Rigoni’s Bistro

Excellent Italian food. A tad pricey and a bit noisy but brilliant food.

Had breakfast here today. Just stunning & exceptional service. Enjoyed a bruschetta which came with an olive oil, black olive & sun dried tomato topping, 2 poached eggs & plentiful bacon. All for $ 13 and change! Great value for this quality too. Definitely on the repeat list. Sorry, no photos though.

Well I finally made it to Rigoni’s after years of hearing rave reviews from others… and what a disappointment it was! Service was reasonable, friendly and regularly checking on tables etc but the atmosphere of the restaurant lacked. At first sight the restaurant looks a bit like a cheaply lit fish tank with its uncomfortable pale LED lighting, I am all for energy savings but there are better ways if lighting a restaurant using LED’s.
As for the food… WOW it was truly one of the worst meals I have had in Adelaide, nothing wrong with the ingredients but the dishes were just and 80’s interpretation of Italian food, it had little to do with true Italian. I have read multiple reviews of this restaurant and I am not sure I ate at the same place as everyone else.
In short I would never return nor suggest anyone else goes there unless you just don’t care about what you eat!

Went to Rigoni’s for dinner on a whim last night, and I loved every minute of it!
Firstly, even before I got there, their website is great. Online bookings, full menus readily available, the option to pre-​order and a list of suppliers. Everything is open and transparent, and makes the pre-​dining experience really easy.
We decided to book online via the restaurant’s website, and I was glad we did. It was packed, something I definitely was not expecting at 7:30 on a Tuesday night! We were running slightly late, but the staff seated us straight away at a corner table overlooking Leigh Street. Menus were given to us straight away, and we were given time to look over the food and decide what we wanted.
We ordered the kangaroo loin with avocado salsa, juniper syrup and pine nut wafer and bread with olive oil and green olive gremolata for entrée. The kangaroo was fantastic! I cannot praise it enough. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Mexican-​esque salsa blended with an Australian meat — not exactly a combo I’d usually pick to go together as well as it did! The bread and olive combo was okay — we were recommended this option by staff as a small side to enjoy with the rest of our meal. The gremolata is strong. Very, very strong. I wasn’t expecting something quite as jam-​packed in a side/​bread dish. It definitely was not bad, but I probably would have preferred just the olive oil.
For the main, we both ordered the squid ink and saffron linguini with lobster, leeks, dill and tomato. Honestly, if you see that on a menu and you’re a seafood freak like myself — how could you NOT order it?! It was absolutely delightful. The pasta wasn’t overcooked and stodgy, but was juuust past al dente which, for me, is perfect. Furthermore, the pasta was adequately salty, which is important usually, but especially so in a pasta dish showcasing seafood. What also made the pasta so delicious was that the chefs hadn’t skimped on the saffron. It really annoys me when something on a menu is described as having saffron within, yet the taste says otherwise. In this pasta, I could taste the saffron easily, and that’s with my senses all being somewhat muted by a cold. It was delicious, and neither of us left anything in the bowl.
The final thing which made the evening so perfect was the service. I don’t know why, but good service with wait staff who are attentive without being pushy seems to be rather hard to find in Adelaide. Rigoni’s service is without a doubt 5-​star. One young waitress read us the specials and went into such detail that we had both forgotten the first dish by the time she had finished describing the last. Upon inquiring about how on earth she remembers everything, she revealed that she actually has to write the specials down as they change twice a day! She even went as far as to offer to leave her notepad with us in case we couldn’t remember what the specials were. We were given ample time to look over the food and wine menus, and were not asked if we were ready until it was clear that we were. Water was topped up without needing to ask, as was the wine from the bottle we ordered. The wait staff were all friendly, relaxed and seemed genuinely happy to be working — something which always makes a dining experience better for me. The décor — it is what it is. This is an Italian restaurant which has been around for 35+ years. It’s a bit old-​school, but I think that ads to its charm.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Rigoni’s, and will definitely be back again. I have been told to come here many times, and now will be passing on this recommendation myself.

Great breakfast service and the food was not only delicious but well priced. I had the Bircher muesli and the bruschetta. Both were lovely. There was a small mix up with my order which was very well handled by the staff. Highly recommended.

I went there for dinner, looking forward to trying the lobster pasta and it didn’t disappoint. The pasta was light and it tasted great with lobster meat. I found the idea of the arancini dessert intriguing and was pleasantly surprised with its pistachio and native lime centre served with semi dried strawberries. The service was good and the waiting staff was very friendly.

