Dragonfly Bar + Dining

Dragonfly is the coolest bar in Adelaide — seriously!
Food is outstanding (don’t be put off by the ‘bar’ atmosphere … the food is comparable to the highest-​quality restaurant you can think of!), wine list extensive, cocktail list VERY extensive, and staff very friendly.
Also good if you have dietary requirements, as the staff are very helpful and knowledgeable.
I always feel very comfortable there, and love everything about the place — which is why we keep coming back as often as we can ;)

Well, you wouldn’t come here for the music.
Because there isn’t any. or at least there wasn’t when some friends and I had some Friday afternoon tapas and drinks. It took me a while to actually realise this, my brain said something was missing but I was too occupied with my «Day at the Races» champagne cocktail — it’s cucumber goodness.
And can I say, Nori Chicken, God bless you, you light up my life. The Sailor girl waitress agrees with me, she wasn’t really a sailor but she wore blue and white stripes and she was good fun. So, points for food and extra for service, what a great little hideyhole Dragonfly is.
It’s very red inside, but a little too dark, kind of like that lunar eclipse we didn’t get to see the other night. but instead of cloud cover it’s curtains. you’re going to walk in there and think ‘how on earth is this like a lunar eclipse’ but then you’ll use the same analogy out loud because it sounds artsy… probably.
Is it just me or is it too hot inside?

It’s hard pretending to know what you’re talking about, and it doesn’t get much harder than pretending to know what you’re talking about at an art exhibition. ‘Me like’ or, ‘I’m confused,’ doesn’t seem to cut if for these Fo-​mo, Po-​mo, creative types.
Every time I’ve gone to Dragonfly it’s been for an exhibition, and I feel I’ve been duped: people rave about the food there and instead of eating I have to wander around with a serious expression and my hands tucked behind my back in a ‘thinking pose.‘
Dragonfly is a fantastic space though. It has a mix of art deco, bohemian, and modern design. There’s lots of seating inside and out front overlooking Victoria Square, and the cocktail menu is quite long, and pleasingly creative. I had a Fuzzy Tingle Time last time I was there and it was like drinking rainbow lifesavers in liquid form.
I’ve noshed on some of the tapas, mainly stolen from other people’s plates because I’m a pest, and the food is supremely tasty. I’ve been expressedly told I have to go for lunch and eat a Tombo burger, and I have absolutely no doubt it will be delicious.

This is a rad little bar with tasty tapas plates and a bunch of stools and heaters (during cooler weather) outside. This place deserves to be a lot consistently busier than it seems to be… but then, I’ve only been there at night, maybe they have a daytime thing going on? My friends and I often go there for a few cheeky cocktails to start off our night, or on the walk between venues in the city. We love it because it’s usually comfortable and you’re able to get a seat. There’s not lots of bars of this sort in Adelaide… somewhere between a pub and a club. This is definately where it’s at for the future.

Dragonfly is pleasant, although it does come across as trying to be elegant and in fact being a little scruffy. The big outdoor seating area is what sells this place — the inside is a little too boudoir-​ish for me. Friday afternoons and evenings are especially good here — when the weather is warm the after work crowd often hang out here.
The main thing that draws me to Dragonfly is their sporadic program of exhibitions, live art arvos and special events. Over summer they sometimes run Sunday afternoon painting sessions where a bunch of local artists come down and draw and paint in the bar. There is something odd and Pollock-​esque about people ‘perform-​drawing’, but it makes for a nice crowd on a sunny Sunday.
After the tsunami in Japan, Dragonfly also hosted an excellent fundraiser, selling okonimiyaki from a little stall out the front. This did booming business, and apart from being a very successful fundraiser was very delicious. Dragonfly also host exhibitions — 2D work mostly.