I just got back from Melb and I want to cry

[Will]

I havent heard of Cuckoo. Where's that Mono?

Its on the southern side of Hindley Street, near the crazy horse.

Its also near another new bar in Adelaide; Tapas on Hindley.

[Shuz]

Anyone done the Tapas Bull Run yet?

I hear it's wicked. First 50 people in, doors locked for half hour, 150 shot glasses on the house at the bar, go for your life!

[Prince George]

Its also near another new bar in Adelaide; Tapas on Hindley.

Hang on, hasn't there been a Tapas in town for an eternity? It used to be on Rundle St back-in-the-day and then moved to Hindley St a decade ago.

[Will]

Its also near another new bar in Adelaide; Tapas on Hindley.

Hang on, hasn't there been a Tapas in town for an eternity? It used to be on Rundle St back-in-the-day and then moved to Hindley St a decade ago.

The original Tapas closed down in 2004/05. The new Tapas has risen like a phoenix out of the shell of the old and abandoned tapas premises.

[omada]

This thread is proving fruitful, as people have said, there is nothing wrong in comparing Adelaide to Melbourne - consider it like "benchmarking".

Anyway, agreed "Cuckoo" is an excellent little place.

Also checkout:

- Dragonfly (on Victoria Square)
- La Boheme (Grote Street, opposite the markets).
- Jade Monkey - Twin Street, between Rundle Mall and Grenfell Street. (Another place that I always mean to revisit but never get around to it)
- Rocket Bar is pretty good, depending on what dj/band they have on. (Hindley Street)
- Supermild - an oldy but a goody (Hindley Street)

Of course there must be other decent places to go.. anyone??

[Wayno]

I'm intrigued at the number of claims made that Adelaide and Melbourne shouldn't be compared, because they're two different cities in their own right - apples and oranges. I disagree.

Their progression in the last 50-70 years is simply what we need learn from.

i'm with you shuz.

[Will]

Maybe I haven't made my opinion clear. I am not saying we shouldn't learn from melbourne. far from it. Melbourne can teach us many things.

However I am surprised people think it is worthwile comparing the 2. The reason why I do not like direct and literal comparisons is that every time we are going to lose. And this does not mean we are a 'hole' but rather that we are a much smaller city. Likewise, it would be like thinking it is reasonable comparing a 1.8L Astra with a V8 Commodore. Of course the Commodore woud be faster and more powerful than the Astra; it a V8!

[Wayno]

Maybe I haven't made my opinion clear. I am not saying we shouldn't learn from melbourne. far from it. Melbourne can teach us many things.

However I am surprised people think it is worthwile comparing the 2. The reason why I do not like direct and literal comparisons is that every time we are going to lose. And this does not mean we are a 'hole' but rather that we are a much smaller city. Likewise, it would be like thinking it is reasonable comparing a 1.8L Astra with a V8 Commodore. Of course the Commodore woud be faster and more powerful than the Astra; it a V8!

i'm with you too Will i'm certainly in an agreeing sort of mood today!

Maybe we should drop a V8 in the Astra. Would need a suspension upgrade and extra thick torsion bar though...

[stumpjumper]

Don't celebrate too early, Will.

My general complaint is still not that there is too little community consultation, but that we should not accept unconditionally the low risk, generic development offered by much of the property industry.

The problem for Adelaide in allowing anyone with the money to build anything here (and that is the position of some posters here) is clear, and is the reason that almost no city on earth - other than Las Vegas - allows such a freewheeling planning regime.

If we let the development industry call the tune, we risk Adelaide's character being buried under a sludge of boring crap like the Riverside Centre, literally photocopied from another site and utterly ordinary. For most people on the planet, Adelaide is a distant and isolated place and hardly a compelling destination. Our stock of old buildings and our human scale - our character - can be seen as a point of difference, a unique selling point, far more effective in getting people here or keeping them here than a swag of unexceptional contemporary buidings maxing out the development potential of their sites.

