Top restaurant openings of 2026 (so far)
From a McLaren Vale cafe specialising in sourdough crumpets, to an ambitious $495-per-head roaming dining experience in an old Stirling church, here are the recent openings we’re excited about.
Restaurant Aptos
147 Mt Barker Rd, Stirling
South Australia’s most anticipated restaurant opening of the year opened its doors in May. Restaurant Aptos by chef Justin James is a wildly ambitious, 17-course exploration of native Australian ingredients, which takes 14 diners on a journey across three levels in a historic church. At $495 for the food alone, it’s (very) special occasion fare – but a memorable experience indeed.
OMADA Bar & Grill
46 Currie St, Adelaide
For all its generosity and flavour, Greek food in recent years has sat just outside Adelaide’s culinary zeitgeist. But the tide is changing – and among those riding the swell is restaurateur Simon Kardachi with his new restaurant OMADA. The venue quietly opened at the very end of 2025, and began serving its full menu at the start of this year.
“In the CBD there was certainly room for a focussed Greek restaurant,” says Simon, who is also behind the likes of Fugazzi, Osteria Oggi and Latteria. “It’s always about timing.”
Simon had long been chatting to his mate George Ginos of the Ginos Group, which owns Leigh Street, about going Greek. He’d visited the corner site a few times over 12 months, but it was one afternoon when natural light pooled through the space that he “knew”. Studio Gram helped bring their coastal Greece vision to life; the fit-out recently celebrated at the 2026 Australian Interior Design Awards.
“We’ve obviously spent a lot of money on the detail and the fit out, and like Fugazzi and Oggi, we’re producing a room that really makes you feel like you’ve stepped somewhere else,” Simon says.
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Falcone
58 Melbourne St, North Adelaide
There’s a new hot spot for pizza purists in North Adelaide with the opening of Falcone – an intimate, takeaway-first pizzeria from the team behind Side Hustle (Carrickalinga) and Tonino (Goodwood). It’s a vision realised for siblings Anna-Lisa and Nick Barone, plus Anna-Lisa’s husband Leo Triantafyllidis, who “always wanted to open a pizza restaurant in the city”.
“We’re mirroring Side Hustle with a focus on traditional pizzas and weekly specials,” Anna-Lisa says. “And we’re following Neapolitan guidelines (for making pizza) and using solely wood.”
The 20-seat venue is named after the siblings’ Nonna Teresa Falcone – “a very good cook” – who migrated to Australia from Italy’s Abruzzo region. Carb enthusiasts can also enjoy a menu of savoury and sweet oven-baked breads, from the familiar garlic through to cinnamon and brown sugar.
Gelato Messina and Shadow Baking
88 O’Connell St, North Adelaide
Cult-loved Gelato Messina has opened its third South Australian store alongside sister company Shadow Baking within the 88 O’Connell Street development. While Gelato Messina – started by Adelaide-born Nick Palumbo – is scooping up the cool treat from noon until late, pastry makers Shadow Baking is offering an all-day dining menu with dishes including croissant loaf French toast, and a sausage and egg bun.
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Neighbours
402 Main Rd, McLaren Vale
Croissants may be a French favourite, but when Daniel and Angelle were running their specialty coffee cafés in Paris, there was one thing they missed from home: crumpets.
“You couldn’t get them in France,” the pair says. “Sourdough was already at the core of how we approached food, so that became our foundation. What started as something familiar became the thing people came back for, even in Paris.”
Years later, the pair returned to Australia and began serving up their Neighbours sourdough crumpets at the Willunga and Adelaide Farmers’ Markets. Now, they’ve found a permanent home – in a new fit-out next to the Dawn Patrol coffee roastery on Main Road, McLaren Vale.
Café Neighbours specialises in brunch dishes built around crumpets, as well as cake and coffee (made with Dawn Patrol beans, of course).
“The markets were where it all started, but having a space now means we can take it further,” Daniel and Angelle say. “More time, more detail, and the chance to serve the crumpets the way we always imagined – plated and part of a full offering.”
Pantry on Prospect
71 Prospect Rd, Prospect
South Australian food identity Callum Hann and long-time business partner Themis Chryssidis in April opened the doors to Pantry on Prospect – a 70-seat restaurant-meets-providore in The Harrington apartment building on Prospect Road. Expect an approachable, Mediterranean-inspired menu, and a pantry wall bursting with gourmet items to take home with you.
Italian Street Kitchen
39 Currie St, Adelaide
Italian Street Kitchen has opened its doors in Currie Street, marking the brand’s South Australian debut.
The restaurant chain, which has venues in NSW, QLD and WA, is planning several SA sites. “We’ve had our eye on Adelaide for a long time,” says Gareth Howard of hospitality company, Blue Coral Concepts. Expect generous serves of well-loved Italian dishes – stand-outs include the slow-cooked lamb ragu with casarecce pasta that’s made in-house daily, and the lamington tiramisu.
Picoso Mexican Bar y Cocina
90 Prospect Rd, Prospect
Prospect Road’s newest neighbour is the Mexian inspired Picoso, led by head chef Oliver Luxton. Expect traditional tacos and small plates, such as aquachile verde (prawns cured in aquachile), and larger items including mole poblano with braised short rib, and pork belly skewers served with pickles and salsa.
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