The East End’s ‘MOST’ Iconic hospitality venue!
285 Rundle Street, Adelaide, SA 5000
Property ID: 100050 (Use this when calling in)
It’s not every day that a restauranter gets the opportunity to become part of the cultural fabric of a city and it’s not every day that an operator secures a restaurant building of this caliber.
Once home to Adelaide’s most prestigious and recognised wine bar, The Universal. Founded in 1990 by Australia’s first Master of Wine Michael Hill-Smith, The Universal was the envy of wine bars nationally and truly an icon of Adelaide. The Universal pre-dated the wine bar revolution that we enjoy today and again we want this spot to lead the way in Adelaide’s hospitality scene.
What makes this space so unique, is its dual configured 280sqm (approximate) layout. The intimate level 1 restaurant is accessed via a staircase off Frank’s lane. The kitchen is kitted out with extraction, cool room, stainless steel benches, sinks and ice maker. The upstairs space has an open plan dining area overlooking Rundle Street and its own toilets.
The ground floor restaurant/bar opens onto Rundle Street with huge bi-fold doors that span the entire shop front. This setup creates a large outdoor drinking and dining area that also flows back inside to the main dining area. Historically the venue has had extensive outdoor dining both on Rundle Street and Franks Lane.
Internally, on the western side is a large bar that originates from the “Universal” days, booth seating throughout and large kitchen at the rear. The kitchen contains extraction, cool room, combi-oven, dishwasher, sinks and stainless-steel benches.
285 Rundle Street is the centerpiece of the East-End foodie hub. Its neighbors dish up a global menu with the soon to open Ong Vietnamese Bar & Kitchen (formerly Chopstix) and La Taberna, Eros Kafe, Mum Cha, Toyama Japanese Cuisine, Lemongrass, Sosta, The Stag and Yiasou George. Wander through Frank’s Lane to Vardon Avenue and Ebenezer Place which reveals Adelaide’s best nightli...