East of Norman in found in the west of Adelaide’s CDB, in Sturt Street, surprisingly just east of Norman Street!

Opening in the second half of 2015, it’s opens early for breakfast through until late, serving meals, pizzas and tapas. With the bar in the middle and floor to ceiling glass doors and windows, there’s certainly a sense of spaciousness.

We sampled some of the menu at East of Norman.

Firstly the small plates, available from midday weekdays and after 5pm weekends.

The ceviche special was kingfish, a beautifully delicate fish with a good amount of lime and chilli.

The carpaccio of venison and emu with cumquat was an unusual dish and I was looking forward to trying emu for the first time. Both meats were delicate and not too strong on the palate. The cumquat packed a citrus punch, which was welcome with the crunch of the rocket and saltiness of the Parmesan.

Kangaroo tataki, enoki mushrooms, warrigal greens, aioli was presented beautifully. Tataki is a Japanese cooking method, where the kangaroo is briefly seared over a very hot heat or flame. The kangaroo was pink and so tender and the enoki mushrooms and warrigal provided a nice contrast.

Tempured okra with chilli jam was soft on the inside and crispy on the outside with a nice hit of salt and pepper.

Octopus, seaweed and native pepper berry salad was beautiful and tender with a subtle flavour.

Confit mushrooms, polenta, baby spinach and Persian feta had a nice blend of mushroom atop a fried piece of polenta atop Persian feta provided some creamy saltiness.

And then the pizzas flowed, available from midday everyday. They were all full of flavour with light crispy bases. It was very difficult to pick a favourite but I was very grateful to have tried all of these!

Prawn, zucchini and mint… Pork belly, house made bbq sauce, spring onion, coriander, enoki… Salami, olive, anchovy and capsicum…

Mushroom, ricotta and herb oil… Fior de latte, spicy salami, rocket and chilli jam… With gluten free bases available.

And to finish off – dessert.

Vanilla bean crème brulee, caramelised white chocolate soil and macadamia ice cream. The brulee cracked when hit with a spoon and it was perfectly set. The soil added some texture and the ice cream was creamy with a bit of crunch.

Torched housemade marshmallow, meringue crumble with summer berries. This was like eating light fluffy clouds. Just amazing with a little bit of toastiness from some of the marshmallows and tartness from the summer berries.

The potted chai panna cotta, shaved chocolate and shortbread was a perfect combination with the chai just right. I’m not usually a big fan of chai as it tends to be overpowering but this was subtle with an authentic flavour. And the shortbread, buttery and crumbly.

All of the food we tasted was beautifully presented, with amazing flavour. There are certainly a talented bunch of chefs working in the kitchen at East of Norman.

 

** I was an invited guest.