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A new tapas bar has popped up in southern Adelaide with a succinct menu full of carefully crafted tapas items paired delightfully with fresh cocktails. Olive Tapas Bar has opened its doors in Woodcroft Town Centre and Mall, offering a new spot to enjoy flavour-packed small plates and refined cocktails.
Scott, his wife Katrina, and their daughter Audrey opened the tapas bar at the start of February and it has been getting some great patronage so far. The concept was born from a period where owner Scott Emmerson had to take some time off from his impressive career as a Chef and venue owner.
“I’ve been a chef for 40 odd years,” Scott said. “I spent a bit of time out of the industry with health issues. I wanted to get back into it but wanted to do something on our own terms.”
“My health issues affected the way that I eat. I love food, love eating, love cooking, but I found I can’t eat very much in terms of portion sizes.”
“Having smaller serves of a variety of foods was the way for me to go. My wife’s from a Greek family. The Greek take on tapas is meze. We came up with the concept of the tapas bar, and it all went from there.”
On the menu you’ll find slow baked pork ribs, Spanish meatballs, pan-fried barramundi, chargrilled chicken skewers and heaps more. “It’s great food. We’re really proud of it,” Scott said.
“Tapas can be defined a lot of ways – it’s traditionally Spanish but it can be defined in a lot of ways,” Scott said. Meze is Greek tapas, antipasto is Italian tapas. Tapas is a word that really means small serves, meze means food for family and friends,” and that’s the ethos!
“I wanted to do something where two people could go out and have five plates – and it’s priced accordingly. You’re not paying any more than you would if you were buying a main meal, but you get to try a whole lot of different food.”
Scott has found a love for tapas food in its various forms across cuisines and has recognised that it’s started to have a bit of a moment in Australia. “I think people are starting to understand that you don’t need a chicken schnitzel that falls off the side of your plate or a 500 gram steak,” he said.
The venue also serves a neat set of cocktails, including, of course, a martini with an olive garnish. The cocktail menu includes three types of martini; there’s a classic vodka martini, an espresso martini, and a Pornstar. You can also order mojitos, aperol spritzes, and pink palomas.
Scott and Katrina’s daughter, Audrey is in charge of the cocktails. “Her hospitality experience is great,” Scott said. “And she’s come up with this cocktail menu, which will get a shake-up every few months. They’re selling really well, which is great!”
The logo (you’ll find it on their socials) was also conjured up by Audrey, and represents the olive’s deep connection with Mediterranean food. The venue also features a collection of Audrey’s art on the walls including a martini painting.
Scott started working in a kitchen at 15 years of age in Hahndorf, and has now had a full career cheffing all over the country. Over the course of his career he’s owned three hotels and three restaurants. Olive Tapas Bar marks Scott’s seventh liquor licence, so he’s not short on hospitality experience by any stretch.
With its family-driven ethos and a menu crafted from decades of culinary experience, Olive Tapas Bar brings a fresh focus on shared dining to Woodcroft. It’s a place where good food, great cocktails, and the spirit of Mediterranean tapas come together.
Olive Tapas Bar
Where: Woodcroft Town Centre and Mall
When: Tuesday to Saturday 4pm – 12am
For more information, click here.
