting menu with optional wine pairing. Expect to see only the freshest, natural ingredients used in a number of contemporary dishes, incorporating the likes of kangaroo meat, local prawns, wild greens and more. With a culinary ideology aligning Orana’s, Blackwood seeks to alter the ingredients as little as possible so as to take advantage of their organic nutritional benefits and distinct flavours.

Entree favourites include seared prawns in farmer’s friend and pandanus, and kangaroo tail with spelt, wild greens and grasses which, alongside the other entree dishees, make great sharing plates for the table. We enjoyed our prawns with the O’Leary Walker Aged Riesling, which went down an absolute treat alongside the light, refreshing tones of the fresh South Australian prawns. What’s more is the prawn stock broth is to die for. It’s a very unique flavour I’d not encountered before in a broth, and the chefs actually brew the broth using off-cuts and the heads of the prawns to get that taste just right.

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Seared prawns and O’Leary Walker Aged Riesling.

Kangaroo is one of the leanest meats, and also one of the most ethically sourced, making it one of the ideal native ingredients to use in Blackwood’s menu. When combined with spelt, an ancient grain widely recognised for its health benefits, and a unique mix of wild weeds and roots such as fathen, purslane and ox-eye daisy, the meal becomes a hearty, earthy and simplistically satisfying choice. The kangaroo was just so deliciously tender and cooked to perfection, and that is ultimately what lands it a spot as an undeniable favourite.

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Kangaroo dish.

If it’s mains your after, a signature Blackwood choice would certainly be the smoked pumpkin with warrigal greens, macadamia and day old goats cheese. Also, the spaetzle main (a German noodle variation) is considered a popular favourite among Blackwood’s patrons, combining braised English Longhorn beef, walnut and kuitjera miso.

To read the full menu or browse the extensive selection of fine wines on offer at Blackwood, follow the link here. Otherwise, pop in on a lunch break or for dinner with some friends to try out Blackwood’s delectable offerings for yourself!

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