Images from the Ottelia website.
If you’re looking for an excuse to take a weekend down south, a Coonawarra restaurant nestled along the limestone coast just handed you one.
Ottellia restaurant and cellar door has been recognised by Delicious magazine as one of South Australia’s best regional dining destinations, earning a spot in the magazine’s list of 13 must visit regional restaurants.
Set among the vineyards of the Limestone Coast, the family owned restaurant has built a reputation amongst both locals and tourists for its daily-changing à la carte menu and garden-to-plate philosophy.
Owned and operated by John and Mellissa Innes alongside their daughter Matilda, Ottelia began as a response to a gap in the local community.
“At that time the local restaurant that was in the building had closed,” Matilda said.
“The locals needed a place to eat. Mum and Dad had a few taps on the shoulder saying, ‘You guys could do this’, and they just did it.
“Food has always been a big part of our family life, and it just made sense to step into that role”.
More than a decade on, the restaurant has become a destination in its own right, known for its “casual, but polished” feel, Matilda said.
“The feeling you get when you walk in the door — it feels so homely, and everyone’s welcome,” she said.
“I think that puts so much into the atmosphere of the restaurant”.
The recognition from Delicious highlighted Ottelia’s ricotta gnocchi with sage and burnt butter and its hand-stretched wood-fired pizzas.
The gnocchi is a must try if you are in the region, Matilda said.
“It’s my mum’s recipe and it’s been on the menu pretty much since day one,” she says.
“If we took that off the menu, there would be actual riots up and down the Coonawarra strip”.
“It’s a hug in a bowl”.
The restaurant’s menu is deeply tied to the region, with ingredients sourced from across the Limestone Coast wherever possible.
“The restaurant is very vegetable-driven because there’s such an abundance down here,” she said.
“We often have local neighbours come in and say, ‘We’ve had too many zucchinis this year.
“They’ll drop off five tubs of zucchinis and we’ll give them a bottle of wine to say thanks.
“Keeping the menu simple and letting the produce sing on the plate is really what we’re about.”
The food is paired with the family’s wines made from locally grown grapes, with Ottelia’s cellar door sitting alongside the dining room among the region’s famous terra rossa soils.
But Matilda believes visitors leave talking about more than just what’s on their plate or in their glass.
“When people come down here, they’re blown away by the community,” she says.
“It’s such an underrated region. There’s so much to do.”
“It’s not just wine tastings. We’ve got the coast, you can fish, you can walk on the beach, you can go cave diving and explore the Naracoorte Caves.”
“The beauty of the region is still so undiscovered.”
When: 10am to 4pm, Thursday to Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Where: 5 Memorial Dr, Coonawarra SA 5263
Find out more here.
