Clare Valley favourite Antidote Kitchen & Bar has officially landed in North Adelaide, and after a week of finding its feet on O’Connell Street, we caught up with owner Sunny Mehrok to see how the city debut is shaping up.
Sunny explained that rather than throwing open the doors with a fanfare, the team has opted for a slow, steady start; dialling in the systems and making sure service runs smoothly before turning up the volume.
“You have to walk before you can run,” he explains.
But for Sunny, the new space is already feeling like home. Sitting right in the heart of North Adelaide’s restaurant strip, the venue is flanked by the buzz of O’Connell Street’s food scene and sits close to local favourites like Mercato, meaning there’s already plenty of foot traffic drifting past the door.
Inside, the brief was simple.
Cosy, contemporary, welcoming,” Sunny rattled off – he’d clearly distilled the whole vibe he was going for down to a science.
And he’s not wrong. Surrounded by deep, subdued greens and golds, the space feels immediately unpretentious and atmospheric. As Sunny explained, guests constantly remark on how instantly welcoming their Clare Valley location feels, and it’s clear he’s bottled up that same warmth and brought it from back from the Valley, down to North Adelaide. Earthy accents and a textured paint finish give the space added depth, while the seating has been chosen with long, lingering meals in mind.
“It should be a very comfortable experience, even down to the chairs you sit on,” he laughs. Because, as Sunny sees it, if you’re going to spend a few hours somewhere, you’d better be comfortable while doing it.
The opening week brought plenty of familiar faces from the Clare Valley menu, alongside a few surprises. Sunny explained that the truffle chicken has already emerged as an early crowd favourite – a rich, creamy dish built around shaved Tasmanian truffle and parmesan. Oyster lovers, however, should make a beeline for the chilli mango oysters, made with Smoky Bay oysters in a punchy, unexpected pairing that’s proving popular with early diners.
Then there’s the food that put Antidote on the map. The smoked yiros platter (the restaurant’s biggest seller) and the now-famous Delhi burger (a crispy, buttermilk-marinated chicken burger, brined for 24 hours and stacked into a charcoal bun).
For those after something more relaxed, a small two-seater couch area offers a spot to sink into a cocktail without the commitment of a full table setting, while diners after a proper sit-down meal are just as well looked after.
There’s also a glass wine room in the works, where guests will eventually be able to sit down for a proper tasting flight and pick their own bottle straight from the cellar, a feature that Sunny is clearly excited to bring to life as the venue settles in.
“That’s sort of the future. But there’s a lot of things coming – always evolving, ever changing…”
Above all, though, Sunny is looking forward to bringing a distinctly regional sensibility to the city, with the kind of genuine, unhurried hospitality that he knows all too well from his country roots.
“I want to provide service that’s a little bit homely… it’s like a little bond with each of your customers. And then you become a little like family, you know?”
And with three venues now under his belt – Antidote Clare, Antidote Adelaide, and the well-loved Clare Italian restaurant Ragu and Co – Sunny is proving that great hospitality can find a home just about anywhere
But when we asked him about the challenges of adapting this restaurant for “the big smoke,” his answer reaffirmed exactly why he’s seen such great success in the first place.
“There’s always going to be challenges, but personally, I think you can overcome all the challenges if you provide good food, good service and a good atmosphere… people will come. Doesn’t matter where you are.
“It’s just believing. I believe in the product that I sell, and the service that I can provide.”
As he jokingly recited, “if you build it, they will come,” I couldn’t help but agree. Sunny, much like his name, seems to carry a contagious optimism and a glass-half-full approach to hospitality – one that evidently keeps his customers’ glasses half full too.
“We’ll try our best to give the customers what we’re proud of and what we believe in. And well… we can just hope for the best. That’s all we can do.”
Antidote North Adelaide
Where: 114 O’Connell St, North Adelaide SA 5006
When: Monday to Thursday 5 – 10 pm, Friday to Sunday 7.30am – 2.30pm and 5 – 10pm.
For more information, click here.
