On loan from AGSA, Sidney Nolan’s Ern Malley hangs in line with the host stand where a slung-back red curtain ushers you in. This powerful 1973 oil painting in fact inspired the entire colour palette for this theatrical new restaurant, and to add to the impact, it was painted the very same year as the Festival Centre’s grand opening.
Even before its official opening on Friday 27 February, you can sense Angry Penguin’s rhythm, one that beats with the incredible performing arts offering the centre has built over 53 years. The new venue replaces the previous festival centre restaurant The Star Kitchen and Bar. Contained within the Adelaide Festival Centre, it looks out through its glass frontage onto the grassy knolls of Elder Park and the postcard of the footbridge over the Torrens leading to Adelaide Oval.
Credit: Jack Fenby
Inside, the drama continues. A central “head table” anchors the room beneath a striking First Nations work by Michael Riley, banquette seating curving around it like a stage set. “I have always had a vision that we would have in this restaurant a head table,” Adelaide Festival Centre CEO Kate Gould says. “Everyone’s going to want to sit at the head table and I’m fine with that. I love the idea that everybody wants to fight to be at the head table.”
For Gould, it’s the standout feature, her favourite spot in the restaurant, sitting at the heart of the room with views across both the dining floor and the river. Beyond, every table is angled toward the view, each pocket designed to be intimate yet humming with conversation.
Gould says the finished space feels remarkably true to its original vision, and you’ll notice the same when you compare renders with new photos.
“It’s really materialised physically in the space… Sometimes I can’t tell the difference between the renders and what the photos are now. So that’s truly exciting.”
Credit: Jack Fenby
“With arts experiences, they are moments that you share, and it’s important that food becomes part of the sharing experience. When you come to see a show, you want to sit, you want to talk, you want to discuss what you’re seeing. Food is a way of bringing people together.”
“People have high expectations now in terms of the food they consume. We’re very food literate as a community. So if you’re going to offer people food, you have to offer the best, and that’s really what we’ve got in terms of Angry Penguin.”
Executive Chef Alex Katsman leads the kitchen, bringing experience from Marriott Adelaide, Sofitel Adelaide and The Henry Jones Art Hotel. His menu is grounded in South Australian produce and designed to sit naturally alongside the theatre experience, refined, seasonal and closely connected to place.
Katsman says, “The menu tells a story. It’s modern Australian at heart, but with nostalgic notes that remind guests of moments from another time. Whether that’s a dish inspired by the 1920s or a reinterpretation of something familiar from the 1970s. We celebrate classical foundations while applying modern techniques, bringing refinement and balance to every plate. With strong European influences and deep respect for local South Australian produce.”
“The team is genuinely energised to be part of Adelaide Festival Centre. The theatre, the arts, and the history of the building inspire our creativity. We feel privileged to cook in a space where culture and food meet.”
Chef Alexandre Katsman with Kate Gould, CEO of Adelaide Festival Centre | Credit: Naomi Jellicoe
That sense of inclusivity extends beyond the elevated dining room. Throughout the Festival Theatre foyers, new “feasting stations” have been introduced to serve the large crowds who descend on major shows.
These are a more accessible catering option you can grab quickly before a show or during an interval, while still showcasing fine-quality produce. Gould says each offering will draw on one of the many exceptional food regions of South Australia.
Smoked Beef Tartare | Credit: Jack Fenby
Panfried Ocean Trout with Warrigal Greens | Credit: Jack Fenby
“Particularly in the Festival Theatre where we have 2,000 patrons on a big show, it’s essential that we can give them something to eat and that really enhances the experience of coming to the Adelaide Festival Centre. Because we’re limited in floor space in putting together another cafe-style restaurant, we’ve designed a different type of feasting menu that you can grab in your hand quickly, have a glass of something, and be standing or seated in new furniture throughout the venue in a more informal setting.”
“So we’ve got the elevated dining of Angry Penguin, and then we have that informal grazing along with a drink.”
The feasting stations are expected to hero a Barossa charcuterie paper cone designed to be held in one hand (so you can hold a drink in the other). There’s even been talk of a gourmet fritz, the kind you’d get a slice of as a kid from your local butcher.
“We’ve also got different dietary opportunities, including a vegan salad. We’ve got sweet treats, and each of the dishes in the feasting option is from a different part of South Australia. We’re going to keep testing those, see what people like.”
Melting Moment | Credit: Jack Fenby
Back in the dining room, the art collection continues to frame the experience. Original drawings of the once-iconic Hajek sculpture line the walls, while Ern Malley sets the tone in more ways than one.
“We’re very lucky at the Adelaide Festival Centre. We have a phenomenal collection, our Works of Art collection, with very significant pieces going right back to when the centre opened. We’ve got significant works of the modernists and, in more recent times, some wonderful First Nations works.”
“And we have on loan for the restaurant the Ern Malley painting by Sidney Nolan from 1973, the same year the Festival Centre opened, kindly loaned to us by the Art Gallery of South Australia. We’re very grateful for that because it’s a very significant work in their collection. In fact, the whole restaurant’s colours have been inspired by that artwork.”
Credit: Jack Fenby
The theatre of it all feels deliberate, and it is, from the red curtain entrance to the coveted head table in the centre of the room. Gould says that doesn’t detract from the intention behind any of the other tables, which are just as considered and inviting.
“Frankly, every table’s a terrific table. They all look out over the river. There are beautiful little pockets all around the restaurant. But the head table with the banquette seating is the place to be. It’s quite a bit of fun.”
The restaurant arrives as part of the Adelaide Festival Centre’s major $55 million transformation, recently unveiled with upgraded theatres, foyers and accessibility improvements across the Festival Theatre, Dunstan Playhouse and Space Theatre.
Angry Penguin will open from Friday 27 February, serving coffee and pastries daily from 9am, with lunch and dinner available Wednesday to Saturday and Sunday lunch plus pre-show dining on performance evenings. The venue welcomes walk-ins throughout the week, making it just as easy to stop by for a quick coffee or glass of wine as it is to settle in for a full pre-theatre meal.
It’s a dining room that mirrors the ambition and dramaturgy of the Adelaide Festival Centre, and a place to gather before curtain up, or settle in even when you don’t have tickets to a show.
Angry Penguin
Where: Adelaide Festival Centre, King William Road, Adelaide
When: Set to open Friday 27 February
For more info, click here.
