While the streets are quiet and shop windows dark, the cellar door/wine bar/cafe known as Otherness is building up a head of steam. It might be new to the Barossa, have only one chef and a minuscule menu but this rule-breaking venue is causing a stir. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, given the people involved.

Owner Grant Dickson is best known for curating the extraordinary wine list at FermentAsian. Since finishing there, he has created his own label (also Otherness) and, at the end of last year, took over this newly built space as his “cellar door”.

Otherness has just one chef, remarkable Sam Smith (ex Fino at Seppeltsfield) who cooks everything. Using a model that relies on true local produce, rigorous preparation and clever systems, he delivers a minuscule but regularly changing menu without any hint of compromise.

Raw slices of blue fin tuna loin are topped with a tapenade of chopped kalamata olives and herbs. Wedges of dark, chilli-crusted grilled eggplant are so soft and gooey inside they are almost indecent. Shank and shoulder of lamb, from Hutton Vale Farm, are slow-braised until releasing easily from the bone and finished with a fresh chermoula of mixed herbs, spice and preserved lemon. 

To read our full list of reviews for South Australia, head here.