Louca's — Restaurant in Adelaide

Let me start with the food, because it truly deserves the spotlight. The red wine oysters were silky, rich, and balanced, easily one of the best ways to start a meal in the city. The crab linguine? Not much to look at, but don’t be fooled. The moment it touched my tongue, it was like slipping into another world. Creamy, perfectly seasoned, and just indulgent enough. The flavours were thoughtful, bold, and beautiful.

I also ordered the potatoes, simple but well done. Just one suggestion: ask for a side of garlic aioli. It takes them from good to unforgettable.

Now, the atmosphere.. well, here’s where it gets complicated.

I’m in my early thirties. Confident, well, dressed, and out for a Friday night dinner in the CBD with my husband. Yet I found myself shrinking beneath the judging eyes of the surrounding tables, all elderly couples, polished and quiet, with expressions that suggested my presence somehow disrupted their ritual.

One woman in particular seemed glued to my black manicured nails as though I needed bare, polish free hands to be worthy of her company. Another woman’s eyes darted up and down my outfit in full disapproval, her husband doing the same but with far less grace. It was rude and uncomfortable, and to be frank, they’re lucky my husband is a gentleman who didn’t notice.

We ended our meal earlier than planned when the room began to heat up and I took off my jacket. The moment my spaghetti strap top appeared, the woman beside me muttered loudly, “Oh for heaven’s sake,” as she sighed and rolled her eyes, feeling uncomfortable I made eye contact and she looked away.

A few minutes followed, she tapped her glass on the table in protest to state she was still awaiting a drink. Perhaps heaven doesn’t welcome bare shoulders or delayed cocktails, but luckily, I wasn’t there to please the angels.

Here’s the thing, the service was lovely. The food was divine. But the dining room felt like a time capsule where anything outside a specific age bracket or aesthetic was gently (and not so gently) discouraged.

If you’re retired, refined, and wearing pearls, you’ll probably feel right at home. But if you’re a younger couple who wants to spend good money on beautiful food and wine, and enjoy a relaxed night out without judgment, this may not be your crowd.

The food? A five. The atmosphere? Sadly, a two. So I’ll settle on three stars overall because while the food was truly heavenly, the room itself made me feel like I’d wandered too close to the...

My experience here was a bit of a mixed bag, service was great, atmosphere was a view towards high class but not well finished, value was a little below par. Dozen oysters to share to start with were tasty and well presented, but at the high end of the price at $54, I had a king George whiting with King prawns (pictured), it was very tasty and cooked well, the chips were also well cooked, but it looked cheap like a bistro meal, not even a bit of greenery with it and not great value. My wife had a king prawn and seafood pasta, pasta was cooked well but her King prawns were under cooked with all three still a bit translucent and mushy in the middle (we left one of them practically untouched), she also said a couple of the mussels didn't taste fresh. It's a nice place the food in general is well cooked but it's certainly not an upmarket restaurant and the prices don't match the presentation and quality of the food.

Edited review 20 Oct 24, due to error on half dozen oyster pricing being $54, it is the price of a dozen oysters. Thanks to owner for pointing out, but disappointed with the owner's knee jerk response of rating my review 3 stars because of this obvious error knowing his own menu prices. Interestingly, the owner had a great memory of my attendance when he responded to my review today about my visit back in August (also when I posted the review), he also stated he remembers that money and value was an issue for us, money was not an issue as we knew the cost prior to attending, and there was no mention of value or cost at the time. Also, the owner chose not to respond to the comment on the review about the prawns that were not cooked properly. My review was fair, I've given 5* for service because that's what...

Dinner at @loucasseafood: amazing food, great service. What more can you ask for? It's a bit pricey but you get what you pay for 😅. Probably one of the best (if not the best) seafood restaurant in Adelaide! . King prawns: this dish was absolutely fantastic! So yummy!! Perfectly cooked and amazing flavours. There was just a hint of chilli to give it a slight kick 🤤🤤. . Pita and dip: melanzanasalata, eggplant, garlic, olive oil. This dip was super super yummy! Very garlicky - the way it should be. So good 😀. . Raw scallop, yoghurt buttermilk, kale crisps, finger lime, spring onion oil: sooooooo good! The scallops were perfect. Could have eaten multiple servings 😅😅. . Coffin Bay oysters - Louca style, with Chardonnay, shallot, chilli, cream, kefalograviera cheese. Amazing. Looooooved the cheese with the oysters! . Grilled whole fish: this fish was soooooo good! One of the best grilled fish I've had in a very long time 🤤🤤😍😍. Full of amazing flavours! . Grilled squid: nice and tender. Perfect! . Grilled broccolini, cashew caeser dressing, kohlabri, native dukkah: really tasty dish! Can't say anything more than that 😅. . Cream kataifi, strawberry, spiced syrup: I thought this dessert might be too heavy and rich, but it turned out to be quite light and tasty!...