LOC Bottle Bar has added dining to its extensive and rotating drinks menu, so now there’s something to nibble on while sipping tasty wines.
City’s little bottle bar now serves food
Sep 07, 2023, updated Nov 05, 2024
Located across the street on Hindmarsh Square/Mukata, the bespoke natural wine bar is no stranger to CityMag’s trained eye.
The small shopfront has only served wine since opening in 2020.
“When I moved [to Adelaide], I think I’d come from a place where there’s quite a lot of natural wine and bottle shops,” bar owner Olivia Moore says.
“I think I didn’t really notice until I went home the first time that it wasn’t really a thing in Adelaide.
“I always try and focus on the organic farming side of things in terms of the wines that we buy.”
Olivia sources the wines LOC serves and has something new to try each time regulars step into her small, humble venue.
“I’ve never actually bought wine for another venue, I’m sure there’s a much more formal process… it’s chaos [here],” she says.
The well-known LOC wine wall
“The food side of things has been a continued idea — it was always part of the original dream in my hypothetical brain, and then I opened this place thinking it’s just not possible because it’s too small,” Olivia says.
“But I started to think ‘Why can’t we just figure it out?’ Like, only do what we can within limitations, knowing that it’s only ever going to be this size and we’re only ever going to have space for a dishwasher and we’re only ever going to have space for one more fridge upstairs.
“What kind of menu can we create with that?”
After discussing with some hospo mentors, Olivia realised she could create the food experience she hoped for with a small investment in the kitchen and equipment that didn’t take up a lot of precious space.
“What is able to be created from that is pretty unreal,” Olivia says.
She wants this new food introduction to fit the vibe created for LOC — casual, easygoing and ever-changing.
“I wanted it to be a format that could be passed on to many [chefs],” she says.
What’s cookin’?Tom’s style of cooking, in Olivia’s opinion, takes inspiration from “rustic, nourishing countryside, French dishes”, but also experiments with different themes.
“[The menu] is definitely not set. There’s no exact format at the moment,” Olivia says.
Subscribe for updates
“Tom’s been looking at what’s available each week and then it’s based on what is possible to prep [and] what might change through the week.
“There’s a loose idea of a menu for the week, and then week to week there are some big changes.”
In true, relaxed LOC fashion, Olivia didn’t know what was on the menu that night — although it was 3:15pm and the kitchen opened at 5pm. But she enthused about Tom’s previous offerings.
“We had like a romanesco carpaccio, some roast seaweed, we had duck breasts with some charred grains — that was one of the most popular mains,” Olivia says.
“It’s kind of like relaxed [and] really nourishing — especially at the moment like warming foods which obviously are based on the availability of produce.”
Some of Tom’s dishes. This picture: Jack Fenby.“I think people like in bigger places [being] near the open kitchen, but this is almost a little bit more,” Olivia says.
“But people love it. The smells are all in the air, it’s small enough that you can literally just chat to him, people are seeing what comes out — I’ve always loved that.
“The idea could sound quite intense but it feels more relaxed, it’s more like open kitchen at home kind of environment rather than being on a chef’s table — it’s a lot more.” chill.”
With rotating wines and walk-in only service, Olivia has always encouraged a relaxed format and wants this new food introduction to simply add to her informal way of doing things.
“I can’t imagine being like ‘Do you have a booking?’ — it’s just not the vibe,” she says.
“What I believe people like about this place is it’s just a bit blasé in hopefully a good way.
“If you come in and you want a table for two for a glass of wine, you are no less of a priority than if someone’s coming in for food.”
LOC Bottle Bar is located at 6 Hindmarsh Square/Mukata and is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 3pm until late for drinks, and Thursday to Sunday from 5pm until 9pm for dinner.
Connect with LOC on Instagram for more.
