As autumn deepens in the Adelaide Hills and winter looms with its fog-cloaked rooftops and the scent of damp eucalyptus, something quietly remarkable is taking shape. An old church, long a landmark in Stirling, is stirring again. Not with sermons or hymns, but with the hum of a kitchen, the clink of glassware and the scent of something slow-roasted and surprising.
Tucked behind stone walls and arched windows, the former Aptos Cruz Galleries, a beloved creative space in its own right, is where celebrated chef Justin James previously at Restaurant Botanic, is planting new roots, launching his first solo venture and most personal project to date: Restaurant Aptos.
Equal parts ambitious and intimate, it’s set to open this winter, with just 14 seats that plays out across the three levels of the 154-year-old church.
Restaurant Aptos will offer a seasonal tasting menu of 16 courses, served not at a static table, but across three levels of the building. Guests will move through the space as the night unfolds, guided by flavour, light, and music.
“It’ll be fine dining stripped of formality, “said Justin. “It’ll be intimate, immersive, and shaped by the rhythm of the rooms.”
When I spoke with Justin, I couldn’t help but draw a comparison to Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy in TV show The Bear. There’s a similar quiet intensity. The same deep care for detail, love of family, huge ambition and creativity. And, as it turns out, a shared tattoo. On Carmy, “SOU” sits just below the collarbone—short for “Sense of Urgency.” Justin wears it too, a quiet reminder drawn from a kitchen mantra he’s lived by for years.
And it tracks. That very urgency hit him the day he first saw the For Sale sign out front of the Aptos Cruz building.
“I pulled up, stood there for a moment, then felt the pull… this was it.”
Contracts were signed not long after, and what followed was less a business plan than a gut-level decision to build something meaningful from the bones of this old place.
“I instantly knew this was the spot. It’s iconic and a true destination only 20 minutes from the Adelaide CBD, but a world away from city or suburban dining.” Justin said.
“I walked through the front doors and said ‘Holy Shit this is it!”
“As I wandered around checking out the multiple spaces over different storeys and the garden I started planning what each area would look like and how the flow of my concept will work,” he added.
“I got goosebumps!”
I too felt my own quiet jolt of recognition the first time I saw the scaffolding go up around Aptos Cruz as the beginning of creating Justin’s first restaurant. It took me back to my early 20s, restoring my own 1860s church in Hay Valley – not far out of Nairne, also in the Adelaide Hills. There’s something about working on a building with history under your hands – it humbles you. You start to feel more like a custodian than a creator.
Aptos Cruz has always been close to my heart. As an art collector and self-confessed relic-chaser, it was a space I used to treasure. A gallery that felt more like a private home, curated with taste and texture and a truly enviable art book collection. When I lived just around the corner, I’d pass it often, wondering what it might one day become if not a gallery.
I never imagined this… a restaurant without the usual restaurant rules.
At Restaurant Aptos, guests will move through the space as they dine, each floor revealing a new phase of the experience. The food, while meticulously crafted, refuses to be fussy or conventional.
The menu will play with native ingredients, nods to American comfort food, and walks the line between memory and invention.
“I’ve been thinking about my first restaurant for ages, but not in a conventional way; I’ve been focused on what I don’t want it to be rather than being inspired by other restaurants.”
“I make time for thinking. I sit in my favourite chair, pour myself a whisky and just think for two hours at a time. I allow my thoughts to dip in and out of new concepts and that’s how Restaurant Aptos will differ from anything else because of my creative process.”
And as winter settles in, when the Hills are quiet and the nights stretch long, this space will light up with warmth and movement. It won’t be about status or spectacle. It’ll be about fire, flavour, conversation, and the luxury of time.
In true winter fashion, the atmosphere leans into warmth with soft lighting, slow pacing, and music that pulses just beneath conversation.
Guests might start the night curled up on a couch with a drink in hand, before following the scent of the next course to a different corner of the church.
“Every room, every space and every moment will feel like you’re visiting multiple restaurants and depending on the 14 people dining each lunch or dinner service will be vastly different to the last,” added Justin.
In a world hooked on fast openings and fleeting concepts, Restaurant Aptos will offer something far more considered. It’ll slow the pace, peel back the layers, and dig deep into what a dining experience can truly be.
This will be a space where the past is honoured, the present is savoured, and the future is thoughtfully imagined. It’ll be a place where time isn’t rushed, and stories are told in courses.
In an age of fast launches and flash-in-the-pan concepts, Restaurant Aptos will do the opposite, it’ll be a quiet, powerful revival. One that doesn’t chase trends or accolades, but instead leans into place, purpose and presence. And in the stillness of a Hills winter, that feels like exactly what we need.
“I want my first restaurant to change the dining and food scene in Adelaide, South Australia. I’m thinking bigger and thinking global. I want to do what Noma did for Copenhagen 20 years ago.”
“When René Redzepi opened three-Michelin star restaurant Noma in 2003, he didn’t just build a restaurant, he ignited a food revolution.”
“By embracing native local ingredients, elevating foraging, and reimagining fine dining through a local lens, he turned Copenhagen into a culinary capital. That type of cultural shift isn’t just a dream for me —it’s the goal.”
“I want Restaurant Aptos to inspire a community of chefs to consider Adelaide to open more top tier food experiences – restaurants, bars, burger joints and food that puts us all on the map.”
“People think I’m crazy, but the timing for me to open, what I hope will be a first of many Justin James’ restaurants across the globe, feels perfect. Let’s rock’n’roll.” said Justin.
There’s something poetic in the timing too. Around the same moment James opens the doors to Aptos, he’ll welcome his second child into the world.
A new restaurant. A growing family. A season of restarts.
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