LOCATIONA short walk from the tram stop on the corner of Halifax and King William Streets.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe Rob Roy Hotel has been around for decades yet somehow has never stuck out from the crowd – until now. Publicans Stacey and Malcolm O’Farrell took the reins in 2006 after sprucing up the Gilbert Street Hotel. They seem to know what people of all ages like and the Rob Roy offers dining, drinks and entertainment of broad appeal. Whisky hounds in particular should sniff out its astonishing malt whisky collection. The tasting notes alone will have you salivating with descriptives such as honeyed heather, wood spice, burnt embers, blue peat smoke and “the stink of the sea”. Whisky degustation evenings are hugely popular and, in between them, many enjoy another aspect of the RRH that makes it a rarity in Adelaide – the Scottish fare served in its Pot Still restaurant.
Where else is your inner Scot going to indulge in dishes such as potted smokies? Chef Ben Harrison serves the flaked, smoked fish with creme fraiche, Spanish onion, lilliput capers, salsa verde and rye. No self-respecting, tartan-tainted menu should be without cock-a-leekie soup – and the chicken and leek broth is on the bill here. Try Harrison’s Belhaven Best Ale stew on for size; in keeping with his promise to use the best local produce available, it’s made from MSA approved South Australian Angus beef and comes with – rumbledthumps (this is the name those mad Scotsmen give to potatoes and cabbage being “rumbled and thumped” together). Scotch egg heads can get their fix too. The hard-boiled goog wrapped in pork mince, crumbed and fried, is presented with a green salad and Dijonnaise. Harrison leaves the haggis up to Adelaide’s specialist producer – Anderson’s haggis is as good as it gets and is rightfully served with neeps and tatties mash and a Glenlivet 12-year single malt.
Roz Taylor, May 2009