Slick service, sweet surprise

It has never been the intention of this reviewer to venture into the realm of the gender wars, but tonight I have walked unannounced into a cute and unassuming little North Adelaide dining room and there is no escaping the issue.

It's a normal Thursday evening and the O'Hotel restaurant is going off.

Essentially the place is two rows of tables, unclad, though set respectfully with linen napkins and Schott Zwiesel glassware. Banquettes line two inner walls and a fancy open design element separates a small bar and espresso corner.

The room is full and filling even further.

Two tables of six young men and a dozen women - they could be Year-12ers - are having a great time, vocal but not overly loud, full of laughter and chat.

Around them a few tables of older couples and sundry others are coping with the boisterous enthusiasm.

While the O'Hotel restaurant is one of a growing breed of ground floor eateries set up to serve apartment residents as well as passers-by and regular diners, this looks like an unusual situation for this venue.

There's a chance right here and now that my snap decision to drop in on the way home from work could go drastically pear-shaped. Twenty orders are about to go into the kitchen and I have just arrived seeking a table for one - which might just turn into an hour in limbo as the overloaded kitchen deals with the rush.

But something very important happens when I enter the fray. A rushed waitress turns from the bar to the tables with a full drinks tray and sees this new arrival and nods, makes eye contact and says, virtually inaudibly, that she will be back in a moment.

This is a rare greeting nowadays in many levels of the restaurant game. But when it happens it is irresistible.

I'm hooked. No tables are free but one will be soon. Would you like a drink while we clear away and reset? Of course. The drink comes quickly. The big tables are ordering now and there's an urgency - the whole turnaround time might soon blow out.

I ask if in all honesty this could take too much time. The answer offered: have a quick look at the menu and we'll get your order in before the 20. I do it. They do it.

The two young waitresses tag team every step needed to keep this rollicking ship afloat - running menus, drinks orders, table cleaning, older clients in need of that extra assurance, worried young parents on babysitting deadline, and even running a series of foil- wrapped plates outside and upstairs to the rooms.

Meanwhile, a couple of blokes have decided to stay behind the bar, shuffling a few glasses, feigning a certain busy importance. If only. . .

My heart goes out to the two waitresses as they perform their heroic deeds.

The managerial bar-struck blokes might have looked out at the events unfolding in their dining room and jumped into action. But not tonight.

Tonight is multi-tasking night; the chips are down and it's fallen to the young women to make the whole shebang work.

They are to be applauded. On behalf of all those who work tables and recognise this scenario - Bravo.

Now to the business of eating out at the O'Hotel, where the restaurant has gradually built its presence in its first year opposite the more famous O'Connell St addresses of Sparrow and next to the latest outlet of the successful organic pizzeria, Goodlife.

With warmer weather upon us, the front windows concertina open to the street which at its lower end is quite noisy as the traffic hurtles up the hill from town. The roar (sometimes) is a shame for those eating on the pavement - as the casual Med and Italianesque Australian menu seems perfect for al fresco enjoyment.

Breads, three versions of olives, oysters several ways, pizzas from margarita to prawns and oceanic friends, as well as seafood and meat platters of three dishes on the menu all cry out to be eaten in a more romantic street setting.

The dining room inside is more peaceful - most of the time. And it is genuinely democratic with older residents from upstairs, business folk and locals now becoming regulars. It has the sense of being a very real and honest eatery - no Michelin star pretentions but a genuine generosity in the service and on the plates from head chef Damien Hein, who has an impressive record in many Adelaide hotels that have incorporated higher-end pub eating into their offering.

The seafood tasting plate contains coconut and almond-flake-crusted prawns, excellent home-crafted slabs of calamari, delicately dusted, and smoked salmon with caperberries - all nicely done though two of the items come with the same lime aioli that reduces the variation of flavours in the collection.

A lamb rack is right on the money - well cooked under the pressure of the maddening crowd, moist, pink with good gamey character underpinned with a sharp and crunchy pile of feta, spinach and pine nuts.

Desserts appear deceptively mainstream, though served with some thought to freshness and design. A citrus cream is tart and exciting. An apple and rhubarb crumble is crunchy in the fruit and biscuit and not overcooked. A chocolate ``torte'' is a relatively pedestrian piece of cake though the vanilla ice cream with it is well made. All up, despite the slight disconnection between bar and dining room on service matters, the kitchen is well tuned, has a keen eye for decent produce at attractive prices and a maturity about crafting clever ingredient marriages.

The O'Hotel hangs off the radar a bit, but is worth including in your repertoire if you are looking for a friendly menu at accessible prices and with way better table service and a more intimate setting than most pubs could even dream of.

THE RESTAURANT
(O'Hotel)

7 O'Connell St, North Adelaide
Phone 8361 8801 www.ohotel.com.au

Breakfast: 8am-3pm, Sat-Sun
Lunch: Noon-3pm, seven days
Dinner: From 6pm, seven days

Function menus available
Seating: 40 inside; 20 outside
Wheelchair access and facilities

Owner: Joe Oberdan
Head chef: Damien Hein

THE VERDICT

THE BILL

Entrees: $9-$15 Pizzas: $12-$16
Mains: $17-$33 Desserts: $8-$14
Corkage: $15/ bottle

Summary
An intimate and very friendly dining room with casual Med-meets-Euro-Oz menu, well-crafted meals with a modern edge at good prices. Would satisfy higher-end hotel dining expectations with the extra joy of good table service.

Score: 14/ 20

Score guide: Below 10: Awful. 11-12: Fair. 13-14: Good. 15-16: Special. 17-18: Outstanding. 19: Brilliant. 20: Perfect.