Arkaba Hotel

The food was absolutely 100% on point. The lamb ragu was amazing as was the pressed lamb. The dessert was a little sweet for my partner but that's not their fault. The waiting staff were attentive, amazing and friendly and overall pleasurable dining experience. Our waitress Tara was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend this place for a dinner evening event ☺️

We haven’t been to the Arkaba for years and we’re delighted with our experience. We were warmly greeted upon arrival and shown to our table where the table was beautifully decorated with Christmas cheer.. Drinks order taken shortly thereafter whilst we mulled over the menu. Our food arrived in a timely manner & omg its was delicious, especially the lamb. Great service, great venue. Thank you Arkaba, we’ll be back!

Our group attended the ABC Radio Sing Sesh on 28th NOV. We had dinner beforehand in the restaurant. I would like to commend the staff for their service - especially Dominic. Nothing was too much trouble for him. He was very professional, polite and welcoming. He made our experience enjoyable. The food was great in presentation, flavour and servings.

We were visiting from Perth and stopped in for dinner — and it was absolutely delicious! The food was outstanding from start to finish. We highly recommend the Gnocco Fritto for entrée, as well as the 12-hour pressed lamb and the lamb ragu for mains. A fantastic dining experience we’d happily return for!

We attended the Christmas Day lunch downstairs and found all the staff to be very friendly, professional, efficient and helpful. The food was of good quality. The Christmas decorations were just right too. A lovely lunch with my family and would definitely attend again.

I was in Adelaide with my daughter, and best mate from England, primarily to go to the Adelaide Oval for the Ashes. The Arkaba was a great choice especially since they have an event space upstairs where they were hosting an evening with Ian Botham and Merv Hughes ("The Lord and the Larrikin") which was great fun and another reason to stay here.||It is some way out from the center of the city but there is an extremely efficient bus service that runs from pretty much outside the hotel into the city and thence to the Adelaide Oval. We did this a couple of times and it was also free to ticket holders which was nice. I did also have a hire car and drove it here from the airport and there was plenty of free parking should you also go this route.||The staff were very friendly although there is a wrinkle here that may be an Aussie thing and that is that, upon checking out the front desk wasn't staffed, or even accessible until 730am. I am sure many people leave before that and it was fine, they had all my payment details, but be aware in case you need to speak to someone early.||It is a slightly older style hotel but I love that. Not your corporate "all rooms look the same" and the rooms were very spacious and comfortable. Note that the bed I had was extremely soft and I prefer a firm mattress so although I slept well enough, It gave me a slightly stiff back in the morning. Again, note this if you are prone to back issues and need a firmer bed. ||There are a lot of amenities/facilites here. There is a mini-casino (which I didn't use) and a huge sports bar area and general bar area where food is served including breakfast which was a nice way to start the day and included in my rate. All in all this was a comfortable, fun and well run place to stay and I would do so again without hesitation

Came for dinner Monday night after an information session for Cows for Cambodia. We were a big table and I was impressed that all our meals came out together. Everyone enjoyed their meals. Even better than the meals was the service. The waitress that served us was attentive and did a great job taking and delivering orders without fault.

Every time we visit the service is absolutely phenomenal. It’s my family’s favourite place to catch up and enjoy beautifully made food together. We recently visited to share my mother’s and my own birthday's and we were given the absolutely amazing Dominic as our server. Not only is he so polite he has such a positive approach to people and is a superstar at his job. We will be visiting again!

20 of us booked for dinner here . Food was really good for pub food BUT Serving things that ARE NOT on the menu & charging almost $80.00 for them is daylight robbery. The oysters were bathed in pre made kilpatrick sauce and were " SIX DOLLARS EACH " THAT $72 A DOZEN . Spoke to staff and they admitted they were overpriced.. I could of Ubered them fresh from Port Lincoln at THAT price Would like Mr Hurleys feedback

One thing I probably regret is that I never checked out the night-club at the Ark - shame on me, especially during my party until the early hours of the morning era. Mind you, the Ark has always had that special quality ever since I was a snotty nosed teenager - I remember it being a big live music venue, and was always pluged on 5KA (which shows you how old I am - this was before it moved onto the FM band and became KAFM). Anyway, I did actually decide to go and check it out one time I was in Adelaide (for the first time mind you, but not for the night-club - it was a little too early) and I have to admit that the place his HUGE. In fact it is termed as having the biggest sports bar in South Australia. Okay, since I not longer live in SA I don't have the opportunity of going back anytime soon, but at least the sports bar was pretty impressive.

