Dec 2001 Volume 82 Number 1 "serving the protectors"
Food With Allure
By Jason Squire

The Earl of Aberdeen - or, more colloquially, “The Earl” - has long been a great spot to have a meal or drink after work. The place oozes style and, thankfully, has weathered the test of time from its thoughtful late-’80s renovation. It has withstood the sports bar and Irish pub craze to hold its place as one of the great character pubs of Adelaide. I happily made my way to the Earl for a meal recently.

My partner and I started the evening off with a few “dust settlers” in the front bar. The Earl is a Coopers pub and, as such, has all the Coopers range of beer on tap. I worked my way through a number while waiting for our dinner guests.

The brass fans over the bar lazily pound away evoking images of India, and billowing Bombay shorts for me. If you take the time to cast your eye around the walls and ceiling you can see some great period architecture, and reminders of the famous faces who have had a beer at the bar.

We were dining in the Gazebo Restaurant on the night we visited, but the Earl’s bar meals are good, honest pub fare at reasonable prices. All the bar favourites one would expect are available - and in big serves.

The Gazebo Restaurant is a tranquil setting away from the hustle and bustle of the bar. Style continues with polished tables and snappily dressed waitresses. The menu is fashioned on good-quality, honest food. The emphasis is on impressively presented food of a very high standard.

Our dinner guests selected the smoked salmon for entrée. This was served with avocado creme, oranges, radish, cherry tomatoes, salad and paw paw dressing. This dish looked like a work of art. The chef obviously believes in the adage: “Half the meal is eaten with the eyes”. It looked fantastic, and tasted even better. I had the daily oyster special, which was fresh SA oyster served with verjuice and cucumber. These oysters were big and again presented very well.

I chose the vegetable curry as my main course while my dining companions looked to the grilled King George whiting. These healthy, filling serves were presented superbly. My curry was good but could have been a touch hotter - that’s just how I like it.

The Earl has pride in itself as a steak place, and I saw a couple of the beasts exit the kitchen. They were big, and would have satisfied any famished carnivore. The steaks are served with sauces such as honey Shiraz, bacon and mushroom jus, hot pepper or tomato wine and cranberry glaze. I could see many coppers sitting down to one of these with a bottle of gutsy red from the excellent wine list.

The size of the meals prevented us from even considering dessert, but the chocolate and orange terrine had me very tempted. We settled for a coffee and sat back contentedly, finishing the Rockfords Semillon and Grant Burge Sauvignon Blanc, which complemented our meals.

The Earl impresses. The Gazebo Restaurant is a great spot for a good quality, stylish, up-market meal, and the front bar an excellent choice for a “counterie”.

Where:	The Earl of Aberdeen, corner of Pulteney and Carrington Streets Adelaide. Ph: 8223 6433.
Entrée:	$3.90 - $10.50.
Main course:	$12.50 - $18.90.
Desserts:	$5 - $9.
Bar Meals:	under $13.
Wine List:	from $12.90. (Many wines available by the glass.)

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