Golden Boy

The food here is amazing, just amazing. My 2^nd time and have not had one bad dish. The particular and suprising standouts were the Chicken & Prawn Stuffed Tomatoes & the Roti with Pandan Custard. I would never have chosen these off menu but tried in the Tuk Tuk (banquet) my first time around and they were taste sensations. But so were most! Kingfish,“Crying Tiger” Sirloin salad, even the tempura veg was something special. Service great too, friendly, knowledgeable & attentive but not pretentious at all. A must try and take your friends! Book in advance though.

If you like chilli it’s 5 star every time! If you don’t, it seems almost all dishes now have chilli and it’s often not mentioned on the menu which is crazy as its hot chilli! This is my fourth meal here and it seems like each time they step up the chilli even more. A lot of the produce in SA doesn’t need it as the chilli effects your ability to taste the amazing produce which Golden boy does serve. It’s like they think they aren’t cool if it doesn’t have chilli! That’s my rant, but seriously most dishes were amazing but some definitely were effected by the chilli but the amazing staff will steer you! I could still ‘live’ in this place.
Service– amazing
Atmosphere and crowd– cool
Wine list — good

«I am vegetarian so sometimes find very less options in the restaurant. But at Golden Boy they have few options and on top of that chef was very friendly and flexible to make some vegetarian dishes by editing them which I never choose for my meal. Specially in dessert Banana Fritter with Coconut Icecream was so delicious. »

It’s like walking into a scene of an old adventure comic with the industrial fittings and artistic doodles on the walls, like scenes in a story. The people are lovvvely, the food is drop dead delishness and the lively atmosphere makes for an upbeat night! Dress well though, this place has effortless class and a wild haired, inquisitive and anamated maitre’d any restaurateur would kill for… the golden boy of the business for sure!

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to dine at the popular Golden Boy which can be find in the old pool table area of the Botanic Bar (oh the memories)
For newcomers I’d highly recommend the $ 58 tuk tuk degustation menu. trust me you won’t be disappointed. Over 10 dishes including dessert are presented one at a time, each one being a tasty little surprise. The quality of flavours is exceptional and will leave you hanging for the next course which seem to get even more tastier each time.
Stand out dishes included; the pulled beef pancakes, pork belly and roasted stuffed tomatoes. yum yum yum
I can’t not comment on dessert — ahhh mazing! We feasted on banana fritters, chocolate cake with basil sauce and roti bread with sweet custard.
Golden Boy, I am one big fan!

Wonderful restaurant wonderful staff but the meals are bit over priced especially if the meals are coming from the same kitchen that supplies the botanic hotel just go next door and check there meals out much cheaper

Cool, funky eatery that does late night meals with an impressive drinks list. Staffed by hipsters and frequented by well dressed 20 – 30 somethings. We ate here late on a Friday recently and sat at the bar, which was fine for the two of us. We had the Tuk Tuk menu which at $ 58 was reasonably priced for the amount of food we had. They were very willing to tailor to our tastes and it seems there are options for everyone on the menu. Food was just delicious — very flavourful and presented beautifully on stoneware plates. Excellent wagyu beef cheek curry, and I enjoyed the Son in Law eggs. A chicken salad with coconut sambal was way more delicious than a chicken salad has right to be. Desserts were also amazing — we were recommended the roti with pandan custard and it was a standout. Service was friendly and personal; our waiter/​bartender was attentive but friendly and relaxed.
Such a fantastic atmosphere at Golden Boy! This was my second trip and I will definitely be returning for a third!

Great little place with a wonderful atmosphere. As soon as I walked through those front doors, into the pink lit doorway, I knew I was in for a good time.
The staff are warm, enthusiastic, humorous, and friendly and the décor is equally as awesome. I really appreciated the ceiling and the mood lighting.
(Can I just start by saying the placemat menu is genius). The menu is all about sharing and share you shall. We ordered 4 dishes– deep fried soft shell crab, szechuan salt and pepper chicken wings, roasted spatchcock, and massaman curry of wagyu beef. ¹⁰⁄₁₀. If you like a bit of spice, it’s perfect for you. I’m not such a fan of spice, so I struggle a bit, but it’s so good that I continued to go for more.
Food always came out quickly and table service is on point. The cocktails are a nice choice also!
I want to end on the highlight of my night. My day. My week. Maybe my month…
If you’ve somehow saved enough room for dessert, please get the banana fritter with coconut ice cream. You can thank me later. I could have ordered a few more of them if I had room. Something so simple, done so well. It was love.
If you’re looking for somewhere to eat for dinner, wander down to the east end and give this place a go. (Maybe make a booking if you can because it can get pretty busy!)

