Restaurant Review: Etica
If you are traversing the streets of Adelaide, then SALIFE’s resident restaurant reviewer, Jessica Galletly, hopes that you manage to stumble across this authentic establishment.
I remember years ago, at a food event, someone asking me what I’d choose for my last (ever) meal. “Pizza margherita – in Naples,” I replied.
The guy chuckled and proudly described the elaborate, multi-course meal he would demand, which included some luxurious cut of steak, caviar and expensive wine. Occasionally I think back to that question, and whether I’d change my (clearly unimpressive) answer.
I wouldn’t.
Because, when my time is up, I don’t want fancy fare: I want food that sparks joy (hello, Marie Kondo). And foods that bring joy are usually the simplest. It’s a saucy slice of dough, milky mozzarella and aromatic basil. It’s the heady scent of a 400-degree wood-fired oven, a perfectly puffed crust and the excuse to ditch cutlery in favour of hands.
A boom in pizza restaurants and caterers across South Australia in the past decade suggests I’m not the only one who feels this way. From Pizzateca in McLaren Vale to Anchovy Bandit in Prospect, Chicco Palms to the west and Crafers Pizza Bar to the east, there are flour-flipping enthusiasts at every turn. Leading the pack was couple Federico and Melissa Pisanelli, who opened Etica in Gilles Street in 2012. Their aim was to share traditional pizza Napoletana with Adelaide in an unpretentious, welcoming environment, while promoting the use of ethically-sourced ingredients (etica translates to ethical).
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In 2013, they became the first SA restaurant to gain Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) certification, which is to say their pizzas were the real deal.
Today, while many smartphone-wielding diners flock to the hot-new-thing-on-the-block, Etica’s authenticity stands. It’s also the ideal hideaway in a city abuzz with March madness. The nondescript entry makes way to the courtyard first, which plays host to celebrations and live jazz Thursday nights. A few more steps get you to the restaurant proper, a narrow dining room bookended by the pizzaiolo station at the front and an open kitchen towards the back. It’s a dimly lit, intimate space that acts as an extension of the Pisanellis’ home. Walls are adorned with family photos and artworks. On a table for two is an antique lamp: two ceramic birds gazing at each other beneath a fabric shade. It belonged to Federico’s great-grandmother. Plates, too, have been passed down generations to find a new home here.
An approachable menu of share-style starters and a couple of “primo” dishes, in addition to the pizzas, showcases in-season picks from the market as well as Fede and Mel’s own garden. Antipasti is a good place to start, with generous folds of cured meats, marinated and just-pickled veg, cheese and warmed olives, all gleaming on the plate.
Spaghetti alla Nerano, a southern Italian dish of recent fame thanks to actor and gourmand Stanley Tucci singing its praises, is decadent. The sexy strands, still with bite, are enrobed in a dreamy, creamy sauce of cooked-down zucchini, provola and parmigiano Reggiano cheese. It’d get the Tucci tick I’m sure, but beware of filling up before the main event.
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Pizza comes fast – a minute’s blast by fire is all it takes. And it’s got the trad Nap trademarks we’ve come to know and love – thin, hand-stretched base, pillowy leopard print crust, San Marzano tomatoes and fior di latte (cow’s milk mozzarella) cheese. Margherita is the pick of the pack, and it’s worth paying the extra $4 for the whiter, more delicious buffalo mozzarella. For chilli fiends, the spicy nduja pizza is true to its name – the hot sausage meat mediated slightly by the dollops of house made ricotta. A beautifully dressed salad of perky leaves, radish and seeds further freshens things up.
Other flavour pairings might include zucchini flower with gorgonzola dolce; roast potato with guanciale (a fatty cured pork) and romesco; or a supreme-ish salami with mushroom and olive. It’s said you should be able to eat a pizza Napoletana in its entirety without feeling bloated, however, a couple of slices has us beat (we did have pasta, after all).
The only disappointment is a dry tiramisu, but a nightcap of amaro Montenegro washes things down with a hum. Other drinks include a compact selection of local and Italian-sourced wines, plus a few beers and cocktails (the limoncello spritz is an absolute delight).
Thankfully, it’s not my last meal. But, to share good food with even better company… I’d die happy.
Chef: Helen Brown; Stefano Paolucci (pizzaiolo)
Cuisine: Italian
Drinks: Mostly Italian wine varietals, a few beers and liquors
Cost: Starters and first courses $14-$33, pizza $22-$37
Hot take: Considered, no-fuss food in a homely atmosphere
Must try: Margherita extra (buffalo mozzarella)
125 Gilles Street, Adelaide
0404 129 686
etica.pizza
Open: Wed-Sun from 5.30pm
This article first appeared in the March 2025 issue of SALIFE magazine.
