Adelaide Festival Centre has announced plans for Angry Penguin, a new concept restaurant set to open in February 2026 at the Festival Theatre location.
The restaurant takes its name from the influential literary and art movement led by South Australian poet Max Harris, who founded Angry Penguins magazine in the 1940s. Harris collaborated with artists including Joy Hester, John and Sunday Reed, Albert Tucker, Arthur Boyd, and Sidney Nolan to create a modernist movement that reshaped Australian art.
Executive Chef Alex Katsman will lead the kitchen, bringing experience from his previous roles at Marriott Adelaide, Sofitel Adelaide, and The Henry Jones Art Hotel in Tasmania. The menu will showcase South Australian seasonal produce paired with curated wines.
“I am delighted to join the iconic Adelaide Festival Centre, which is at the very heart of the arts here in South Australia,” Katsman said. “Work is currently underway building an exciting new menu that will bring Angry Penguin to life.”
The restaurant’s design draws inspiration from the 1970s, when the Adelaide Festival Centre opened in 1973 as Australia’s first multi-purpose arts centre.
Studio Nine’s design team has collaborated with South Australian furniture artisans Andrew Carvolth and Jon Goulder to create interiors that blend warm, vintage-inspired aesthetics with contemporary elements.
The venue will offer both indoor and outdoor seating with views of the Karrawirra Pari/River Torrens, serving lunch and dinner to accommodate both casual riverside dining and pre-show meals.
Adelaide Festival Centre CEO Kate Gould said Angry Penguin represents: “…a new and exciting era of dining” for the venue. The restaurant is part of a broader redevelopment project that includes new theatre seating, updated foyer spaces, and enhanced accessibility features throughout the centre.