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and décor at Golden Boy, but it is noisy, so if that’s not for you I wouldn’t recommend it.
The service was great and the food was yummy, however, as a vegetarian I was disappointed that there was only one specific vegetarian main (the vegetable curry) on the menu (of probably 20 – 30 dishes in total). It may be possible that some of the other dishes could have been adjusted for vegetarians, but I’m not sure because I was happy to go with the curry based on the recommendation of my mother.
My friend who I was with had the 8 hour beef cheeks and said they were really delicious, and from where I was sitting the meat certainly looked very soft and tender.
The prices are quite high (maybe I just haven’t adjusted from a recent American holiday yet), so be prepared for that. Starters are around $ 15, mains $ 20, and desserts $ 15. Drinks, and particularly cocktails are also very dear, I was considering getting one until I saw they were all $ 18 – 20.
Will definitely come back, especially with meat lovers, but next time might ask about what else they can do for vegetarians.

Food was delectable and a great atmosphere. Maitre d’ was a little full of himself and not overly welcoming, but otherwise service was great. The papaya salad is very spicy, which was fine by me but much spicier than any papaya salad I’ve ever eaten in Laos/​Thailand/​Cambodia.

Oh my, you are a handsome boy! So shiny and golden my little Golden Boy!
Ok so, I bloody loved this place, it’s just so sexy, well I found it sexy! Admittedly I was seated opposite mi amour, and he could make a Macca’s seem sexy, because… he is (so many brownie points for me right now). So despite it being loud, it’s exciting and fun, and therefore great for friends or lovers.
Back to the review… You can tell that they have really thought about the Golden Boy experience. There were a lot of ‘oooooh’ and ‘aaaaah’ moments at this my first time at GB, and that’s what makes it so far above your average Thai eatery. Everything just works and adds to the overall experience, from the outstanding service, and the gorgeous plates with the ‘Golden Boy’ logo, to the wallpaper and the beautiful bamboo inspired cutlery. It is really classy stuff.
The menu is excellent for vegos and people like me who do not eat red meat, or fish, and it’s exciting to have so many choices. When we were are choosing what to have that night, we were also choosing what to have next time. Everything sounds so good! We were also lucky to be seated next to a table of two guys who were clearly regulars and their conversation helped us decide exactly what to order this time and next!
Everything we ate was delicious, although not as chili infused as I had expected. The UBBC (broad beans and bean curd) was light and tasty and a lovely starter. Moving on to the chicken and tamarind phad thai, it was delicious and fresh. Lots of big pieces of chicken and the sauce was full of flavour. By this stage my tummy was all round and my pants were much tighter, but we had already ordered the Green Chicken Curry, and I couldn’t say no. They really did save the best until last because the curry was sensational, and combined with the coconut and ginger rice it was a flavour explosion. I have to add that the curry contains ‘pea eggplant’ or ‘bitter balls’ and whilst they look fresh, they are one of the strangest vegetables I have ever eaten. I pushed them aside after tasting one too many, but other than that, the curry was perfect :)
I’m a little biased when it comes to Botanic bar. It has been one of my loves since way back when they did those amazing $ 6 pizzas, but I think most would agree that Golden Boy is pretty wonderful. I must also add that the ‘Lychee drink’ was very refreshing, and before our meal I snuck in a ‘English Harbour’ 10 year old rum with coke. $ 15 of the best rum I have ever had.
Overall, Golden Boy IS golden. 1^st Place, 5 stars for you handsome!

Yummy modern food, with lots of chilli! It’s a little noisy, but has a cool atmosphere. The staff were very friendly and knew the food and drinks menu well and even made suggestions on what we might like. Overall, a fun dining experience.

