Longplay Bistro, Adelaide

Homemade touches and high-level hospitality make this restaurant feel like a home away from home. Story by Alexandra Carlton

It’s always a pleasure to see a venue do things a little differently. At Longplay Bistro (longplay bistro.com.au), in the Adelaide CBD, you’ll notice that the Tasmanian blackwood tables are on the larger side, which gives the dining room a sense of luxurious space. What you can’t see is that they were built by co-owner Dana Whyte while the whole team worked on the fit-out. The cheerful yellow curtain in the front window also has a story. “It was made by my mother-in-law, Claire Holland,” says director Marshall King.

This sense of warm-hearted care and homey detail carries through to the European bistro-style food crafted by co-chefs Calum Horn and Jude Hughes, both formerly at Summertown Aristologist. “We’re not looking to be an experimental restaurant,” says King. “We’re looking to comfort people, in an elevated way.” You might pick an extravagantly saucy plate of pasta, for example, or the exceptional steak frites. Or perhaps you’ll pre-order something extraordinary, such as lobster thermidor, to turn your visit into a special occasion. The wines are another passion project for the team, with more than 300 bottles on offer.

Then there’s the music, which sidesteps the usual “pleasant playlist” that you hear everywhere. Instead, full albums are played on the turntable – Nile Rogers, Diana Ross – just like you might have done in your living room before Spotify came along.

Add all of these elements together and King envisages the result as a Goldilocks restaurant, where everything feels just right. “We hope that we slot easily into people’s nights,” he says.