The Adelaide Fringe is a hotbed of creativity, with artists and audiences from all over the world joining forces for an unrestrained orgy of imagination and innovation. But even the most dedicated festival-goers need some more literal sustenance. Fortunately, the Fringe also offers a broad range of culinary delights to satisfy every taste.
Here’s what you need to try this festival season.
1. Be a Glutton
What started as a pop-up food and wine weekend more than a decade ago has transformed into something bigger than the founders could ever have imagined. Today Gluttony is a sprawling outdoor venue with space for 12,000 people and dozens of performance venues, bars and eateries spread through the Park Lands at Adelaide’s East End.
This year there will be 34 food vendors serving up everything from flame-grilled Argentinian delights and Filipino street food to vegan yiros and showstopping desserts. In a new development, visitors will also be able to enjoy a more leisurely meal at dine-in eateries from acclaimed Adelaide restaurants Lune and Olivetti, as well as a more casual Greek taverna.
The collection of themed bars will also grow to include a hilltop Local Bar serving exclusively South Australian beverages and a Champagne Island in the middle of Rymill Lake with bottle service featuring labels like Krug, Dom P and Moët.
2. Head to the Garden
If you’re after food and drink served with serious panache, head across the road to OG open-air megavenue The Garden of Unearthly Delights. In addition to bars and food vendors scattered throughout the space, you’ll find one-of-a-kind venues like Maho Magic Bar, a neon-lit wonderland where you can sip cocktails made by award-winning flair bartenders while enjoying a literal front- row seat to some of Japan’s most accomplished magicians at one of the eight mini-bars.
On Monday nights the Garden Feast will provide dinner and a show with a range of Fringe performers serenading guests as they enjoy an outdoor feast provided by renowned chefs from across the country. If you can’t make it to one of those, pop down any night to warm yourself beside the Flaming Galah, a colossal four-metre tall tripod in the centre of a firepit that can comfortably cook six whole pigs, three lambs, eight pumpkins and 24 pineapples.
3. Play With Your Food
Venture beyond the major Fringe hubs and you’ll find a range of shows that will tickle your taste buds while simultaneously delighting the other senses. Part cooking class, part degustation and part biography, Ăn cơm takes attendees on a journey from war-torn Vietnam to Australia as a multi- course feast is prepared before their eyes, and concludes with everyone being invited to share a meal together.
Tequila Tasting Comedy is a humorous voyage through the world of agave spirits that’s accompanied by five tastings ranging from oh-so-smooth blanco to seriously smoky mezcal, and Sconefest returns to bring some of Adelaide’s best live musical acts together for a jam (get it?) alongside the CWA’s famous scones and whipped cream.
4. Try some of Adelaide’s hottest new restaurants
One of the most enticing aspects of the Adelaide Fringe is that even when you’re not seeing a show, you can still feel like you’re part of the action.
Every weekend, Rundle Street turns into a giant al fresco restaurant with beer gardens and restaurants spilling onto the street between street performers from across the globe. Head around the corner to East Terrace and you can take a trip to 1990s Hong Kong at Monica, where the bold flavours of the East Asian menu are matched by cocktails like a clarified milk punch spiked with mango sticky rice and an eye-opening combination of grilled pineapple, gochujang and tequila.
If you’re venturing across town to any Adelaide Festival performances, shiny new brasserie Station Road is perfectly located across from the Festival Theatre and will offer a Pre-Theatre Express Menu from 5:30 until 7, Tuesday through Saturday.
The three-course set menu picks some of the highlights from the Gallic-leaning Modern Australian menu – think tuna tartare with chilli ancho, sweet corn and pickled kohlrabi and chicken ballotine with pancetta and braised hispi cabbage – and pairs them with a glass from the outstanding wine list that ventures well beyond the usual South Australia suspects. And be prepared to make a repeat reservation once you spot the cheese and Champagne trolleys that make this the perfect spot for a special occasion.
If you’re looking for a different kind of show, stroll through the Botanic Garden and admire the incredible gravity-defying glass artworks of Dale Chihuly before enjoying dinner at the more casual offshoot of one of Australia’s best restaurants. Botanic Lodge combines nostalgic dishes with the freshest seasonal flavours (think fancy crab toast and lamingtons with quandong jam and coconut ice cream), and the new evening set menu can be booked with a ticket to Chihuly Nights so you can watch the exhibition come to life after dark.
