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Adelaide is very sleepy, but she comes to life on Fridays.

As winter continues to ring out what remains of a short day and welcome in long nights, Adelaideans relish on a Friday night in the city. Office workers trickling out of office buildings, tradies dusting off their hi vis, university students congregating at the intersection between North Terrace and Pulteney Street – each one waiting to hit the town.

After moving to the city, I’ve taken great pleasure in partaking in this celebratory evening where the stores close a little later, the restaurants unfold their tables on the terrace, and the people are in high spirits for making it through yet another week. Friends and families bundled in sweaters coming together for dinner, for the movies, for a night at the art gallery. It’s nice seeing Adelaide come alive at a time like this, a time when people would want to do nothing more than to latibulate at home by the heater.

I’ve had my fair share of spending a night out in the city. I’ve braced the cool winds walking to Pirie Street for an orchestra concert with a friend; I’ve done dinners on the terrace next to a firepit, watching people go by; I’ve roamed around Dymocks on a rainy winter night when it had just reopened in Rundle Mall. It was all so idyllic, so pretty.

In an attempt to bring back this charm into my life after a very busy week, I made the rash decision to take myself out for dinner. With my coat wrapped around my body and an umbrella in one hand, I braced the light showers on my way to Central Market. 

I left early thinking I could beat the Friday dinner crowd but alas, my wit could only serve me so much as lines had already begun to form outside the restaurant when I got there. The wait wasn’t too bad, though. Central market was bustling, so I busied myself people watching. 

I finally got a table strategically placed in the middle of a doorway overlooking the market. Yes, you read that right, the table was literally sat in between an entrance, though I suppose its time as an entryway has come to an end by my visit. I got myself some warm, creamy pasta and spent my dinner overhearing conversations and observing what people were buying from the bakery across the restaurant. 

The night was still going once I was done, so I squeezed myself into the very crowded tram and headed over to a second-hand store for some window shopping. As ever, that failed, and I came home with more things to squeeze into my closet. 

Regardless, it was a good Friday night out. It was all so idyllic, so pretty, so Adelaide.