I've only just reached the demographic where the Arkaba is particularly appropriate (30+) so I've rarely been to the Ark on a night out but I'm sure I will start to. What I have been to the Ark for is performances/events held upstairs. The cabaret style theatre has ample room for people to watch comedians, singers, quiz nights, which are held here every week. One of the best things about the set up, is that even when packed, the theatre maintains easy access to the bar, exit or toilets with a walk way that runs around the space. Drinks are average in price. Some events allow food service upstairs, but if you're hungry, there is pub food on offer downstairs and the Sports bar has good nibbles. Bar staff serving at the bars are fast and efficient, bar staff that serve food at the events unfortunately let the service down.

A group of us headed the The Arkaba last night to see a Fringe Show. To makes things easier we decided to get dinner there beforehand. I really wanted my Arkaba experience to be a good one, because let's be honest, they have copped a bad rap over the years. So I went along with an open mind and hopeful heart (ok, that might be a bit dramatic). It was a huge letdown. Despite a revamp of the front Sportys Bar, the decor in the whole place is incredibly dated. The menu had a fair selection, albeit with some strange choices (egg on a beef schnitzel anyone?). Once we ordered we waited...and waited...and waited. We actually played a game taking it turns to go to the toilet because you know how your meal always arrives while you're in the toilet? After close to 45 minutes (and let's remember we had tickets to the show upstairs - no one wants to be the person that walks in late to a comedy show) I asked a waitress how much longer we could expect to wait. She said 2 minutes more. It was closer to 10. Once the food came out, we had to shovel it in so quickly to get to the show in time. But perhaps that was a good thing as it was awful & I don't think any of us wanted to prolong the experience any further. Two of us had burgers & the rolls were freezing like they had just come out the fridge or even freezer. One in our group had gnocchi, which she thought was more like a warm tomato-y mess. I really wanted it to be good....but next time I go to a show there, I'm sad to say I'll be dining at another restaurant nearby. The two stars are for the fries....they were ok.

Since my fellow yelpers have pretty much covered The Ark, I'll just briefly mention the accommodation. I've stayed here after a few functions at the Ark left me unable to drive home. The rooms are actually surprisingly nice and modern. I think I was expecting something a lot less that what it actually was. The bed was comfortable, and it had all the usual amenities you'd expect in a medium range hotel. From inside the room, I couldn't hear the noise of the pub or the traffic either, which is great. I'm always a little wary of the noise levels at pub based accommodations.

Sports bar review only: The energy is electric. The crowd is diverse and the drinks are flowing. Most importantly, the sun is out for what seems like the first time this year! It is the afternoon of the AFL Grand Final ('GF') and the venue of choice for today's affairs was the Arkaba. AKA 'the Ark', this iconic venue has been converted into a fully functioning sports bar, function venue, hotel, bottle shop, restaurant and pokie venue. It's a pretty big joint! However, I did not run the gamut on this one so I will restrict my commentary to the sports bar. I will preface the following by saying that I have actually been to this particular bar for a beer and a bite to eat on a regular, non-big event weekday and it was very quiet. A few punters trying their luck on the ponies/doggies, and a couple of barflys, but nothing like what we were in for during the GF. It was a fun day. When I arrived (from the bus stop conveniently bang on the door step for those venturing around on public transport) I spied what seemed to be a large crowd in attendance. But as I moved closer and into the actual bar, it didn't seem that packed at all. Comfortable enough to be able to get to the bar, grab a drink and chat to the person next to you if you so desired. Plus, we got a couple of good seats in front of a big screen to watch the game. Be prepared for an onslaught of TVs and other external stimuli. This is a loud bar, as in loud setting (the noise isn't actually that bad because of the high ceilings I presume). But, it was a GF and we were there to get a bit rowdy and have some fun. The service was pretty good considering the crowd numbers, and the drinks specials were OK too. Carlton draught pints for $6.50. As I said - OK. The TV screens can cater for large numbers watching which was the main draw card for us for the day. A couple of my mates grabbed meals which looked to be reasonable sized (none of them sent anything back). Note that you have to order food at the bar and collect it at the serving area near the kitchen. For what it is (a Sports bar) the Ark did not disappoint. The game was pretty boring, but the venue did a good job of keeping it light hearted and fun. There was a free raffle where you chose a players name and got a free beer every time they kicked a goal and a half time goal kicking match on an ipad (which I lost badly). All around fun day and I will definitely consider it the next time there is a big sporting event to be enjoyed.

