Africola, Adelaide

Chef Duncan Welgemoed has returned to his South African roots after a journey that’s taken him through several UK Michelin-starred restaurants. Africola is brashly outfitted with a design scheme that suggests Mambo-meets-Frida-Kahlo-meets-African-shebeen. The menu opens with the Afrikaner favourite, biltong, then veers into the unknown with dishes such as smoked mussels and spanner crab on charred cos lettuce hearts. The showstopper is a roasted cow’s head, served in the form of three different dishes. There’s lots of fire, both in the hearth and in the belly. Sometimes challenging, always delicious, invariably great fun.

Image: Andre Castellucci

Top image: Simon Bajada