photo by Stephen Mitchell

A guest review today – my father has put together his thoughts on The Chesser Cellar. I haven’t been there since a graduation lunch well over 10 years ago so I’d be interested to know what other Adelaide diners think. Judging by the 55% on UrbanSpoon perhaps my father’s experience is not atypical.

date of visit: Friday 18 November 2011

Having dined at the Chesser Cellar in the past and found it to be an excellent venue, I decided that my interstate friends would find it charming if not a little quaint. The food had been of a high standard and the prices would be a pleasant surprise for those used to the excesses on the eastern side of the island.

Whilst most of the above is still true, our food on this occasion was close to abysmal. The meatless goat curry was just the start of the problems and the half-hearted attempts to pacify one guest were less than satisfactory. Instead of taking the dish away and offering an alternative, a small dish of meat arrived a few minutes later. By this time the goatless curry was cold, and there was an obsequious “no charge for the meal sir”. One would hope not, as he went away hungry apart from an entrée of oysters.

There were five of us on this visit and apart from the goatless curry, one had a steak and pronounced it excellent, and three steak and kidney pies were ordered. One person thought the pie “alright” and one declared his to be so dry that no amount of gravy was going to improve it. Mine was less than “alright” in as much I thought it somewhat tasteless and the pastry was pallid and wan. I suspected this pastry had been made a long time before this lunch and had dried out before being heated. Maybe the pies are made
a week in advance and wait patiently in the refrigerator for Fridays. Who knows?

A disappointing outing for all but one of us.

Not on my list of places to visit anymore.