Affordable drinks, friendly staff, decent meals and arguably the most highly prized and hotly contested outdoor seating area in the whole of Rundle Street.
Seriously, if you've never tried to sit outside here of a weekend evening, especially during the summer months, you have never truly know the excitement and perils of outdoor drinking. Seat stealing, tiny tables with ten seats, and some tables with none are not uncommon. Despite the cut throat nature of this tiny slice of society, please treat you fellow patrons kindly. Generally the folks beside you will offer up their seats before leaving. And when you do finally secure seats for you and your friends, beware of seat vultures. They're always circling. Always.
I've had food here a few times before. It's always been of a decent standard. More often that not there's a burger and schooner or burger and pint meal deal going down, it's easily among the best value pub meals on Rundle.
And if it's value you want, drinks here are always a good deal. Usually there's cider jugs and beer jugs from $13ish. At the other end of the scale, boutique beers are reasonably priced too. The Austral is regularly one of the first places on the street to stock each years Cooper's Vintage on tap. If beer and cider aren't your thing, like all Adelaide pubs The Austral has an extensive wine list along with the usual array of spirits and shots.
To accompany your drinks there is also entertainment. It's hard to believe they fit so much in, and how well they fit it in.. most of the time anyway. Some afternoons and evenings there is live music in the front bar, usually weekends. Once the live band finishes, Adelaide's smallest dance floor starts with a dj booth cranking at the back of the front bar. You must pass through here to get to the atm and toilet. In the back bar there is a pool table, it's often busy but as soon as things get quiet they close the back bar anyway.
On the busiest nights, usually during the fringe, the upstairs bar and balcony is also opened but this is uncommon.
So there you go. Whatever the season, the Austral is a great place to socialise. Oh and one final tip: blokes, the downstairs toilet goes straight to hell pretty quick almost all of the time. There's another one up the stairs. read more