There’s a lot to love about Parwana. Voted the People’s Choice restaurant in this year’s delicious. 100, it’s a suburban favourite – but people swarm from far and wide for a table (culinary queen Nigella Lawson even popped in while in SA earlier this year). Food-wise, it’s celebratory Afghan flavours with soul. Popular dishes include Kabuli palaw – aged long-grain rice with caramelised carrots, sultanas, almonds and pistachios ($18), ashak – vegetarian dumplings topped with lamb mince sauce and garlic yoghurt ($22), and banjaan borani – its signature eggplant, simmered in fresh tomato ($18). It’s all ideal for sharing. You’ll leave with bellies and hearts full. 124B Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville; parwana.com.au.

Ban ban is a handy phrase to know if you’re in Korea. It means half and half – and it’s what you ask for if you want Korean fried chicken served two ways. It’s also the name of Adelaide’s must-visit chimaek diner. Chimaek is a portmanteau of chicken and maekju (Korean for beer), and owners Ernest Koong and Darren Song have pulled out all the stops to be Adelaide’s number-one place for Korean fried chook and a coldie. Their bestseller is the wings rice box with five wingettes, rice and coleslaw. Their BB chicken brioche sandwich drizzled with “special sauce” is also popular. Adelaide, Port Adelaide & Elizabeth; facebook.com/banban.adelaide.

The gondolas might only be chalk drawings on the wall, but Francesco’s captures a true piece of Venice. What started as a festival pop-up serving snacks known as cicchetti has evolved into a fully fledged restaurant just west of the city. There is a homely, warm-hearted quality to dishes such as the vegetable lasagne, risotto primavera and anything served on a ribsticking bed of polenta (sautéed mushrooms, perhaps, or salted cod). A separate menu is devoted to vegan cooking. Look out also for a sister stall at Plant 4 in Bowden. 146 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville; francescososteria.com.

Local food legends don’t come bigger than this. Lucia’s has been feeding (and caffeinating) the stallholders and customers of the Central Market for more than 60 years. Opened by Lucia Rosella in 1957, it introduced Adelaideans to pizza – a staple on a menu that also encompasses pasta, steak, schnitzel and a terrific tuna and ricotta salad. Lucia’s daughters Nicci and Maria are still behind the counter, ensuring the coffee is strong and the regulars are properly cared for. A panini from the adjacent charcuterie bar, run by the family’s younger generation, is perfect for eating on the run. Stall WR1-2, Adelaide Central Market, Gouger St, Adelaide;lucias.com.au.

It’s best to book a table at this bustling cafe, particularly popular among the brunch crowd. But there’s plenty more than poached eggs and smashed avo here. Pickle’s plant-centric menu is considered and creative. A satay bowl with wild rice and quinoa, tofu, grilled pineapple and pickled chilli is a hearty lunch dish – add a poached egg and still keep it under $25. You’ll also find salmon poke, roasted rosemary-infused mushrooms on fried corn bread and the cult favourite cheese ’n’ pickle toastie, made with parmesan-crusted focaccia ($16.50). Coffee is great, too, or opt for a soothing turmeric tonic. 134 Unley Rd, Unley; pickleinthemiddle.com.au.

The glow of a wood oven offers a focal point in Ballaboosta’s narrow dining space and touches almost everything you will eat. Watch as the pitas puff and pizzas emerge charred and bubbling. While it would be easy to feast from a selection of mezze – make sure to include the pastries known as sambousik – or order pizza, consider the home-style specialties from “Betty’s Kitchen”. A tribute to the family matriarch, this section is filled with dishes such as slow-baked cabbage rolls filled with fragrant lamb and rice stuffing. Ballaboosta now also has a larger sibling at Burnside, with an expanded food and drinks menu. 289 Halifax St, Adelaide; ballaboosta.com.au.

The foyer of a CBD office block has been transformed into an al fresco diner, cafe and bar that wouldn’t look out of place in the heart of Roma. Coffee, drinks, pastries and other treats come from a bar at the front flanked by booths and other seating. The kitchen at the back has a large display of stuffed vegetables, meatballs, croquettes and other antipasto goodies. The crisp based, Roman-style pizza slices are irresistible, particularly those topped with mushrooms and ricotta. Valentino’s stays open late on Fridays for post-work drinks and eats, offering an expanded menu with pasta and classic saltimbocca. 101 101 Grenfell St, Adelaide; valentinos101.com.

