23rd Street Distillery — Attraction in Renmark

23rd Street Distillery is known as a South Australian icon , and worth making the trip to the riverland . It is quite a large space , and you can choose between both inside and outside seating - the inside almost like a big barn with wooden exposed beams and fairy lights strung from the roof . We had made a booking , so were shown to our table . We could smell the aroma of food as we sat down .Kudos to the staff - the long trek from the kitchen to the patrons must keep them fit . My friend and I ordered various entrees - the pan fried haloumi ( with an native dukkah honey , perfectly accompanied by baby vine tomatoes )and wood fired carrots and pan seared green beans with almonds . I added the corn ribs with the chipotle dipping sauce and fresh lime ( which I throughly enjoyed, the sweet corn juices dripping off my fingers ) and a serve each of sticky belly pork bites with rum and bbq sauce . The pork was cooked so well and the crackle light and crunchy, covered in a sauce that they could definitely bottle and sell individually. Could not fault the food . I also had two flights of gin - the Sweet and Spiced flight served with a sparkling soda which included the Tropical Gin , the Quattro gin ( navy strength) and the Pomegranate vodka . I’m not really a vodka drinker but I was pleasantly impressed with this offering. The other flight was the Heart and Soul served with a dry tonic - which made a huge difference when added . When neat the botanicals were at the forefront and you could definitely smell the liquorice in the Signature Gin - but when the tonic was added the citrus flavours came into their own . The most complex I found was the Violet Gin , and I loved the taste of the lemon myrtle and cinnamon. We spent about two hours here and could have easily spent longer . If you don’t like gin they offer there own whiskey , as well as cider and pale ale on tap, as well as non alcoholic drinks for the unlucky person who has to...

Wish I’d read the reviews before visiting! There’s a definite theme over the last 4 months and unfortunately I’m adding to the negativity. Love 23rd Street gin- can’t beat it, only drink it and recommend this to everyone! But wow, as a venue, so disappointing. Ordered 3 main meals. All out at different times. The vegan burger was recommended by wait staff. Wish I hadn’t asked for a recommendation. Terrible, insipid, flavourless and poorly presented, along with being lukewarm and over priced at $28 Steak sandwich- average, especially for $25 Pizza for the kids- served a full 30 minutes after our meals were completed. Had to ask about it and should have insisted on the refund. Paid extra for dietary alternatives and received something our children wouldn’t eat and that had barely enough toppings to call it a pizza. One slice of thin ham across multiple slices, a sprinkle of cheese and a couple of cubes of pineapple. Lacked flavour, presentation or quality ingredients. Drinks tasting had to be chased up also. Had to ask multiple staff to clean table on arrival- eventually was given a damp cloth to do so myself. Meals came out without cutlery or napkins being provided. Another thing we had to source ourselves. Unfortunately not a place we can recommend, nor see ourselves visiting again. Yes- I did speak to staff on the day about some of these concerns, but as they were not addressed, no point in continuing the...

EDIT Since posting this review I was contacted by the Venue Manager personally who was not only apologetic but empathetic and listened to my experience. She did not hesitate to offer any means possible to make amens and went above and beyond to ensure we felt validated. I will visit again now and I have been assured that our experience will be much better, so this I look forward too.

We were very excited to visit this iconic distillery and enjoy an afternoon in the sun with the family and a glass of gin. But this is not what we experienced. We were told that the beer we requested was an empty keg and had to have cans instead as it would be two hours until the keg was cold. The cans we were given were warm so first beer was not enjoyable. Then after we ordered meals two of the 6 people received their meals 30 minutes before the rest. There was zero table service and glasses and rubbish piled on the table even though we were told it was table service. One person who received their bowls of chips received it cold and then waited the half hour for a fresh bowl. Very disappointing for a lovely day for a family outing. We had every intention to purchase some bottles of gin but after what we experienced, we purchased from BWS. Terrible table service, poor food quality and not good enough to have warm beer on a hot November day. Will not...