Treehouse

Climb up the stairs on the corner of Miller Street and the Pacific Highway and you’ll notice the Treehouse’s architectural quirks first. Gargoyles keep guard over the outdoor seating area, and there’s a dark-tinged Gotham City influence over the interior as a whole, from the inky leather banquettes to the chandeliers and flickering gas fire behind glass in the centre of the dining room.

With close to 30 beers on the menu, including two of McLaren Vale’s finest (that tasty Vale Ale we've come to know and love) and a decent cocktail list there’s a lot to pull a crowd here. But if you order a Spicy Mexican Bully cocktail – apparently it’s like a Margarita with the addition of jalapeño – you’ll get a nose-wrinkle and a concerned “hmm” from the waiter (here’s a tip: don’t do that). The Treehouse’s signature Grow Bag Zombie cocktail with two- and ten-year-old Virgin Island rum, pineapple juice and apricot and orange liqueurs is served in a tall glass wrapped in a paper bag, is a worthy replacement. We don’t even get scoffed at when we ask for it.

Menu prices teeter close-to-and-over the $30 mark for mains, but when our plate arrives piled high with grilled scampi, lemony herb butter and a parsley salad, you can see why prices are a little on the high side. Beef carpaccio comes strewn with salty capers and briny white anchovies that give a great vinegary twang to the meat, which you can layer on top of crunchy toastlets. Gnocchi, pan-tossed with butter, is trussed up with softened cherry tomatoes, basil and runny goat's curd. The dish is light and soft and the combination is wonderfully summery.