Pack your bags and check your passport. New Local Eatery chef Daniel Blencowe will be the tour guide as you explore the world’s best food destinations – all without leaving this humble Hindmarsh eatery that tends to fly beneath the radar. Start in North Africa with Coorong mullet crudo, then head to Italy for gnocchi or the Caribbean for jerk chicken. In other hands, this kind of culinary free-for-all might stretch the kitchen, but Blencowe’s flavours ring true; a reflection of his own passion for travel. Larger plates are $20 or $29, so have one of each to come in under budget. 120 Port Rd, Hindmarsh; newlocaleatery.com.au.

A standout among Adelaide’s affordable Thai restaurants, this North Adelaide stalwart has an authentic edge to its cooking so often missing in others. This can be traced back to owner/chef Sanom Nglamai, who learnt her craft from her mother and grandmother while growing up north of Bangkok. She and husband Thao Te opened on O’Connell St more than 20 years ago, building a reputation for curries that aren’t afraid of heat and sourness, keeping the coconut sweetness in proper balance. The red curry of house-roasted duck is a stunner, as are many of the items included on a specials list. 165 O’Connell St, North Adelaide; regentthai.com.au.

Cheeseburger spring rolls? Sriracha corn? Generational change is underway at this revered restaurant, and these additions to its menu are one of the signs of this transition. Don’t panic. All dishes that have kept Vietnam full, night after night for 40 years, remain present and correct. You can still fill DIY cold rolls with sugarcane prawn and fresh herbs, or tear into quails slathered in a lemongrass and chilli paste that’ll have you putting aside cutlery and manners. Follow with the special seafood salad or pork ribs hot pot and witness the nuanced flavours that make Vietnam such a treasure. 73 Addison Rd, Pennington;facebook.com/vietnamrestaurant.

A broad palette of flavours and textures peppers this Indian curry house’s menu. Kamal Rawat’s take on what can be an everyman entree of pakora is indicative of his creative kitchen juices, particularly spinachy and savoury in style. Chicken tikka is notably tender, a refreshing mint sauce packed with spearmint-like flavour contrast. While there are dozens of lamb, beef, goat and chicken curries in northern and southern Indian styles, seafoods come mostly in southern sauces, a prawn malabari with a Goan approach typical. The lamb shank masala is excellent, too, its rich flavours soaking right through to the bone. 535 Portrush Rd, Glenunga; khanakhazanasa.com.au.

Is it the Latin beats or the pisco sours that have your hips swaying? This welcoming little restaurant/cafe brings the colour and energy of South and Central America to the cultural spectrum of the Central Market. While its first ties are to Colombia, Cumbia’s culinary reach spreads across the continent with options such as an excellent kingfish ceviche, empanadas, grilled corn bread known as arepas, roasted pork belly and seafood in a Peruvian chilli sauce. Cumbia’s tables spill out on to the street and a counter sends out a steady supply of paella for shoppers on the run. Stall GR43, Adelaide Central Market; cumbia.com.au.

The name refers to the precinct of Mexico City where owner Daniella Guevara Munoz grew up, but could equally refer to the standing of this little charmer in the Port Adelaide community. The welcome is genuine, the frivolity contagious and the food prepared with pride and attention to detail. Warm, handpressed tortillas come to the table wrapped in cloth. Each filling – the pork roasted slowly in banana leaves is hard to beat – comes with the appropriate pickles, salsa and other accompaniments. Add guacamole, soup or a variety of sides to build a more substantial meal. 226 St Vincent St, Port Adelaide; lapopulartaqueria.com.au.

Little Canton is a favourite among those in the know, offering the quality of Chinatown’s finest practitioners without the hassle of going into the city. Weekend yum cha sessions are wildly popular, with laden trolleys dispensing a vast array of steamed and fried morsels. The dumplings are particularly good (try the chive version), and the pork buns and chicken feet with black bean also come recommended. At other times, you will find all your Chinese favourites at more than reasonable prices, with the crispy-skinned chicken and braised beef brisket among the specialties. 173 Henley Beach Rd, Mile End; littlecanton.com.au..

We might struggle to pronounce it, but that doesn’t stop Adelaideans ordering pho any day of the week. The menu here epitomises affordability. There are starters for less than $10 and mains under $20. Pho is the name of the game and there are 12 to choose from. Pho tai nam combines the best of two worlds, with thin slices of cooked and raw beef, which cooks in the steaming broth that’s been simmering for hours. Pimp your own dish by throwing on accompanying herbs, bean sprouts and a squeeze of lime. 199 Waymouth St, Adelaide; facebook.com/adelaidepho.