Fantastic! Went to Golden Boy for a birthday last night and the whole experience was great. Everyone at the table (except me) had the ‘Tuk Tuk’ which was a numerous-​course (we lost count) feast. Due to allergies I couldn’t have the Tuk Tuk, so I ordered off the ala carte menu. The staff were great with me, they had a chat to the kitchen and gave me a large list of recommendations. One lady in particular kept coming to check up on me and my food. I was very impressed with the service.
Service aside though, the food was amazing! Obviously I couldn’t eat the ‘Tuk Tuk’ but everyone else at the table raved about it. It was $ 58 for the ‘Tuk Tuk’ and they definitely got their money’s worth. My food was amazing, I had BBC (broad beans & bean curd) which is a favourite dish of mine. The flavour was excellent. I also had the «crying tiger» chargrilled sirloin. They modified the dipping sauce for me and it was delicious, full of mint and lime, tangy and perfect with the steak. I gobbled it up! I also had the passionfruit parfait which was quite nice
As it was our friends birthday we requested they make a dessert for her. They brought out a sorta banana-​split, shaped like a penis and balls, with a sparkler. It was hilarious. Not everyone would appreciate a penis dessert, but they could tell we’d find it funny.
I would recommend Golden Boy to anyone, good atmosphere, great service and amazing food. P. S. Forgive the crappiness of my photos, it was dimly lit in there.

I’ve visited Golden Boy twice now and each visit has been amazing. The interior looks fresh and different to other restaurants in Adelaide.
The service is absolutely faultless. I arrived alone for a dinner and was greeted by at least three waiters who each stopped to ask about my day etc. Even if the food wasn’t that good, I would visit just for the service. In terms of food, the menu may seen overwhelming which is why we chose the banquet option — where the waiter will bring out a variety of dishes. The banquet can even be tailored to special requests (i.e. Vegetarian; doesn’t eat chicken, etc.). The food is delicious, and I would definitely recommend trying the Pad Thai.
Booking is also available online, which makes it more convenient. Although, it is worth noting that there are particular dinner ‘seatings’ (i.e. 6pm; 8pm; 10pm), but more information is available in the website.
Overall, this is a great new Adelaide restaurant that I would definitely recommend.

At the corner where East Terrace meets North Terrace is a beautiful old pub, that has been tastefully restored into a new life as a cocktail lounge Botanic Bar. What used to be a pizza place has also had a makeover into the hip new Thai in town, Golden Boy.
The evolution of Thai food is a welcome one. Goodbye greasy flavourless noodles. Farewell deep fried anonymous spring rolls which taste only of burnt oil. Welcome dry curries, pickled green peppercorns on stalks, basil of many colours & shapes, lashings of citrus, palm sugar, and chili in many forms.
On a punt, we had a go at landing a table at Golden Boy on a warm summer Friday evening without having made a booking. While waiting, we noticed Christopher Pyne dining. We joked that if there was no room, it didn’t matter because we didn’t want to eat with the man single-​handedly dismantling our education system. Turned out there was no room, but lucky for us, you can order from (lucky?) 13 dishes on the Golden Boy menu, from the Botanic Bar in the same building.
To match with my dining companion’s chili jam Spencer Gulf mussels, we opted for a glass of 2011 Franz Hirtzberger ‘Steinfeder’ Gruner Veltliner from Wachau, Austria.
The mussels came out within 5 minutes and were deliciously sweet and hot. My tamarind pad Thai followed quickly. Smoky, sweet and reminiscent of Simon Bryant’s «Eat Dirty» Indian mee, it is at the same time nice & light with fresh lime, plenty of veg including baby corn & oyster mushrooms and a good pile of roasted & crushed peanuts. Could have done with a more liberal shake of chili for my tastes.
The heavy earthenware stone serving plates are lovely as is the emphasis on sharing, with each dish coming with oversized forks for trading tastes with your neighbour.
Botanic Bar has a nice atmosphere and attracts a friendly crowd with soaring pressed metal ceilings, lounge, booth and bar seating but the music was just a touch too loud for easy conversation. Service was quick and helpful and a nice touch is the lemongrass, ginger, pineapple and mint infused water for self service at the bar.
Definitely worth a visit — booking or not. I’ll be back to try the tasting menu which in Adelaide is such a great fun and good value way to eat having done so numerous times at Andre’s Cucina.

