Canopy Bar — Restaurant in Adelaide

STEM RESTAURANT Adelaide Saturday 7th December 2024. 5 Course degustation top wine pairing

18 days aged Sour Dough Nutty sweet bread with salted butter. Very nice. Light the nutty comes through brilliantly. Is so good the length of flavour is impressive. Dangerous I would eat an entire loaf. Extremely light wonderful mouthfeel.

Raw Scallop dashi broth caviar Simply stunning the scallop is still sweet and amazing the caviar adds just enough salt to balance the dish. It’s simple it’s amazing

Oyster blood orange kosher & Szechuan Explosion of the sea meets row. Clearly a fresh oyster the mix of sal pepper is beautifully balanced the citrus just makes this perfect.

Potato hash brown taramasalata salmon roe The white taramasalata is so good light deliciousness to complement the potatoes. Wow Salty roe crunchy potatoes this is eating heaven. I’ve just started and I am so happy. Wonderful food.

Scotch eggs curry sauce fried curry leaves Crunchy curry leaves The sauce is rich slightly spicy delicious. Eggs just not runny. The chicken meat is a curry that is sweet spicy delicious. Amazing balance. As I type the flavours keep developing in my mouth. Sublime. For me it’s finger food. Scotch eggs dipped the delicious sauce then crunchy curry leaves. It’s a dance on the tongue mouth. I am having an amazing time. Did I mention that the balance of sweat meat eggs curry is perfect. Who would have thought that a simple scotch egg could be elevated to such deliciousness spice but not to much sweetness just balanced taste sensational. The curry leaves are the key they add a perfect yet subtle balance to the entire dish. The sauce just give me a bucket full and I be happy.

I not sure if I am just in that mood to talk about restaurants or I am just at the right place at the right time. The food the ambience the WINE is just so dam good. To think I lived next door to Stem for 3 weeks in 2022. I always thought I should check it out. Wow I’m glad I have.

Lobster sando, dill aioli, iceberg, salmon roe, vinegar salt - read - Lobster tail deep fried in a white de crusted bread sandwich salmon roe lettuce etc dill. Aioli What I want from lobster is sweet translucent meat. What I got was: deep fried succulent deliciousness. The batter is light as a feather hardly noticeable the cray meat is still juicy tasty moist the Aioli lettuce bread just allows me to mop up the juices as they drip down my fingers. Then you get the salty surprise or popping candy of salmon roe. Bang flavours mixing into my mouth. Yummy. A truly delicious dish. Yet it’s just a sandwich. Hmmmm give me more.

Kiwanis MBS+9 Wagyu Strip Loin, jus gras, soy egg yolk (Marinated in yes you got it home made Soya Sauce 8 days +) Wood fired sugar loaf cabbage (Kohlrabi) & Mushrooms XO sauce. Excellently treated beef. Egg yolk in soya wow. Steak too chewy for me. Too much sinew. I can get around the sinew bit then it’s delicious. The colrabi with Mushroom XO sauce Is better than the steak. Okay. The first few slices were a bit tight sinew. But after that wow what tasty delicious beef. Light as a feather. Juicy beyond belief tasty beautiful. I can’t believe this dish. Steak that melts away. Kohlrabi that is so tender it’s to die, as for the caramelisation on the mushrooms XO its adds delicious added layer. A superb last savoury dish. It’s bloody good. Pity I am so dam stuffed I have to leave some. Just the edges the good stuff was eaten

Affogato with whipped mascarpone, coffee shoyu (home made soy sauce), hazelnut miso caramel- there version of toffee It’s ice cream no it’s mascarpone it’s toffee no it’s soya sauce it’s bloody delicious yes. Me thinks they’re messing with my mind, which I love. I’m confused but happy. It’s toffee chocolate ice cream on steroids Rich balanced. Not over sweet. Perfect. I’m becoming dizzy with delight it’s good the balance of everything is heavenly. My mouth is singing. Is it the hazelnut miso caramel or is it the mascarpone or is just everything that is so wonderful.

Wow if you want a night out in...

I’m never one to leave a bad review for restaurants. However, the experience I had here was beyond disappointing. The entrees came out fairly quick, however, the mains and sides did not come out in a timely manner. When we ordered the steak, we had been given a notice by the waitress that it would take 45 minutes (We were happy to wait for 45 minutes) However, an hour and 15 minutes passed, the steak, along with the additional sides were still not ready. They had 2-3 tables dining at the time. We had alerted the staff that we had to return to work, they continued to delay it by saying that it was almost ready. We couldn’t wait for any longer as our lunch break was over, we had told them to cancel the dishes. However, the waiter had told us that it would be ready in 5 minutes and it was too late to cancel. We were understanding of this and asked for them to be packed for take away (We waited an extra 15 minutes for this). We expressed how disappointed we were in his service and the long wait time, the waiter’s response was “well we’re not a fast food restaurant”. While we were not expecting for their food to be ready in the same time manner as a fast food restaurant, we were expecting the time that they had given us, which was 45 minutes (we ended up waiting an hour and 45 minutes in total) , even fine dining is quicker with 20-30 minutes between each course. The waiter then excused this by saying that they had a function at the back. In which, they should have notified us from the very start. If they had said that this is how long the mains would have taken, we wouldn’t have ordered it. However, when speaking with another waitress, we had come to find out that there were no other functions (This seems to be a common excuse they use for long time wait, based on the previous reviews) Additionally, when we returned to the office to have the steak, the steak was bloody rare and inedible. Overall, the waiting time and food were disappointing, but the service provided by that particular waiter and the way he handled the situation had made our...

Last evening I visited Stem with a group of friends. Our intention was to enjoy a light evening, primarily indulging in drinks and perhaps a few nibbles. The setting of Stem, with its warm lighting and tasteful decor, initially seemed promising, offering a comfortable space for a great night out. Our order was minimal, focused on drinks with a side of their notably delicious potatoes and kale. However, despite our clear intentions for a light fare, the evening took a less pleasant turn due to the service we received. The waitress assigned to our table displayed an unappreciated level of insistence, frequently interrupting our conversations to inquire if we wished to order more food: "You can continue to hang out here or you can... you know... order some food." - this comment, unfortunately, struck us as rather patronising and in poor taste. It is my belief that customer service is paramount in the dining experience, often holding equal weight to the quality of food served. I think Stem excels in providing a visually and gastronomically pleasing environment, but the overbearing service we encountered significantly marred our experience. Their potatoes and kale are indeed fantastic, the level of service and the approach towards customer engagement need significant...