We should also respect Adelaide's unique layout. That means not putting a huge utility building like a hospital in the parklands at one of the cities important gateways.

So my objections are still the same. There's good development and bad development, and there's good development that suits Adelaide. We are a special case, and we require careful redevelopment, not just whatever fits on the site.

I suspect Melbourne can teach us a bit about that.

[monotonehell]

I havent heard of Cuckoo. Where's that Mono?

137 Hindley Street.

http://www.cuckoobar.com/

[vik_man]

You know something funny? We DO have a load of small and funky bars in Adelaide. Why don't the people who complain that we have none, go and frequent the ones that we do have so that there's demand for more?

I can't continue drinking for all of you. I don't recover in the mornings as well as I used to.

Check out; Cuckoo, Lotus, FumoBlu, and the 'new' bar at Crown&Sceptre for starters. Get back to me when you've stolen a glass from each.

yep, this is something that really annoys me immensely.

most of the people who complain that "oohh there's nothing to do here but drink wine" don't even leave the house at all to utilize what we do have.

[adam_stuckey]

One trhing i have noticed walking around both Adelaide and Melbourne is that Adelaide does have some great stuff to look at and do but its quite thinly spread over the CBD where as Melbourne is dence and full which we can only put down to the size of the population.

The one thing i probably enjoy the most about Melbourne though is Fed square and i know many people have said it but its just so good to get there and just drink in the city, and something Adelaide could easily bring in (although Fed square did cost $450m) I think that either inbetween Government house and the festi theatre, or one of the squares in the city Hindmarsh or Light would probably work best

[Edgar]

I think the problem that we face is that our CBD is actually very decentralised.

When I was in Melbourne for a whole week, I notice that every businesses wants to be in the city area, where as, in Adelaide, the same sized businesses would much prefer to be based outside the city centre.

I was amazed at how DFO (Direct Factory Outlet), a business type which is usually based outside of the major city centre (like Homebush Sydney) actually have one of their outlet setup right in the city itself. These type of business proposition actually brings together what a CBD is supposed to be, hence the name tag.

So the lack of businesses in the city itself is a restriction to Adelaide, majority of the offices in the city are of large corporations, and outside of business hours, nothing operates. Where as if we have more small-to-medium businesses who base their location in the city, this is how Adelaide would prosper, and attract people into the city.

On a side note, I just want to make a point that all the drivers in Melbourne's Westgate Freeway are idiots. They think the West Gate Freeway is a racing ring, talking about tail gating, lane changing without indicator, or attempting lane change when their car is only 3/4 ahead of you?

[monotonehell]

...On a side note, I just want to make a point that all the drivers in Melbourne's Westgate Freeway are idiots. They think the West Gate Freeway is a racing ring, talking about tail gating, lane changing without indicator, or attempting lane change when their car is only 3/4 ahead of you?

Okay Edgar, you're an official South Australian now. Complaining about Victorian drivers is a right of passage.

I might have to go visit this "Melbourne" you people talk about. I normally just visit their airport, you know, on my way somewhere good.

[adam_stuckey]

When I was in Melbourne for a whole week, I notice that every businesses wants to be in the city area, where as, in Adelaide, the same sized businesses would much prefer to be based outside the city centre.

I was amazed at how DFO (Direct Factory Outlet), a business type which is usually based outside of the major city centre (like Homebush Sydney) actually have one of their outlet setup right in the city itself. These type of business proposition actually brings together what a CBD is supposed to be, hence the name tag.

So the lack of businesses in the city itself is a restriction to Adelaide, majority of the offices in the city are of large corporations, and outside of business hours, nothing operates. Where as if we have more small-to-medium businesses who base their location in the city, this is how Adelaide would prosper, and attract people into the city.

Thats what i'm talking about Adelaide being spread too thin. But thats what you get when housing prices are 8-9 times the average income instead of 4-5, businesses can't afford to be in the CBD