Breakfast at 7am on a weekday was very quiet with our table the only ones there. The meals were very reasonably priced & servings were a good size. I had the bruschetta with mushrooms & pistachios which was a great blend of flavours. Definitely recommend the coffee if you like a good strong roasted flavour.

Excellent food, excellent service!
Could not fault one thing about this dining experience.
My partner and I ordered the following dishes:
Oysters kilpatrick
Seafood pasta
Rack of lamb
Tiramisu
Meringue
Every single bite was amazing! Not a crumb was left of anything. Will definitely be back.

Having food here is amazing, both in atmosphere and taste. Staff are both friendly and attentive with nothing forgotten. The gnocchi has an amazing aroma and texture, it wasn’t long before the plate was empty and we were looking for desserts. On a side note: Vienna style coffee here is the best way to finish the meal.
Service: amazing
Style: classy
Food: delicious
Price: for two entrees, two mains, drinks, and coffee less than $ 90

Would not even give a star of I didn’t need to to get to this stage. Sat in their restaurant for 10mins and not even approached, five others in. Simple concept to get revenue…

Rigoni’s didn’t disappoint; it’s wasn’t bad, it wasn’t standout good either.
The décor and general appearance some would class as rustic; I’d say dated, slightly dusty, worn. The menu has a great range of options pasta and main dish wise but the menu itself; worn, inkjet printed, cheaply bound. Simple things need to be better at this price point.
The toilets are pub standard; cramped, unloved, untouched by the hand of time.
Entrée wise we split a platter amongst the four people on our table. There’s three serving of most things on the platter — shared tables take note. The squid, meatballs, salami, were all fresh and tasty — at $ 44 this wasn’t enough to feed four but price/​quantity wise it’s decent value for money as a shared starter.
I had a squid ink pasta. Squid, pasta, capers all excellent and in good proportion. Was seasoned with way too much pepper. Any squid ink centric dish needs to be subtle; the pepper overwhelmed the main/​feature ingredient. Serving size was good, squid was tender and very well cooked.
My wife had the ravioli. Really good serving size. Great little touches of candied nuts complemented the duck pasta and subtle sauce perfectly; I’d picked the wrong dish.
Tiramisu dessert was fresh, and a good size. Delicious. Mushy, spongy, mouth-​watering all at the same time — like my partners family makes.
Rigoni’s served up some great food but there’s some aspects (general décor/​cheap menus/​toilets) of the experience that point to them trading on their name and location. Recommended Italian eating.

How has Rigoni’s stayed in the top of the game for all these years? They do service the way it should be, and have a menu to match.
We ordered ahead to beat the lunch time time squeeze and after being seated, the meals were delivered to our table of 6, by name! A request to change a meal to gluten free was accepted without a blink, a chip in a poured glass whisked away and replaced immediately and our water was topped up without asking.
All meals were applauded at our table. My hot and not gluggy (my benchmark) multi variety mushroom risotto was delicious, those that chose seafood were impressed with the quality and quantity and the pasta meals were winners too.
Wish I’d had room for an Affogato, but I’ll remember it’s there next time.

Italian seafood at its best!
From the tuna bruschetta to the incredible Spaghetti tutto Mare. That almost had me photographing it (something I never do, photo diners not dinner). Freshest seafood, excellent Blue Swimmer Crab, lightly done mussels and calimari. The tomato and onion sauce was perfect.
Sitting back surveying the mess, quite happy thanks. It’s a real find this one. No wonder they have lasted this long. Hopefully they have many more years to go, I’ll be back for sure.

Holy crap!!! Amazing restaurant. Had the special. Chargrilled beef filet w/​pan fried gnocchi, bacon, zebra tomatoes, pumpkin purée, caponata and jus. Three of us all ordered the same thing. All blown away.
Great service as well. Super friendly and fast. Loved the whole experience.

This is what I would call a classic Italian restaurant. Service was good. The food was excellent but what I really love most is the dessert. Tiramisu was the best in town!

