‘Adelaide’s Lune’: The Sugar Man is garnering line-ups akin to the cult-loved pastry shop of Melbourne
An hour before it’s even open foodies are lined up out front of ‘Adelaide’s Lune’ hoping to get their hands on this self-taught baker’s sell out pastries. Watch the video.
Food & Wine
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Adelaide foodies are queuing for more than an hour at a boutique East End pastry shop to get their hands on croissants dubbed “better than Lune”.
The Sugar Man, opened by self-taught baker Alex Crawford in Hutt St in March 2022, is garnering line-ups akin to the famous Melbourne croissanterie, Lune, previously named by the New York Times as home of the world’s best croissant.
People begin to queue from before 9am for the 10am opening, and pastries usually sell out within two hours.
“I’m capped at what I can make, being the only baker,” says 30-year-old Crawford, who stepped into Adelaide’s treat space with macarons in 2016 before moving into chocolate and, then, croissants.
“It’s snowballed from word-of-mouth and people viewing images on social media.
“I’m just doing something I love and just trying to show what produce we have from farmers around South Australia and Australia. I’m humbled by the fact people are lining up to try those – it’s amazing.”
Crawford crafts five to seven different flavoured croissants each weekend, in a distinctive tall scroll shape as opposed to the traditional – and more common – crescent. Inspiration can strike from anywhere.
“We’re doing one this week called ‘Crème brulée vs. mille-feuille’, which is a Peter Gilmore dish at Bennelong (restaurant) that we had recently,” he says.
“It depends what’s around – it could be strawberries coming into season in spring, or the harvest of pistachios from Clare Valley.”
Quirky creations have included the negroni, using oranges from his grandmother’s 67-year-old orange tree and Ambleside Distillers gin, though he’s most proud of his almond croissant. Almond flakes from the previous week’s croissants are salvaged to make an almond soaking syrup, while the frangipane filling is made with Taronga almonds and burnt butter.
“We love it because it looks like a crown,” he says. “Noone is doing this shape in Adelaide. It goes really crunchy, with a soft inside.”
A number of online reviews have declared The Sugar Man croissants as the best in Australia. One Google review by Matthew Boisseau read: “I just got back from Melbourne where I queued for over an hour for the famous Lune croissants. They did not even come close to the Sugar Man’s offering.”
With prep starting in the wee hours of the morning – as early as 1am – crafting “beautiful buttery goodness” is a labour of love.
“Sometimes I just sleep in the car,” Crawford says.
“I create a rod for my own back. I want to be as creative and intricate as possible.”
The Sugar Man is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am at 197 Hutt St, Adelaide.
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