Restaurant review: Etica Ethical Pizzeria e Mozzarella Bar
Etica has an eastern-states vibe. Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
Etica has developed an eastern states-like buzz about it: so much so that unless diners arrive at 5.30pm, they will be lucky to find a seat.
Lines begin early and many are turned away from the trendy-yet-traditional pizza bar nestled in Adelaide’s Gilles Street.
The small restaurant has a wonderful little outdoor area, which even on the cold night we visited was packed with diners in heavy jackets and woolly scarfs.
Inside it is busy; a dark ceiling contrasts with stark white lighting, and casually dressed staff weave through wooden chairs and tables delivering drinks and pizzas. The tiled floor does a good job of dissipating the extreme heat from the mosaic-tiled pizza oven which dominates the narrow room.
Etica bills itself as an “ethical” restaurant, claiming to use only meat from producers who comply with the highest of animal welfare standards.
It has a small menu: pizza, pasta and antipasto. The wine list is similarly condensed, with a small selection of reasonably priced South Australian and Italian reds and whites.
After a 20-minute wait for service, we selected the misto plate and some olives to start and a pizza and pasta to share for main.
Etica is seemingly always flat-out, so it came as a surprise that although the service was very friendly it was also random and, on occasion, unreliable.
The starter basically consisted of three types of mozzarella and some mixed vegetables – it was just enough to share. The smoked mozzarella was the standout, rich and fragrant. The vegetables were nice – the aubergine was enjoyably bitter while the beetroot was earthy and fresh.
For main, the pumpkin ravioli with fennel, olive and sage was delicious. The house-made parcels of delicate pumpkin sat in a salty, butter-like sauce – rich and pleasurable.
The “funghi” pizza arrived with blistered crusts and steaming melted cheese that only a wood-fired oven can create. The base was superb, crust light and fluffy and still moist. The topping was very sparse, in the Neapolitan style (maybe even sparser). The thick-cut mushrooms were juicy and the cheese was stringy, but overall I was looking for more flavour.
In a food environment that is packed with pizzerias doing similar things – Tony Tomatoes, Pizza e Mozzarella, Est and Good Life, to name a few – Etica didn’t quite stack up on this occasion.
Random service and a solid price tag – mains hover around $25 – are downsides of what could be an excellent restaurant.
Three out of five.
Etica Ethical Pizza e Mozzarella Bar
125 Gilles Street, Adelaide
08 7324 4215
Dinner Wednesday – Sunday
Lunch final Friday of each month
