APOTECA — Restaurant in Adelaide

I went to Apoteca in hopes of a fulfilling dining experience. Me and my partner spent a collective $140 dollars on the chefs selection menus.

The first dish which was a salad and some eggplant with some tuscan bread and butter took 20 minutes to arrive at the table. The guinea pig salad had zero seasoning and was not pleasant. The bread however was excellent alongside the salted butter.

The second course was a kingfish Crudo. Considering how small the portion size was it should have only taken around 5 minutes to arrive at the table ( also considering that there were only 14 customers). Instead we waited a further 15 minutes for a rather small flacid portion of kingfish. The Crudo should have had an avocado puree instead of little chucks and the chilli overpowered everything so instead make a chilli gel or a nauc cham chilli sauce. The baby cucumber did not match the dish.

After another swift 30 minutes, my parter asked for the service to be sped up just to be met by an immediate response of yes and our next meal appear promptly. for myself, It was a small portion of poorly seasoned chicken and decently soggy fine rice. My parter received a violently small portion of prawns and strange cous cous. My parter felt sick after the prawns as they tasted extra fishy and i was left unsatisfied and hungry.

The final Course was some king Salmon for my partner and a scotch fillet for myself. The scotch fillet was undercooked somehow as its not too difficult to cook a scotchy to a rare- medium rare. The steak was borderline blu. The salmon had 0 seasoning or flavour, however the purée underneath was quite appetising. With our mains we also had a side of crispy potatoes which did not suit the vibe and should have been served between dishes as we had to wait a medieval amount of time.

In conclusion Season things more thorough, Make service a bit more swift , Puree more things , And if your menus only going to be 16 dishes, make sure everything is on point and not sub...

We visited Apoteca tonight and had the 4 course Chef’s Prescription menu: we started with a roll with olive oil and dukkah, alongside a pumpkin dish with pickled savoy and whipped feta; second course was kingfish ceviche, third was lamb loin, and to finish we had the grass fed scotch with a side of roast potatoes. The restaurant itself is beautiful, making for some gorgeous photos and the staff were attentive. The dukkah was one of the best I have ever tasted, and as someone who doesn’t like pumpkin, I really enjoyed the dish, much to my surprise. The pickled savoy and feta balanced the sweetness of the pumpkin out beautifully. I was excited when the second course came; I love seafood but was quite underwhelmed by the dish. The kingfish itself was nice but the other stronger flavours overpowered it. We were disappointed with the lamb loin course; although it was decently cooked, it lacked flavour; a pinch of salt would have gone a long way. The fennel didn’t add much to the dish and the radiccio did nothing except bring a splash of colour to the plate. The fourth course, the grass fed scotch had a beautiful cafe de Paris on top of it- I am already looking up recipes to attempt to recreate it! The beef itself was cooked just right but again lacked some flavour without the care de Paris. The side of roast potatoes were delicious however; perfectly crispy and garlicky.

The non-alcoholic peach spritz was very over-priced at $12 for a small glass.

Overall, I had mixed feelings; I very much enjoyed the first and last courses but the middle two were rather forgettable. While I wouldn’t mind coming back and try some dishes on the a la carte menu, I wouldn’t have the chef’s...

Highlight of our recent trip to Adelaide! The family decided to go to Apothecary 1878 last Sunday Night (as lots of other places suggested to us were closed in the city) and I am so glad because we were highly impressed! The menu was so tempting and we couldn't decide, so our amazing waiter Duncan offered the Chef's tasting menu (4 courses) for an extremely well priced $58pp!! We also had two young children with us... there was no children's menu BUT that was no issue, Duncan spoke to the Chef who offered to make a special order of battered Mulloway fish fingers paired with the roast potatoes - the fish was cooked to perfection, potatoes were crunchy but soft inside and absolutely delicious! Our first course arrived the Sicilian olives were delicious and the bread crusty... the flavors in the dish of mixed green and Edamame beans with oyster mushrooms worked perfectly together! The next dish of ceviche, juicy mulloway and jalepenos was full of delicious spices... I was excited to see the next dish of Pork Belly arrive to the table (I am a huge fan of Pork Belly but find many places never hit the marks on the score card!) However... the chef Nailed it! Crispy skin, tender meat and the flavors with the sauce and smoked polenta took my taste buds on a magical journey! We shared the striploin and it was perfection with a couple of other sides that I couldn't fault... I could go on for hours about the interactions we had with Duncan who made the experience so enjoyable! How many starts? Definitely 11/10... Almost forgot to mention that the wine list is extensive and very impressive... oh and you must try the home made chocolates! Thank you once again for the...