The Parade, Norwood, after dark

The Parade is Norwood's main street, about four kilometres east of the city centre, and one of Adelaide's best-known places to eat out. The shopping and dining strip runs for several blocks, shaded by large trees, with the Norwood Town Hall at its heart on the corner of George Street.

From day to night

By day The Parade is a neighbourhood high street: supermarkets, bookshops, boutiques and a steady stream of people walking between coffee stops. As the shops close, the balance shifts to kitchens, wine bars and dessert places, and the footpath tables fill up again. Weeknights are relaxed; Friday and Saturday evenings are busy enough that booking ahead is sensible.

Choosing a table

The strip is long enough that you can walk its whole length before deciding, and it is worth doing. Kitchens here cover a wide range, from quick casual meals to long, formal dinners. A useful rule is to look for places full of people who clearly live nearby — on a street this competitive, the neighbourhood regulars are a better guide than any sign on the footpath.

After dinner

Late coffee and dessert are part of the Norwood routine, and plenty of places stay open after the main dinner rush. The side streets are worth a short walk too: they are lined with old stone villas and cottages that give the suburb its character. On football nights, crowds heading to Norwood Oval, right on The Parade, make the strip noticeably busier, so check the fixture list if you want a quieter evening.

Getting there and back

Several Adelaide Metro bus routes run between the city and The Parade, and the trip takes around fifteen minutes outside peak hour; check the current timetable for late services. It is also a pleasant walk of under an hour from the East End, and a short taxi or rideshare trip if you would rather not.