After all these years I finally got to Rigoni’s Bistro, open again after a freshen up, but still very much in the Classical Italian style.
Right in the heart of the city, this place is a delight for a pre work breakfast (meeting) a nice brunch if just shopping, a delightful and special lunch or a Romantic evening meal.
The menu is not extensive, but doesn’t need to be. There is something for everyone to choose from. The wait staff are excellent, attentive but not in your face. Good Coffee and delicious food.
I had lunch with a co-​worker, she had the Penne with Italian sausage, Chorizo and capsicum. My choice was the Chestnut Paparadelle with braised Oxtail and chestnuts with truffle parmesan and my was that tasty.
Highly recommended place for a Good Italian Meal

I have a serious problem every time I eat at Rigoni’s: I want everything on the menu. I have considered seeing if a teary display will get me a sampler of every dish but I then remember what it’s like to be a waiter, so I restrain myself.
Regardless, if you’re in the mood for Italian, you cannot go wrong here. The food is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Interesting without being pretentious, and the staff is always happy to explain anything unfamiliar. (My oysters with vodka came with a seaweed accompaniment I had never heard of, but, jeez, I could harvest the sea for some about now.) I also order seafood/​tutto mare pasta in every new Italian place I go to, just to see how they do it, and Rigoni’s version is the best I’ve ever had, hands down.
The only reason I haven’t given them five stars is that it can get pretty frickin’ noisy in there, and having one of those, «I said, HOW IS YOUR RISOTTO?» conversations on a busy night isn’t always brilliant. Unless you’re a shrieker by nature, in which case you’ll love it.
Ah, Rigoni’s — why didn’t I discover you sooner? (Actually, my jeans and my wallet are glad I didn’t, but still.) Love ya.

For my lucky 100^th review I thought I should probably pick somewhere special, and Rigoni’s is definitely deserving of that title. They’re found down one of my favourite Adelaide Streets, Leigh Street, and they’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday.
Breakfast was my first introduction to Rigoni’s. I had these delicious white chocolate and strawberry pancakes, which came with a pot of strawberry sauce to pour over the top. My friend had eggs, cooked perfectly of course.
It’s a bright and airy spot, and on a good day you can snap up a table outside. The upcoming closure to traffic of Leigh Street will hopefully only do wonders for Rigoni’s.
Dinner here is also delicious. It’s not worth pointing out specific dishes on the menu, because like most good restaurants they change seasonally. They do have all of their menus available online so you can plan your night in advance.
Don’t let the fact that this place is frequented by men in suits put you off it, it’s the type of place that suits anyone.
If I could pick one fault it would be that the restaurant isn’t open on weekends, but I guess even restaurant owners need to sleep sometime.

Rigoni’s is a nice little Italian place on Leigh st.
It is quite a buzz on Friday nights these days with the recent Adelaide City Council initiative which has seen Leigh St closed for the evening to permit outdoor dining and live music. Rigoni’s has been one of the beneficiaries in that regard.
Rigoni’s is fine dining, but is reasonably priced in that regard, offering breakfast lunch and dinner menu’s as well as damn fine coffee and an extensive wine list.
The highlight of the breakfast menu is the eggs benedict, which is served with salmon, although the scrambled eggs and full breakfast are arguably as good.
Lunch is mainly pasta, although there is a selection of salads and a small selection of alternative mains. At dinner time the choice is more varied with a selection of Italian and Australian contemporary cuisine.

This restaurant in charming surrounds is a must-​visit place for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The staff are friendly and serve good coffee and wine — and great food.
It’s very imaginative but has moved away from traditional Italian food and taken on a modern Aussie influence, with veg such as pumpkin incorporated into the dishes.
The restaurant caters for vegetarian and gluten-​free diets and can adjust meals listed with meat in them to be suitable for vegetarians.
It is a bit on the pricey side but the quality is there.
The service can also be variable according to how busy it is. You might have to wait a little while if they’re flat out.
BREAKFAST
If I’m there for brekkie I like to get the Eggs Napoli with buffalo mozzarella, basil pesto and toasted ciabatta with extra baby spinach, oven roasted mushrooms and tomato relish. That pretty much sets me up for the day.
I like to wash it down with the Rigoni’s Bellini, prosecco with a dash of peach nectar, while my bloke generally goes for a lovely chai latte.
LUNCH
For lunch you can’t go wrong with the Risotto con Funghi. This contains swiss brown, button, field and good old Italian porcini mushrooms with carnaroli rice, butter, parmesan and parsley. It’s mushroomtastic and the risotto rice is naturally creamy and cooked to perfection.
DINNER
I’m such a truffle tragic, so if we are going there for lunch I’ll try and wolf down the linguine di tartufo bianco e aragosta — white truffle linguini white asparagus, truffle butter and fresh dill. With or without grilled marron. This dish is trufflelicious and also available at lunchtime.
My bloke likes the Garganelli con anatra inumido e pera — premises-​made garganelli with confit duck (tenderly cooked), twice cooked pear, roasted hazelnuts, sage and tallegi. This can also be adapted for a veggie diet.
The kitchen generally closes at 9pm.