My first tip if you're a female is, do not flick the light switch on the way out of the ladies bathroom. This switch turns off the lights to the whole bathroom, not just the little swing door bit. Don't do this twice, either. Angry cougars with lipstick smudged for a different reason. The most fun I ever had here was upstairs on the dancefloor, I was wearing a superman t-shirt, I got so many high fives for this and I'm still not sure why, must be a generational thing... The Ark is quite a large venue, lots of areas pumping music over the weekend, I cant say I've ever eaten or stayed here (yes there are rooms available, all you cougar hunters) I have seriously sterotyped this venue I know, but it's good fun even if it's just for the people watching! Drinks aren't too badly priced, it did seem like the main beverage on offer was Bacardi Breezers though. Decor is a bit dated, reminds me of airline carpet! Sometimes you may feel like the walls are closing in on you, I dont think it's the walls though, I think it may be the people... this is the time to leave. If you like dancing the night away to Abba then get on over to the Arkaba and own the dancefloor.

Finally I have found somewhere that serves a half schnitzel. The pain of ordering a huge schnitzel only to be unable to finish it. The chips with the schnitzel are very nice but the salad leaves something to be desired, luckily I never order a chicken parmigiana and chips with the desire to tuck into a hearty side salad. I have had Sunday lunch here twice now. The other time I ordered a tandoori pizza. The tandoori chicken, yoghurt and cheese were great, the excessive mountain of bean sprouts were nice to start with but I could not eat my way through all of them. A few ciders on tap so this is a good place for me for a Sunday catch up session.

The Arkaba used to be known as the 'grab a granny' venue of Adelaide, however it appears lately, Noah has let less dinosaurs on board the Ark, and more cougars (which is definitely a good thing). There is a huge venue upstairs used for live entertainment such as comedy, latino dancing and cover bands. Downstairs areas also house live music, and there is a huge gaming area (If that is your thing). I was here on a Saturday night, and the place was absolutely packed. I chose to retreat to the outdoor areas, but had to navigate through the Labyrinth downstairs first. Hop on board the Ark, I say, and take home a cougar.

A yelper below hit the nail on the head describing the atmosphere as that of an 80's ski lodge! it seems the older you get the more you fit in at the ark, not the adelaide hotspot for under 30's, unless your looking to pick up a cougar/sugardaddy! - if so then this is the place for you.... once you realise you fit in here, your past your prime! that being said, its not a bad place to go for a fun night out, but its not a great place either!

Do you like 80's ski lodges? Because if they're like how I imagine they're like - then you'll LOVE the Arkaba. Set on the fringe of Adelaide City, the Arkaba is a huge establishment that seems to always be full of seminars, sales pitches and support groups. It has everything: A stereotypical depressing pokies room that once would have been smoky until laws changed, the typical players stay in this room, tracksuit wearing mainly. The restaurant is very pub like, but always full. The lamb shanks are tasty but took over an hour to come out - but we were compensated with drinks. The menu is not very gluten free friendly and the staff seemed ignorant as to what gluten is. The bar area is big and the bar menu is a lot more casual with schnitzels, burgers, calamari and chips. There is a huge function room upstairs which hats a giant disco mirror ball and is host to some huge comedy events during the year, including DVD tapings for local Adelaide comedians, Fringe shows and the RAW comedy gigs. Every Tuesday throughout the year, the Arkaba upstairs has local Adelaide comedy, but the room - which is big enough for 600 people - is too big for the small weekly comedy crowds (about 50). The Arkaba is always hosting special events - for Australia day, new years eve, st pats day, valentines day and christmas. The Arkaba is a huge venue that has its fingers dipped in every pie (including accommodation, which I haven't experienced) and they're giving it a good crack. It just looks really old.

