Adelaide is well-known for it’s many churches and pristine white beaches and the beach side suburb of Semaphore has been steadily growing into one of the city’s up and coming locations. Many new restaurants have opened over the last few years along Semaphore Road. It is a popular local strip that offers a wide range of cuisines. Kingz Restaurant at 39a Semaphore Rd, is one of those newly opened establishments serving delicious Indian food.
One of our favourite cuisines has always been Indian food. Often when the vegetarian in our house suggests we indulge in something other than home cooking, Kingz Restaurant is our choice. The difference this time was that we decided that we’d eat in rather than having takeaway.
Kingz restaurant has a small shop front, with big glass bi-fold doors that they can be opened up during the warmer summer months. The restaurant has limited capacity inside and they have some unprotected outdoor tables. It seems unlikely that people will use these tables during the winter as anyone sitting here would be shivering uncontrollably. To take advantage of this extra outdoor space Kingz Restaurant needs to find a way to protect their customers from the elements during winter.
The inside of the store is neatly set out, and they have tried to bring India to the restaurant with some Indian inspired prints on the walls. There’s a big screen television mounted in the corner which plays YouTube music videos of some of India’s popular musicians and Bollywood clips. The tables are well positioned giving everyone enough room to move around, but upgrading the basic wooden chairs would add to the comfort. The atmosphere was lacking, with only our table and one other occupied. There was a steady stream on takeaway customers throughout the meal as this seems to be the restaurant’s mainstay. You can see they are trying to bring a certain style to the place, but I think they miss the mark. Adding some traditional Indian artefacts or wall hanging might improve the atmosphere.
We have eaten their food on many occasions, but this time we opt to try a some dishes that we haven’t had before. We order the Lamb Korma, Chicken Biryani with raita, a serving of basmati rice and a glass of wine each. The menu is extensive and there is a good range of dishes for everyone’s tastes. We already know their Butter Chicken, Chicken Chennai, Daal Makhani, Malai Kofta and Haryali Gosht are excellent. The creamy Lamb Korma was no exception. The flavour and sizeable chunks of lamb soaking in the curry went down a treat. The Chicken Biryani was bright in colour and full of spice, nearly to the point of overpowering. Yet when the freshly made raita is added, those overpowering spices become well-balanced and tasty.
The wine list was quite small with only one option if you happen to be drinking white or red wine by the glass. They do allow their customers to bring your own (BYO) wines so bringing one from home could be a good option.
Kingz Restaurant gives you value for money. Their serving sizes are generous, with us taking home some of each meal as we could not eat it all. Mains prices range between AUD$10.90 for the vegetarian based dishes going up to AUD$25.90 for their Mixed Seafood Curry. They also offer two banquet options for AUD$30 and AUD$40 respectively. A big tick in my book are the staff who are extremely friendly and quick to take your order when you are ready. Their service continued to be attentive throughout the meal without hovering too much.
Overall Kingz Restaurant has massive potential because the food they offer is very good. They are already popular with the locals for takeaway and delivery. With Semaphore’s most popular time being summer, with just a couple of minor fixes I can see everybody lining up to experience their hospitality.
If you are staying in the city, the best way to get to Semaphore is by train. Catch the Outer Harbor train from the Adelaide train station to Glanville. Semaphore is just a short five minute walk down Semaphore Rd. If you happen to try this nice restaurant, tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!
Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)
Decor = 6
Atmosphere = 6
Service = 8
Price = 9
Food = 8
Overall = 8
