Pictured: Jamie Musgrave
A restaurant regarded as one of South Australia’s finest has taken out two top spots at Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards 2025. Restaurant Botanic was recognised as Australia’s Best Food & Wine Matching List 2025 and Australia’s Best Non-Alcoholic Drinks List 2025, which, for the team, is a celebration and a natural extension of what they do best.
Being named Australia’s Best Food & Wine Matching List is an exciting back-to-back achievement for Restaurant Botanic. “To achieve this award and recognition for the second year in a row is something we are incredibly proud of,” shared Blanco Horner Marketing & Media Manager, Elana Cervantes. “At the restaurant, we offer an exclusive degustation experience, where the chefs spend hours crafting perfect bites using some of the most premium and extraordinary ingredients available. We truly believe the best way to experience the menu in its entirety is through a pairing.”
The restaurant has four curated pairing options, which showcase its finest. These include the Temperance Pairing, the Botanic Pairing, the Sommelier’s Reserve and the Cellar Selection. Together, they offer guests the chance to explore a world-class list of 332 wines, including 26 by the glass, or to opt for a non-alcoholic journey that is just as thoughtful and complex.
Elana explains it best. “Our wine pairings are designed to complement each dish precisely, whether that means working closely with local winemakers to showcase the very best of Australia or taking guests on a journey overseas by introducing producers and regions our sommelier, Elle Foster, grew up drinking while living in the UK,” she said. “Our General Manager Alma Pasalic, who leads our temperance programme, also works closely with Executive Chef Jamie to create non-alcoholic pairings that follow the same ethos as the kitchen – sourcing exceptional produce from our gardens and across Australia to deliver a truly unique and considered experience for our guests.”
Restaurant Botanic’s non-alcoholic Temperance Programme is something the team takes extremely seriously. Located in the heart of the Botanic Gardens, they are uniquely placed to forage and harvest botanicals that would otherwise be difficult to source, making this programme one that really stands out.
“Over the past year, our General Manager, Alma, who leads our non-alcoholic programme, has been working behind the scenes to develop a label that allows guests to enjoy these creations beyond the restaurant. In September, we launched BTNC.
“We now offer a selection of our most popular temperance drinks, including Garden of Heath Tonic, crafted from a wide range of botanicals grown here in the gardens and designed as the perfect mixer for a gin and tonic. We also produce Marigold, a non-alcoholic sparkling made from tree marigold, offering floral and passionfruit aromas with the texture and elegance of sparkling wine.”
As with all the pairings, matching them with the menu is what makes them stand out. Summer brings a particular energy to this, with fresh, floral native ingredients taking centre stage. One standout dish that sets the tone features lemon aspen harvested directly from the garden. The small but vibrant fruit brings notes of lemon and grapefruit, infused into a cold jelly and topped with a cream of smoked oysters from Barnda by the Bay, Australia’s first premium Indigenous oyster producer. Finished with apple compressed in lemon aspen, a delicate leaf water and a quenelle of Kaviari Oscietra caviar, it’s the dish that officially kicks off the pairing and signals what’s to come.
“Creating the wine pairings at the restaurant takes time. We are spoilt for choice, with so many outstanding producers making delicious, food-friendly wines. First and foremost, the wine has to work with the food – that’s a given. After more than ten years of pairing food and wine across venues in Australia and overseas, I feel confident in my ability to taste a dish and understand what will complement it,” shared Sommelier Elle Foster.
“But that isn’t the full job. I want the pairings to be interesting, and I want to tell the stories of the people behind the labels. I watch the chefs every day, working meticulously over every detail to create the perfect dish, and I know that crafting a great wine is never an accident. Behind each bottle are years of hard work: cold winters, harvests in sweltering heat, and the heartbreak of difficult vintages. When a wine makes it into the glass, those stories deserve to be told and celebrated as well.”
As for the summer season, Restaurant Botanic is alive with new ingredients, evolving menus and fresh vintages. “It’s a time of creativity, collaboration, and renewal, and there’s no better moment to experience Restaurant Botanic than in summer.”
Restaurant Botanic
Where: Plane Tree Dr, Adelaide SA 5000
When: Thursday to Saturday, 6pm to 12am. Sunday, 12pm to 5pm
For more information, click here.
~
Read more about the Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards 2025 winners:
10 iconic SA venues named at Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards
McLaren Vale hotspot wins back-to-back Best Wine List in SA, with a Coravin list that “almost defies belief”