All that shines isn’t gold… well it sure is gold at Golden Boy!
I came to eat here with a couple of friends and made a very easy and seamless booking on their website the week before. They even sent me a reminder email the day before.
We had the best seats in the house — right in the kitchen where I could see my thai leaves and ginger being smashed fresh in the mortar and pestle and be part of all the fragrant aromas that were going around the place.
We chose the banquet option known as the ‘tuk tuk’ — there are a few to choose from and they start at about $ 40 — $ 45, you will be on a golden winner here and also saving your self quite a few pennies!
The Pud Thai was amazing and the stand out for me, this sadly means that unless I go back to Thailand or come to Golden Boy any Pud Thai that comes near me will have A LOT to live up too! I cannot fault any of the meals that came out as they were all amazing.
Also be aware that if you are going with a group and choose the tuk tuk menu you are able to ask your waiter to include any menu item that sticks out for you as they randomly choose it for you.
The only let down was the cocktails that my friends ordered — they were expecting a pretty cocktail glass after forking out $ 17 for their drink but it came in a lychee can.
Service was great — attentive but not in your face and with a touch of humor.
I cannot wait for my next visit to Golden Boy !!!

I would give 5 stars for the food, but for me, dining out is the whole experience.
It could have been because it was so busy, but I would have thought that the hospitality industry knows how to plan for busy times. I was just disappointed at the lack of attention to service at our table. We had to wait 20 mins longer than our booking time for a table and then the service was slow. Our waiter (although friendly and well informed on the dishes), told us there was a tuk-​tuk menu but didn’t mention that there was also alacarte and that the menu was on the back of the placemats, so we didn’t even know it was there until they were clearing away at the end of the night. It took a long time for them to take drink orders and then only half were delivered. The food had arrived before the rest of the drinks, despite us asking for them. One of our party went back into the Botanic Bar and ordered a drink from the bar there. (that happened again later).
Also, we had to ask 5 times for our water to be topped up during the night instead of them noticing and walking around with water jugs. Can’t they just let us have the jug on the table if they are too busy?
On the positive side, the food was really delicious and so much care and attention was taken with it. One dish of eggs was cooked at 66deg, at which point the eggs apparently start to congeal, are peeled and then deep fried. They were served halved with fried shallots sprinkled on them. Delicious!
Another negative aspect of the service was that the plates were cleared away by one waiter and then another waiter brought more food. So the plates and cutlery had to be brought out again.
In fairness, when the waiter said it was a crab curry next and 3 out of the 6 of us couldn’t eat that, he made sure if was a different curry that all could eat. And it was delicious!
I loved the décor and atmosphere — very funky. The downside was the noise. It was so loud we could barely hold a conversation.
Loads of well dressed people, so it was fun looking at all the fashion.
We all had a fun night and loved the food. It’s just that for that price, I’d expect the customer service to be spot on.

We went to Golden Boy for a «quick» dinner (because we could only get a table for 6:30pm and had to be out by 8pm — this place is popular!).
We did the «tuk tuk» menu and now that I’ve experienced it I wouldn’t do anything else. Every dish that came out was just amazing — somehow they were like nothing I’ve ever tasted before, yet had all the familiar Thai flavours. Unique but familiar?
The best thing about the tuk tuk menu is that they told us if we came in again, we could try different things next time — it’s not the same each time (and seemed to differ from table to table as well). Love this.
If I could take off a quarter of a star I would say that my husband was not very taken by the beer list — not really very imaginative and only a few choices. But there was a good wine list, so all was right in my world.
Interior fit out is great too.

My new favourite, I will be bringing everyone I know here. Impeccable service. The food sparkled with flavour. Don’t go past the chicken mint salad, you won’t regret it! Décor was über cool, polished but still with character. Great hip vibe. I know my life has more meaning now I have discovered GoldenBoy.

Thai food has become a more in-​vogue cuisine over the years however there was often something missing with the dining experience. It was often a case of food first, décor and ambiance a distant second. Golden Boy brings these two key elements to a great dining experience up to par with each other.
We arrive and are immediately impressed by the fit out. It’s chic but not pretentious. It’s a good size — great atmosphere without it feeling like you’re involved in everyone else’s conversation. Our waiter offers to choose our dishes for us (an option on the menu) which we cautiously agree to. Needn’t have worried, more on that soon. The wine list is a bit different, but then so is the venue with a modern Thai restaurant inside a late 1800s pub.
Over the course of the next hour, 5 dishes plus a side came out at convenient intervals. Each dish complimenting the previous one. The waiter’s selection was spot on for our likes and we thoroughly enjoyed all of them — from hard boiled eggs with chilli to pork stir fry to green curry not to forget the thinly sliced wagyu beef or Thai sausage in a delicious dipping sauce.
We loved the whole experience — the environment, the buzz, the not knowing what dish will come next or where it would end and of course the food. Oh my, the food. The only question is not if we’ll come back, but how many times and what we’ll order next!