Haha, The Arkaba. My family and I have come here quite a few times for dinner, and it's not too bad actually. It's quite nearby, so we find it practical. I've had the Atlantic salmon, which wasn't bad considering the (more) affordable price. The steak is good too. My favourite here: the dessert! The apple crumble is really good, but the chocolate ice cream with chocolate cover peanuts and other chocolatey bits is even better! I get it every time after my meal. The staff are friendly too, but I think they have to revamp the place or add more lighting - it gets a bit dark and depressing sometimes. And yes, I feel like this place is for the over 30s. Maybe after a revamp they'll attract a younger crowd, if that's what they're going for. You never know, it might turn into the next Cremorne...

Recently attended a Beer and Cider festival here which was upstairs - was a great event. Unfortunately we decided to have a pub lunch downstairs which ended up being one of the worst pub meals I have tried. I had the brisket burger - the meat was very scant, dry and not moist. BBQ sauce was on one side of the burger but not soaked into the meat. There were a few canned kidney beans in the burger and very few chips. I felt ripped off for paying $18 for it. My friends had schnitzels - none of which were finished. The chicken portion was not very big and the crumbing was very thick and gluggy sitting around the meat. The coleslaw served on the side was quite off putting - it looked as though it had been sitting for a while. KFC coleslaw came to mind. All in all I would not eat at the Arkaba again.

Keshan hit the nail on the head with the ark. I also went to see a show, and figured we would get food beforehand. I was in a party of three, and we arrived an hour before the show. When we went to order, the staff assured us that our food would be out with plenty of time to spare. We had the complex order of two schnitzels and a burger. After waiting 40 minutes, we queried the staff and they said it would be 5 more minutes. At the 55 minute mark (5 minutes until the show) our food came out and it was disgraceful. With some kitchen experience, I could tell the schnitzel was pan fried on only one side, the topping was then pit on top and then nuked in a microwave for around 4 minutes. This resulted in an almost inedible product. My friend with the burger was only able to stomach the meat, as the rest of the burger was soggy and tasted sub par. We are far from picky eaters, and we are all big eaters, so for us to not finish a meal is usually a fictional event. The next big problem is we got charged 2 different amounts for the same round (3 pale ales), at random times (within a half an hour period). Apparently specials can be active at 7:10 but not 7:25. To add to the melancholy of the bar, we were quoted 9 dollars for Hahn super dry when we asked. After going to the bathroom where there is a big sign "6 dollar super drys" we switched our order. Overall it was a terrible experience, and do not recommend going. Recommendations for the venue: - Have a fringe show menu and price list. 4-5 food items at a reasonable rate (10-20 dollars) that can be pumped out well and within 10-15 minutes. - Have a special beverage menu (2 wines, 2 beers, 2 spirits) that have reasonably priced drinks on it, that are round number prices. - Consider an extra kitchen staff member on show nights.

My husband and I sometimes drop into the restaurant at the Arkaba Hotel for lunch on the weekend. Not any more. It has always been overpriced but we have put up with that. However, the other day I went there for lunch on my own. The menu has changed. I ordered the chicken stir-fry and a house champagne- $34. The stir-fry was close to inedible - sickly sweet, mostly noodles and the vegetables were a joke. The waitress asked me how it was and I told her that it was not nice. She said that she would tell the chef. She came back and said, "the chef says that's the way they always make it, and no-one's ever complained before." Excellent attitude.

Service was quite poor, and food was quite bland for the prices they were wanting. I can see how it's a good sports bar, but not a place I'll be attending for dinner again.

I have stayed at the Arkara on a couple of occasions and found the rooms and facilities quite good. The rooms are spacious and clean with comfortable beds. The food was of a good standard and the staff very obliging. The Sports Bar was a great place to mingle and get reasonably priced drinks, served by friendly knowledgable staff. At first found it a bit tricky orientating myself around the whole venue, but after getting used to all the 'quirky' areas enjoyed my experience and will be happy to stay there again.