A brand new venue has quietly opened in Adelaide’s east, bringing refined Italian street food, house-made focaccia and family recipes to an unexpected pocket of Glynde.
Strada Food Industry has opened on Provident Avenue, with the owners hoping to introduce a style of high-quality street food they felt was otherwise missing from the area.
Owner Daniel is no stranger to hospitality, having spent around 30 years in the industry before taking a three-to-four-year break. For his return, he has brought former Bloom executive chef Sam Smith on board to lead the food offering.
It is something of a full-circle moment for the pair, with Sam having started out as Daniel’s apprentice many years ago.
Together, they describe Strada as difficult to categorise. It started with the idea of a grab-and-go venue, but has evolved into what Sam calls a “street deli, but refined”.
“I just want people to come in and feel energetic and excited,” Sam said.
“They’re expecting that grab-and-go diner-style food, but there’s that little bit more refinement and the quality really hits the mark.”
Drawing on Sam’s restaurant background, Strada’s menu focuses on seasonality, local producers and simple food made with quality ingredients.
“On the food side, it’s homely in a sense, toeing the line between authenticity and creativity and where things are at in the industry at the moment,” Sam said.
“I think quality is what would wow people about the space we’ve built.”
Sam is also a seventh-generation farmer’s son, with his family farm in the Adelaide Hills giving him an even stronger connection to the ingredients being used.
“I have a family farm up in the Adelaide Hills, so sourcing ingredients directly is something I find hugely important and of huge value,” he said.
One of Strada’s most distinctive offerings is the Cuzzetiello, a traditional Neapolitan street food made by hollowing out a crusty piece of bread and filling it with rich, comforting ingredients.
For Daniel, it was one of the biggest inspirations behind opening the venue.
“For us, that’s the biggest drawcard,” Daniel said.
“One has homemade eggplant parmigiana, another has pork and veal meatballs and another is porchetta.”
With Daniels family heavily involved, they’ve been drawing inspirations from his generational family recipes.
Sam said that sense of family and community had become one of the most important parts of the business.
“Danny has such a supportive family that have been involved in every aspect of building Strada and bringing this idea to life,” he said.
The menu continues with Panuozzo, another Italian street-food staple made from pizza dough shaped into an elongated loaf, baked and then sliced and stuffed sandwich-style. At Strada, combinations include pesto, premium cured meats and burrata.
There is also the Rosetta Panini, made with a crisp rosetta bread roll and a selection of cured meats and cheeses, alongside house-made focaccia sandwiches, pizza, arancini, croquettes and other snack-style options.
“In time, as we’re building, we want to do specials as well so we can play around with it and have fun,” Daniel said.
Coffee has also been given plenty of attention, with experienced barista Aldo joining the team and Strada pouring beans from Melbourne’s Roasting Warehouse.
While the venue has only just begun its journey, Daniel and Sam already have much bigger plans for the industrial Glynde site.
The long-term vision includes office and external catering, ready-made meals and potentially transforming part of the warehouse into a function space.
The name itself hints at that direction, with Strada meaning “street” in Italian and reflecting both the venue’s backstreet Glynde location and its street-food focus.
“Calling ourselves Strada and being in that line of street food, there’s so much opportunity to be creative and really experiment with the street food concept,” Sam said.
“We want to continue to grow that area and continue to support local people and local suppliers.”
Strada Food Industry
Where: 16 Provident Avenue Glynde, Adelaide
For more info, click here.
