Thelma isn’t the kind of place you stumble upon, and yet it’s constantly busy. Its name often thrown around in wine-fuelled discourse over the best places to eat in Adelaide, quietly becoming shorthand for top Hills dining since it opened last year.
Tucked away on Piccadilly Road, and run by hospitality talents James Spreadbury (Noma), Olivia Moore (LOC Dot Com) and Tom Campbell (formerly The Summertown Aristologist), Thelma channels European countryside dining, the kind built on good produce, good wine, and no unnecessary fuss. The bistro is in part a love letter to the community around them – growers, winemakers, and bakers from across the globe working sustainably – giving it a unique identity that’s rooted in the Adelaide Hills, but with a worldly sensibility.
Lunch runs Friday to Sunday with an elusive menu that shifts with whatever Spreadbury’s brother is harvesting from his garden just down the road, meaning each visit brings something different to the table. Saturday nights are reserved for a set dinner, where plates like dry-aged duck with offal sausage and mackerel with cauliflower quietly overdeliver. Ferments, proteins and carbs work in harmony. Pared back, but meticulously executed.
Thelma also doubles as a petite pantry, with shelves lined with sourdough, pasta, tinned fish, olive oil, and other pantry staples, serving “charming-hills spot” in spades, and supplying everything you need for a delicious home-cooked meal.
And while a confident thumbs-up from friends and a quick stalk of the owners’ résumés is one thing, Thelma’s 4.9-star Google score says the quiet part loud.
“From the tea-light candles to the ’90s chill music the ambience is set… You’ll be left with the perfect feeling of a satisfied belly and electrified taste buds,” shared a fan. Others went something like “The dishes are very well balanced yet not pretentious… I think this would suit the curious souls,” and “The quality of the produce is the best I’ve tasted in Adelaide… Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Almost every review shared the same sentiment. This place is damn good, and it’s not trying to show off about it either. In case you need even more convincing, it also recently earned a coveted spot in Gourmet Traveller’s Top 100 Restaurants.
Fans of LOC – the loved Hindmarsh Square wine bar that recently poured its final glasses of pét-nat – will find comfort in the familiar touches here. The chalkboard menus, the eclectic plates, the purist wine list, Thelma is keeping the LOC spirit alive somewhere a little more off-grid (and in turn safer from developers – our hearts ache.)
Thelma has carved an identity as that Hills restaurant. The one you book ahead for, the one you tell your foodie friends about, the one you dedicate a sunny afternoon to. So consider this your sign to visit. There’s nothing like a cruisy afternoon in the Hills, eating and drinking your way through some of South Australia’s best – and your taste buds are already thanking you for the cucumber and fennel sorbet. (They told us.)
Thelma Piccadilly
Where: 176 Piccadilly Road, Piccadilly, 5151
When: Fri, Sat and Sun 12pm-3pm, Sat (dinner) 6-10pm
For more info, click here.
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