Walkers Arms

LOCATION
Opposite the stalwart ABC building and just minutes from the CBD.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Insect DNA; not the type of thing you usually leave a restaurant thinking about. Until now. While one hopes not to encounter creepy-crawlies in any capacity while dining, here it’s okay. They fall within the guise of the venue’s theming and are depicted on both the backs of chairs and staff. Harder to identify is the magnified insect DNA worked into the walls. Adamant (excuse the bug pun) about its presence, and happy to point it out, is assistant manager Peter Suggate. He wears his bug with pride and wields a bedazzling array of facts about Adelaide’s latest – and grooviest – hotel. The Walkers Arms was a much-loved local before it met a fiery demise in 2007. This month it rose from the ashes and has gone from old-school to way-cool. Peter says the insects (and circles on the patented carpet) symbolise the circle of life, in homage to the hotel’s rebirth. And how! The beer garden brags private cabanas, equipped with ipod docks and monitors. There is also a huge, first-of-its-kind in Australia, wizz-bang outdoor television. Your viewing pleasure goes uninterrupted into the “amenities”. Talk about non-stop entertainment.

Wrangle a Polish mule from the barman and decide between buffet and bistro. The latter tempts with Wagyu rump steak sangers and a “salty pig” pizza. Alternately, go the whole hog and stick your snout into the smorgasbord. Roasts aside, what about Mongolian lamb, beef korma, tom yum squid or chow mein noodles? Then comes Hungarian goulash, braised oxtail in red wine, Cajun chicken and barbecue ribs. YES there are prawns, along with mussels, sushi and “steam rolled” fish in ginger wine sauce. Politely belch and dive into brandy custard, sticky date pudding, tiramisu and eclairs. Then ask Peter how many dozens of doughnuts his beloved machine can catapult out per hour.

Roz Taylor