Better than the good old days
One of the country’s most exciting chefs now calls South Australia home – and our dining landscape is richer for it.
Nostalgia is a funny thing. It can strike at any moment, with a scent, sound, sight – or taste.
It’s no wonder food can stir deep buried memories. For me, the juicy burst of a blackberry pulls me right back to my childhood backyard, where a rogue bush would sprout the sweetest summer surprises. Whenever I smell fresh basil, I’m instantly standing in Mum’s kitchen, where she’d always have a bunch ready to tear into fresh sugo for her famed homemade pizza.
There was something about Alanna Sapwell-Stone’s tomato and red pepper terrine that felt nostalgic to me upon dining at restaurant Esmay. The aromatic basil was part of it, sure, but also that capsicum, which reminded me of Mum’s peperonata I’d eat cold out the fridge, whenever my stomach beckoned me so.
Nostalgia is just what Alanna is going for at Esmay – named after her 1972 Volkswagen – and nestled within the heritage-listed Hackney Hotel. Its opening is a coup for South Australia.
The former Queenslander first launched Esmay as a pop-up after closing her acclaimed Brisbane restaurant, Arc Dining, at the height of the pandemic in 2020. She then took it to the road, operating in various settings across Australia – a route that didn’t include SA.
It was during a visit to the Adelaide Hills last year when Alanna and her chef husband Matt Stone “fell in love with the place”. They decided to set down roots and, with the backing of Blanco Horner Hospitality, found a permanent home for Esmay – and South Aussies are the richer for it.
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Forget pre-existing ideas of Hackney Hotel. After a thoughtful renovation, Esmay feels fresh; feminine. Soft pinks and earthy tones and textures – stone, light timbers, leather – create subtle warmth, yet lightness. The way the room is configured, I’d suggest opting for a table in the 40-seat dining room for intimacy; the bar if you want to keep things casual.
Alanna’s soft touch in the kitchen echoes the fit-out. It’s real food, refined – with restraint. Take that terrine, an “old school” technique Alanna learned as an apprentice at The River House under chef David Reiner. She’s gathered ripe tomatoes and capsicum from the Adelaide Farmers’ Market for this veggie-forward version, which is set with lemon myrtle jelly and adorned with a mound of delicate mud crab meat, plus a vibrant red claw for visual impact. Celery seed vinegar – the seeds picked from the Adelaide Botanic Garden across the road – adds fragrance, and the dish is finished with the most intense reduction of capsicum you’ll be scraping up to the very last drop.
Smaller tastes range from excellent oysters dressed with green chilli, to emu pastrami “doughnuts” that are ideal as a bougie bar snack. For those, locally sourced emu fan fillet is brined, smoked and spiced into pastrami-style meat, which is then sandwiched with mustard and house sauerkraut I’d love a little more of. It’s giving Rueben bagel, but with a more tender dough, and is easily demolished in two bites.
In bright contrast, the last of summer’s sweet stone fruits is showcased with fresh-cut wedges of yellow and white nectarines, tumbled around house made jersey curd for which I’d love a heavier scattering of flake salt. Pickled rose petals are a decorative, aromatic touch, while young almonds offer subtle crunch.
Dishes progress in size to shareable “mains” that fit the pub environs, while gently pushing the envelope. Take, for example, the triumphant wild venison with Dutch cream potatoes, which Alanna says sells over the beef three-fold. You’ll also find breaded King George whiting with saltbush garlic sauce that ups the ante on fish ‘n’ chips, and rock lobster with lemon verbena-spiked bearnaise. Stunning blue mackerel arrives at the table in its entirety – deboned, head and tail on – its skin scorched on the barbecue before the flesh sets gently under the heat lamp.
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It’s served with blanched heritage tomatoes, their juices meddling with the lemony dressing beneath, while capers and pickled lemon zest bring all the salty-zesty bursts that keep you coming back for more. Throw on crunchy sweet hazelnuts and citrusy sorrel leaves and you have the most beautiful rendition of seafood you’ll want to play on repeat. A quenelle of eggplant and roasted hazelnut puree brings earthiness, but the dish is perfect even without it.
Beef lovers are well catered for, thanks to Alanna searching widely for the most delicious, South Australian grass-fed beef she could find. Sliced to share, it’s served with long, lightly barbecued Turkish snake peppers that bring a delightful hum, and the teeniest wild onions sourced from their mates’ property at BK Wines. Sitting in a puddle of rich jus, it’s decadent eating.
Wines lean towards low intervention/organic, with a greater proportion of internationals in the by-the-glass mix. A stronger showing of locals would complement the offering.
Alanna doesn’t seek the spotlight – she’d rather surprise her diners, with food that’s nourishing for both the body and the soul. While there are elements of nostalgia, here, Alanna’s cooking and indeed her spirit feels entirely fresh – a very welcome addition to Adelaide’s dining scene.
“The community here is so warm,” Alanna says.
She fits right in.
Esmay
Chef Alanna Sapwell-Stone
Cuisine Contemporary Australian
Wines Newer-age producers and internationals
Cost Larger dishes $30-$80 (1/2 rock lobster). Seven-course menu $95.
Must try Blue mackerel
Hot take A fresh take on familiar favourites.
95 Hackney Road, Hackney
esmay.com.au
Open: Thurs dinner; Fri-Sat lunch and dinner; Sun lunch
This article first appeared in the March 2026 issue of SALIFE magazine.
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